Considering the power in having a column published in the Campus Times, I thought of several topics to discuss in my column. Most of them were negative, calling attention to things I consider small injustices.
Seeing that the media is constantly accused of reporting only bad news, I thought of positive things to write about. Thus, I decided my column would be on Sigma Kappa Sorority, a group I see at least make an effort to educate those it involves. A group of which I am a member.
Recently, Sigma Kappa had a retreat in Lake Arrowhead. We all stayed in a cabin belonging to one of our advisers.
The retreat was designed to reflect on goals and ideas, plan events for the future and strengthen our bond.
Unlike other retreats I have heard about, Sigma Kappa’s retreat had no negativity. We did not complain or criticize. We did not even begin our retreat with a session to “vent-out.”
Instead, one of our first activities was to read a questionnaire aloud, which allowed us the chance to learn from each other. Some of the responses were quite interesting.
We had all met at the Rock. Active members and new members were just as excited. We drove toward Lake Arrowhead, carefully following each other.
After we settled in, we drove into the village to eat at McDonald’s. The trip to the village was an adventure to begin with. The weather at Lake Arrowhead was severely cold. It had rained that morning and was expected to continue throughout the day.
When we arrived at McDonald’s, we had our meal, then asked the locals to take pictures of our group. As a group we walked by the lake, and later strolled into the village.
While we were walking in the village, it began to pour. Some of us had no umbrellas and were skeptical about driving back to the cabin.
In retrospect, we had planned to make it a Sigma Kappa weekend, where we would not worry about “official business.” Although we designated times for meetings, we mostly had fun, went out, and enjoyed our sisterhood.
That night we went to the local pizzeria. It was awesome. We all pigged out on pizza and then headed to the skating rink. Being the only form of entertainment for locals, the people skating got frustrated with us amateurs. The hilarious part of it all was that those of us who did not know how to skate eventually learned, fall after fall.
I learned a great deal about my sisters that night. Especially the new members, who felt right at home. Even though some of us had little skating experience, our sisters helped us through.
In everything we did, we saw sisterhood shine through. Some of us got lost in the mountains. We had no clue of which direction to go. But sure enough, our sisters knew we were missing and minutes later appeared.
When we concluded our trip, we had not only had fun, we also shared many memories, some of which I cannot fully describe. Some are private, others are too detailed.
However, what I can say is that these women planned on returning to La Verne with goals to improve Sigma Kappa and ULV.
And, unlike the negative news on campus, Sigma Kappa has proven to be a team effort in the betterment of itself and the people it involves by following its motto, “One Heart, One Way.”
Angelica Martinez, a junior journalism major, is arts and entertainment editor of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at amartine@ulv.edu.
Journalism operations manager at the University of La Verne. Production manager and business manager of the Campus Times.
