Social Change Model

When I envision a great model of social change I look towards an example that dates back a few years before my time in FarmHouse.  It is hard to put an exact date on when the change happened, but it is easy to see when the problem was addressed. 

A bit of history...

For several years our chapter had maintained the highest G.P.A. on campus.  This trend continued up into the late 90's when something caused brothers to become laid back in their studies.  This lead to the eventual dismay of our academic dominance, but this decrease did not go unnoticed.  Brothers then began to step forward and develop a more rigid scholastic plan, but this was not enough to offset the negative trend.  Brothers went to the source of the problem, and that problem was in the men that inhabited the fraternity itself.  After addressing brothers with low academic marks and taking appropriate action, the second step of this academic campaign went underway.  This part addressed recruitment and I wish I could say that the push was for higher quality, but that would not be the truth.  Before there was little to no recruitment whatsoever so the push for more men eventually lead to the quality aspect.  Once both of the parts of this campaign came together results came about.  Our G.P.A. is on the rise and the buy in of all brothers is leading to the overall improvement of FarmHouse's scholastic presence.

This example has always been in the back of my mind when the idea of social change is brought up.  There was a problem that almost all parties noticed and addressed and this lead to a comprehensive campaign that didn't only address the symptoms, but helped solve the problems themselves.  Although tough decisions had to be made because of the overall level of understanding for the need of change this plan was able to take full function.  By noticing that this problem was effecting all levels of the surrounding group (individual, group, and community) brothers where able to gain strength from fellow community members to help rally the overall movement. 

Improving your overall academic standing may not be as groundbreaking as solving world hunger, but I feel that this gives a bit better perspective on an attainable example of what social change can do for you in the near future!