The LXG aim to defy masculine stereotypes, help each other grow as group and individuals
By Jamie Grimm
At the beginning of my sophomore year the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (LXG) was merely the title of a movie starring Sean Connery. LXG was no more known to me than the personal agenda of Donald Trump.
A friend introduced me to LXG and I joined blindly, not knowing the League's activities or agenda. To me, at that time the League was only about social interaction. It was not until my sophomore year was over did I learn what the League represented.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen has four core values: Brotherhood, truth, justice, and authentic masculinity. A single meeting of a random group of men will seldom yield any sign of the values listed above, not because those values are not prevalent but because there is little room for the expression of these values when men only deal with surface level interaction.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen helps cultivate these values and strengthen them among the men by allowing them to express these values and learn from one another.
My group developed exceedingly well around the core values. At first we began sharing, being open and truthful with one another about our thoughts. Then, with the openness created, trust grew, which in turn developed into brotherhood that led to a greater amount of openness.
The cycle continued, bringing us closer with each meeting. With every meeting came a new person's story and with each story more experiences were shared and more lessons were learned.
When leaving each meeting I felt a greater understanding for the person that shared the story. I also felt a greater general understanding of how my actions are seen by other people. With each meeting it became clearer to me what kind of person I would want to become.
Through its core values, the League provides a setting for men to grow. This growth as a person is the most important part of life. In fact, to me, to grow defines living. To continually strive to better oneself in every aspect of life is an admirable trait that I have always revered and constantly try to incorporate in my life.
Through LXG I was able to experience the lessons learned by my fellow members and to incorporate those lessons and apply them to my life. The lessons learned in our bi-weekly group meetings cannot be lectured or taught by professors, they can only be experienced.
The men that were selected at random and placed in the same group as me I now consider to be some of my closest friends on campus. Although we are all from different backgrounds and have different views on many aspects of life, we find common ground in our desire to grow and learn from each other's experiences.
In the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, we grow individually, we grow as brothers, and we grow as men.
If you are interested in learning more about the League, stop by St. Mary's Lounge tonight at 10 p.m. for an informational meeting with free pizza and root beer.
Jamie Grimm is a junior
Electrical Engineering major
