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The Corps Altsachsen is a fraternity (''Studentenverbindung'') in Dresden, Germany, founded on October 31, 1861. It is one of 162 ''German Student Corps'' in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Latvia and Hungary today. The Corps is a member of the Weinheimer Senioren-Convent (WSC), the second oldest federation of classical European fraternal corporations, with roots dating back to the 15th century and fraternities founded in several European countries.〔Die Corps. "Was sind die Corps? - Who are the Corps?" http://www.die-corps.de/interessenten.0.html Retrieved on Oct. 7, 2013.〕〔〔Klimczuk, Stephen & Warner, Gerald. "Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries: Uncovering Mysterious Sites, Symbols, and Societies". Sterling Publishing, 2009, New York and London. ISBN 978-1-4027-6207-9. pp. 212–232 ("University Secret Societies and Dueling Corps").〕 Membership in the fraternity is open to honorable men〔 studying at one of Dresden's universities and is based exclusively on personality, good moral standing, and strength of character.〔Die Corps. "Prinzipien der Corps" An article explaining the principles of being a Corps Student: http://www.die-corps.de/prinzipien.0.html Retrieved on Oct. 7, 2013.〕 Members of the Corps Altsachsen value and engage in the tradition of academic fencing〔〔 as a way to sharpen and prove their character under pressure. Continuing a practice dating back into the 1700s, Altsachsen's members wear the traditional couleur, colored stripes, in grey-green-gold. The fraternity teaches and expects tolerance from its members, stemming from diverse ethnic, national, religious and political backgrounds.〔〔〔 Four of the TU Dresden's university Presidents ("Rektor") were fraternity members of the Corps.〔 Altsachsen always had a very strong connection with and commitment to the university, resulting in an influential role during major developments over the course of history. Examples include steps taken towards developing the former Technical Institute into the Royal Saxon Technical College of Dresden in the late 1800s as well as the initiation of today's Studentenwerk Dresden in the early 1900s.〔〔 Furthermore, many examples of Dresden's architecture have either been designed or built by fraternity members.〔Corps Altsachsen: Hundert Jahre Corps Altsachsen. 1. Auflage. Köln 1961.〕 == Fundamentals and principles == Like all ''German Student Corps'', Altsachsen expects tolerance from its members in political, scientific and religious affairs.〔〔 Members are encouraged to have their own point of view about the world and be able to argue it, but Altsachsen as an entity always remains neutral. This ''neutrality'' is a fundamental pillar of all Corps and differentiates them from fraternities who require a certain political or religious affinity.〔 The fraternity encourages freshly admitted (pledging "fox") members with diverse ethnic, national, religious and political backgrounds to prove themselves as valuable Corps brothers, purely on the basis of personal character and merit, before becoming eligible to be fully incorporated (''Rezeption'').〔〔 The fraternity has about 200 members of all ages (including alumni) coming from or currently residing in Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa. Every full member is a member for life.〔 Members of the Corps Altsachsen value and practice the tradition of engagements in ''academic fencing'', or ''"Mensur"'' in German, with members of other old-school fraternities. Academic fencing, originating in the German school of fencing, is understood as a way to exercise good judgement and prove character,〔 allowing participants to show determination by standing their ground under pressure, while enhancing the bonds between the Corps brothers at the same time.〔〔Die Corps. "Hoch bitte – Los!" An article explaining the role of academic fencing at Corps: http://www.die-corps.de/fechten.0.html Retrieved on Oct. 7, 2013.〕 Mark Twain described one of these fencing duels/challenges in his day and age; his description is remarkably similar to current practices.〔〔〔 Altsachsen's members identify themselves wearing the traditional ''couleur'', colored stripes, as well as caps and/or other specific garments at official occasions. This tradition, known as "wearing colors" (German: ''Farben tragen''), provides means to recognize members of other fraternities and, likewise, identification for the Corps brothers with each other and their traditions.〔 Altsachsen's members value the art of ''rhetoric''. The tradition is kept alive by both impromptu or "stand-up and talk" speeches (''Stegreifrede'' in German) as well as elaborate platform presentations typical of industry and academia. All members must present a significant number of such talks and are graded on their presentation skills. In order to become a full member, pledge members must pass a curriculum of predetermined talks in front of their peers and guests.〔 ''Activity'' and ''responsibility'' are two fundamental expectations for fraternity members. With the goal to achieve members who are prepared to become active leaders in society, every Corps brother is expected to hold a leadership position at least once for a term ("Semester") while a student. Members are further encouraged to organize internal and open fraternity events that draw attention from other fraternities and guests from industry, academia, politics and other active societies.〔 Allocating the necessary resources appropriately and living up to set expectations teaches responsibility.〔〔 All members must show active participation in the regular fraternity Convents, providing the foundation for the fraternity's members to meet and discuss past, present and future developments. Decisions are cast in a democratic manner, sometimes after intense debates. Participation at such Convents teaches a better understanding of proper argumentation, group dynamics and critical analysis of other members' views, plans and arguments, thereby preparing its participants to become active members of society.〔 Similarly, every member must finish his higher educational degree with good academic standing in order to advance to the status of ''Alter Herr'' (alumnus).〔 Long-term guidance is expected from and provided by said ''Alte Herren'', who often remain very engaged and well connected with the fraternity. Every year at the end of May, student and alumni members of all German Student Corps meet in one of two cities (Weinheim and Bad Kösen) for three days to refresh their bonds with their fraternity and friends from the entire Corps network (WSC/KSCV).〔 In addition to these international meetings once a year, alumni join the student members for multiple local meetings, lasting an evening or a weekend. These regular meetings result in strong bonds spanning the generations within the fraternity.〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Corps Altsachsen Dresden」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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