"Sigma Iota Chi"?
 

Hey all,

Just your loveable PNM here :p I'm registering for recruitment online right now, and it asks to list legacy status. I remembered my Aunt was in a sorority in college, and in the form they consider it legacy status from your Aunt.

So, I asked her what sorority she was in. She told me "Sigma Iota Chi". This is the SECOND time she told me this..

I've been googling and found nothing called Sigma Iota Chi. I know it's definitely not an NPC sorority, obviously, which doesn't help me..but I'm just so puzzled. It's like it doesn't even exist.

I was thinking she maybe forgot the name of her GLO (YIKES) and maybe it was her chapter name? So I went to Widener U's website (where she went to college) and they have a Sigma Sigma Sigma chapter. I thought that's what she might have meant, Tri-Sigma, Iota Chi chapter or something..but it's like the Delta Xi chapter (that's probably not exactly it..but definitely not Iota Chi).

I'm so confused :confused: Has anyone heard of Sigma Iota Chi?

Check you PMs.

Probably a local.

For a moment, I was going to say that I'm pretty sure it's a Christian sorority. I remember that a second cousin of mine recently Facebooked me, and when I was looking at her profile, I noticed she was a member of Sigma Phi Chi. Naturally, I was curious and looked it up and found out it was a Christian local. I believe the open meaning of their letters is "Sisters for Christ". When you said Sigma Iota Chi, I incorrectly remembered her sorority, and thought it was "Sisters in Christ".

But when you asked her what sorority she was in, why didn't you just ask her to tell you about it? Not to sounds rude, but if she was a member, I'm sure she can tell you a lot more about it than any of us can.

Lovespink - It could be a local. I didn't think about that, because I don't know much (nothing, actually) about "local" sororities.

I asked her through a text message both times. The first time I asked her, I didn't think much of it. This time, I'm looking more into it because I'm about to go through recruitment, so I'm fascinated with the matter right now. She's busy and I'm busy, and since it's obviously not an NPC sorority (which won't help me during recruitment) it's not a pressing matter so I didn't want to call her. I'll see her this weekend at a family reunion, and I plan on asking her then...but in the meantime, it was really bugging me.

ps. I know half of this didn't make sense..I'm pretty much falling asleeping writing this.

Thanks for your answers!

ETA: See the bolded word...my point exactly.

I used my google skills and came up with these items:
Literary Society (circa early 1900s)
Local at Pace University
Now Alpha Xi Delta at Rider University
Honor Society at St. Josephs
Sorority at Bryant College circa WWII

Thanks VandalSquirrel....my google skills = fail.

It's hard to explain a sorority in a text message. Perhaps you should actually just call her or meet up with her or something if you're curious and want to know more?

You can get all the same results by putting quotes around "sigma iota chi" and sorority after it.

A copy of Baird's will show you that it was a regional group in the South in the early 1900s.

Are you positive she joined at Widener? Maybe she went to a different school and transferred to Widener to graduate.

It's possible it was the Gamma Chi chapter of Phi Sigma Sigma. I have heard members refer to it as just Sigma. But Dani was right and maybe you should call her. A five minute conversation shouldn't be a problem I would think.

I blame my high school - we were NOT allowed to use Google for anything. But it's good to know the quote thing, because when you search something like Sigma Iota Chi, results come up for Iota Chi Sigma, etc. I'll do that now :)

I'm 100% sure she joined at Widener. I'll just have to ask her at the family reunion. She's nuts though, I might get the deer-in-headlights look ;)

Psi U MC Vito -

I'm starting to believe it was a local now. I definitely don't think it was an NPC sorority, but thank you.

Also...it's hard to explain my relationship with my Aunt...but I think I'll just wait 'til Saturday, lol. I asked on here because I know there are tons of people on here from many different GLOs with bounds of knowledge. I'll ask my Aunt and I'll get "it was one of those service sorority things...where's my sun-in?!"

To be honest what I told you is not unique to Google, it is pretty much across databases (I use it for GIS, Geographic Information Systems and library searches), and derives somewhat from Boolean logic.

I suggest you take a trip to your campus library and ask one of the references librarians to give you a quick tutorial as knowing the shortcuts for searching in databases in immensely useful and will help you all throughout life.

***I can't believe I'm using crap I learned in logic class in college, and people think the Liberal Arts and Social Sciences are a waste of time, HA!

At any rate, not many GLOs consider a niece a legacy anyway.

VandalSquirrel,

I know it's for pretty much all databases..trust me, we had to pass a test on searching databases when I was a freshman. It was annoying..and I think you probably know how well I did, haha.

I've done some tutorials, but I have one of those "selective memories" when it comes to this stuff. I could do it a million times and never remember it...because my brain honestly doesn't care. Damn brain :-/

I had thought so, but I guess my school wanted us to include it. :confused: It was a seperate form that said "Legacy Status", and Aunt was included on the drop down list. I don't think it really matters, my school isn't really competitive to my knowledge. I was just curious.

Ya, most university panhellenic offices will include that for the GLOs who do consider nieces to be legacies. When I log onto the recruitment system, it'll give our chapter a list of "legacies" in a separate section, but many of these women have an aunt who is a Gamma Phi, so they aren't really legacies.

It's a good thing to know for all chapters, and it makes sense to be more inclusive rather than less, but I think it misleads PNMs sometimes.

Good luck in recruitment!

There was (maybe still is ?? ) a small national sorority "Sigma Iota CHi." Founded in Louisiana in 1903, it was mainly in private junior colleges for women -- schools not recognized by NPC or by the Ass'n of Education Sororities. It was never particularly large. Some of the schools where it was located banned sororities, or eventually became 4 year schools, or went out of existence.

I know SIX existed into at least the early 1960s, and possibly longer than that.

Every so often an SIX badge shows up on eBay, just as pins from NPC, NPHC and NIC groups do.

I don't know whether SIX ever had a chapter at Widener or at one of the schools that joined together to form what is now Widener.

Some of the older editions of Baird's Manual have short mentions of SIX.

All this isn't a lot of help, but it is a lead to a possibility that your aunt's sorority was part of that national sorority, or possibly a "local' that had been part of national SIX at one time -- just guessing, could be wrong.

Good luck.

Court4short, I went through a similar process with my paternal grandmother. I knew she belonged to a sorority but no one in my family could remember the name. I used the Alumni Services at her school to gain access to old yearbooks where I learned the name of her local sorority. Not much help on the recruitment application, but it was really cool to learn more about such an amazing woman.

I have the Bairds 1949 directory. I didn't find anything in that edition about Sigma Iota Chi.

P.S. For others.. this edition is cool, because it lists what each Fraternity/Sorority did for the WW2 effort. I've never heard about what Pi Phi did.. so it was cool to read about it in this book.

Thanks for all the responses guys - you rock! I'm thinking you're right, exlurker. Oh well, I'll just have to wait til Saturday when I see here...doesn't hurt to ask!

Currently ( that is, for the first several days in January 2010, give or take), a Sigma Iota Chi badge happens to be pictured in an eBay auction:

Item number: 290387094838

Yes, I am not the seller, nor am I associated with the seller. Just posting for information 'cause I'm dedicated to the spread of knowledge among GCers.
Umm-hmm.
Happy new year.

very cool badge!

Also (because I was curious and searched ebay for the term "sigma iota chi") I came up with this:

Item number: 230407414225
The Parchment-- 1947 Sigma Iota Chi College sorority book

It ships from York, PA, if that helps at all. I think it's probably their publication or something. It's 10 bucks plus shipping if you're interested.

Also I just found from googling "sigma iota chi" plus Widener that there were several women who listed SIX as a college activity, and from what I found it must have been in existence between the dates of 1977-1986. Also it was listed that at that time some of the women attended "Brandywine College of Widener University", which apparently was a college that was absorbed by Widener in 1976. I also found through a public facebook group that there were women in SIX up until the year 1988, all who hailed from Brandywine College. From what I can piece together it was a local GLO that must have disbanded some time after that. However you could probably also email the head of Greek life at Widener (contact info can be found here) for more information and history about Widener GLO's.

That badge looks beautiful!

did you ever find out?

I am a sister of Alpha Xi Delta Epsilon Lambda. Before I became a member, we needed to know about Sigma Iota Chi because they were colonized by Axid, since they were a local chapter.


PS. 33girl thanks for helping me out on here hehe =]

You mean there was a local called Sigma Iota Chi and they were then colonized by A Xi D. :) I know you're new and probably don't know all the terminology, but saying they "changed their name" kinda makes it sound like they're perping or don't have authority from the national organization. I didn't want anyone to read the post and misunderstand.

I wrote that to fast sorry. But yes you are correct! I am new to this chat but not new to Axid

But thank you for correcting it for me =0]

No prob. Go Eagles!!!! :) (normally I wouldn't say that but against the smelly Cowboys I will)

From Baird's 1920
"Sigma Iota Chi-- This sorority was organized in 1903 at Alexandria, Louisiana. It is one of the Junior grade. The active chapters are Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Lindenwood College, Stephens College (Columbia Mo), Hardin College, Belhaven College (Jackson Miss), St Katharines (Bolivar Tenn) Grenada College (Grenada Miss), Central College (Lexington Mo), Colorado Woman's College, Greenville Woman's College (Greenville NC), The inactive chapters are Winchester College (Tenn), Ward's Seminary, Hannah Moore Academy, Belmont College (Nashville), National Cathedral Academy, Potter College, Virginia College (Roanoke Va), Campbell-Hageman College (Ky), Gunston Hall Crescent College (Ark), Brenau College, Shorter College Ward- Belmont College. There are ten active chapters and the membership is 856."

More info from Baird's 1912:
"A journal called the Parchment is issued three times a year. The badge is a shield displaying the skull and bones and a scroll on which are the letters S I X. The flower is the violet the jewel is the amethyst and the colors are purple and gold.

"This sorority was organized in 1903 at Alexandria, Louisiana by the alumnae of two academies viz St. James and St. Xaviers. This chapter has always been composed entirely of alumnae. An undergraduate chapter was placed in 1904 at Winchester College Tennessee and since then only undergraduate chapters have established. "

My cousin was a TKE at Rider in the early 1960's. He recently told me that his wife was a Sigma Iota Chi at Rider at the same time.

The Rider Greek Life site says that SIX became AXiD in 1967, just after she graduated.

The OP listed her location as PA and since Rider is just across the river in NJ, I thought that this was a good candidate for the OP's aunt.

AH! Thats soooo exciting! (im farbie0830 had to change my name!)

We have a composite of Sigma Iota Chi in our house! Tell her she should stop by Rider the girls would LOVE to hear stories and show her around! =]

She said her aunt went to Widener, but that could have been another local by the same name.

I *know* this is bringing this back from the dead, but I think I found the answer. If she was at Brandywine College, which became Widener's Delaware campus, they had a Sigma Iota Chi, which was the sister sorority to the chapter of Alpha Phi Omega.