Delta chapter sisters: collegians and alumnae
 

In case any Delta sisters happen to be visiting this forum, I just want to say that I support you, love you and wish the very best for you and your chapter.

In the Rose and Green,
dzrose93

Sorry for crashing, but I've seen this all over the news and I just wanted to extend my sympathy and support for the sisters of this chapter as well. I can't imagine what you're going through and I hope everything turns out well. You have others in the national Greek community supporting you for sure.

Cosign. You are our sisters & we're here for you, no matter what!

Sisters forever.

"To my friends, understanding and appreciation"

"love that is ever steadfast"
a sisters love doesn't end.

DZ is #1 With Me
 

As the father of a DZ active at the University of Alabama, I support Delta Zeta 100%. Mistakes, misconceptions and other human frailties surface in every organization, including your very own incredible sorority. This will pass. Delta Zeta will emerge intact from this negative publicity by virtue of its outstanding membership. Smile, ladies, because DZ is the best!

BamaDad DZ

Cosign, too! I am so proud to call ALL of you my sisters!!

And another cosign! We ARE Delta Zeta. We ARE diverse. We ARE sisters. And like BamaDad DZ said, we ARE the best :) Love you all and I am PROUD to be a Delta Zeta!!

I just wanted to send out my support, not only to the Delta chapter sisters, but to all women who wear a Delta Zeta badge. Obviously this is not an easy time for any of us. Stay strong, stay true, and remember that no one walks alone.

Love in the flame.

Ladies, hate to tell you, but our National needs some work. To some extent, I believe all sororities struggle with this issue. It's a societal issue, not a Greek issue.

Unfortunately, National behaved crassly. Unfortunately, I experienced the same issues in the 1980's when I was supervised by National as Rush Chairman for my Chapter (in the Midwest).

Appreciate the support, but we need to stand together as sisters (both as Delta Zetas and Panhellenically) and ask ourselves a few questions:

-Am I open to people who are different from me?
-Is my chapter reflective of society, or does everybody look, sound, pray and act in a similar manner?
-How do we communicate expectations for improvement in a sister's contribution to the Chapter? Is it neutrally determined and communicated, without regard to ethnicity, religion, personal appearance and other such factors?
-In light of what has happened at DePauw, how can my Chapter discuss this topic, and identify written standards at the local level to ensure diversity and inclusive membership practices?
-How do we communicate these principles to our local community?

National never has gotten it. My rush advisor had the best of intentions, but she wanted us to rush in a uniform of blue button-down shirts, khaki shorts, belts, and penny loafers. I was told directly to watch the Asian concentration in the pledge class, as we had so many Asian girls in the Chapter. I was told we couldn't take the risk of pledging an African-American girl because we were not "high enough" in the pecking order to do so. I hid my bid list from my advisor so no cuts could be made without the knowledge of Invitational.

This type of conduct and attitude is a daily part of society. Why do you think organizations like Alpha Kappa Alpha (awesome group of women!) and Omega Phi Psi developed? Because of segregation. Stand up with your opinions and convictions. Stick to them. As alums, you will be tarred by the same brush. I love my sisters. 20 years later, we still email regularly. But, I don't want to be known as someone who condones discrimination.

Delta Zetas are usually known for their integrity. How do you define yours?

In DZ,

I have more thoughts on this that I'd like to express, but I am quite tired and need to be more coherent to speak intelligently! I didn't want to answer the proposed questions, though.

-Am I open to people who are different from me? Absolutely. I have friends of different races, religions, political affiliations, social views, etc. I love them just the same, though.
-Is my chapter reflective of society, or does everybody look, sound, pray and act in a similar manner? In my chapter, when I was active, yes we were reflective of society. We had members of different races, different "types" of ladies - if you want to label them, we had the girls that parties, the girls that studied, quiet girls, outgoing girls, beauty queens, talented women, and just every day average, but fantastic women. We had girls on the dance team, color guard, student government, honor societies, band and the student feminism movement. I can't speak of my chapter before I pledged (1998) and things changed a year or two after I graduated, unfortunately.
-How do we communicate expectations for improvement in a sister's contribution to the Chapter? Is it neutrally determined and communicated, without regard to ethnicity, religion, personal appearance and other such factors? Expectations should be across the board. There should be no difference in the expectations of a sister who is African American or a sister who is overweight from a sister who is Miss LSU. When we join Delta Zeta, or any sorority or organization, certain responsibilites are expected of us and we should all fulfill those obligations equally. Of course, some women want to take on further leadership roles, but in general, the expectations should never differ for any reason, especially superficial reasons.
-In light of what has happened at DePauw, how can my Chapter discuss this topic, and identify written standards at the local level to ensure diversity and inclusive membership practices? My collegiate chapter closed in December, so right now this subject is not applicable. However, when we reorganize in the next 2 years, I would like to see a diverse group of women as our first pledge class and continue that trend. That is why most of us at MTSU pledged DZ - because we were the sorority that you could feel at home in and be yourself in. When we reorganize, I want to see that reinstituted.
-How do we communicate these principles to our local community? This is something we've been discussing as alumnae. Whether it is writing local papers or speaking with the media about our personal experience with these principles, I think it is crucial for the community to recognize that Delta Zeta embraces diversity and ALL of our sisters. It could be as simple as wearing Delta Zeta colors, letters, etc. when you are out in a group to show that "we are Delta Zetas and we are a group of diverse women".

Okay, I am about to fall asleep, so I hope that made sense and all was spelled correctly!! :)

Co-sign


My heart truly goes out to y'all right now. Y'all have gotten dragged into a situation that wasn't asked for. I truly hope that chapters don't get affected negatively. And you know if a PNM walks in talking about it, hold your heads up high.

Chapters close, it's a fact of life. My own chapter closed due to low numbers and rumors about the sisters on campus. You deal, you move on and you keep your head high.

I have nothing but a special place in my heart of DZ. (Because two girls I wrote recs for went DZ) :D