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Originally posted by FSUZeta
i believe that delta zeta absorbed another sorority sometime in their history. can any delta zeta's confirm this?
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Beta Phi Alpha was founded at the University of California- Berkeley in May of 1909 and was the first college fraternity for women on the Pacific coast. Originally called "Bid-A-Wee," the girls club was sponsored by the university to meet a very difficult housing problem. Little did their Founders dream that one day their little club was to become the mother chapter of a national organization. In 1912 the name Bid-A-Wee was changed to "Aldebaran" after the star, and in 1919Aldebaran was oficially changed to Beta Phi Alpha. Following expansion, Beta Phi Alpha was admitted to the National Panhellenic Council (NPC) in 1923 as the nineteenth member and held the chairmanship of NPC from 1935 to 1937. The merger of Beta Phi Alpha with Delta Zeta in 1941 brought two National Convention traditions: the gavel which opens and closes every convention and the song Convention Lights. The gavel had been given to Beta Phi Alpha by one of its Founders, Elsa Ludeke, and made from the tusk of a walrus. It contains the names of both Delta Zet and Beta Phi Alpha Founders and National Presidents. At the 1941 Beta Phi Alpha National Convention, those present were initiated into Delta Zeta. It was a tearful conclusion when, at the final banquet, they sang Convention Lights for what they thought would be the last time. But it was only a beginning for the song has been sung, still tearfully, at the final banquet of every Delta Zeta convention since.
Phi Omega Pi, founded as the Achoth Sorority on March 5, 1910, at the University of Nebraska, began as an organization for girls who were affiliated with the chapters of the Order of the Eastern Star. The name Achoth was taken from Hebrew, signifying "sisters," and it is interesting to note that one of the girls invited to the founding meetings was Pearl Barton, a friend of the sponsors but a member of Delta Zeta and thus ineligible for membership. In 1932 it was decided to join the Greeks and the name was changed to Phi Omega Pi. In 1933, in order to be accepted into full membership in NPC, the Masonic affiliation requirement was dropped. Also in 1933, Sigma Phi Beta, founded at the University of New York on November 1, 1920 and originally named Sigma Sigma Omicron, merged with Phi Omega Pi. A second group, Phi Alpha Chi, founded at the University of California- Berkeley in 1919 and originally known as "The Tanewan," had already merged with Sigma Phi Beta. Thus, after 1933 Achoth, Tanewan, Phi Alpha Chi, and Sigma Beta Phi members were all sisters in Phi Omega Pi. On August 10, 1946, Phi Omega Pi was accepted into membership in Delta Zeta. This merger brought the Achoth Award to Delta Zeta honoring alumnae serving long and well on the local level.
An interesting note is that before negotiations with DZ, Phi Omega Pi (POP as they called themselves) approached AOII. AOII declined to accept the entire group. We did accept the Auburn chapter and that is how our Delta Delta Chapter came into being on August 10, 1946. I also have a 1932 POP song book.
Delta Sigma Epsilon was organized on September 23, 1914 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Because their Founders represented high scholarship and splendid ideals, they were selected by Dean Minnich of the College of Education to organize a new sorority. In 1917, the sorority's fifth chapter was installed and Delta Sigma Epsilon was admitted into the National Panhellenic for Education Sororities, then called the Association of Pedagogical Sororities. From that date, Delta Sigma Epsilon played a leading role in determining and perfecting the policies of that national association which was later renamed the Association of Education Sororities. Delta Sigma Epsilon became a member of NPC in 1947 and on August 22, 1956, merged with Delta Zeta. With this union, two awards were added to those already given at Convention: the Genevieve Schmitt Memorial plaque, which is awarded to the collegiate chapter with the highest scholastic rating between Conventions; and the See Loving Cup, originally the Loving Cup honoring Adelaide See, who served as Delta Sigma Epsilon National President from 1918 to 1920, and given to the chapter having the highest "efficiency" between conclaves. Since Delta Zeta already had both the council and Founders Awards, which were given to achieving chapters, a new criteria was established. The See Loving Cup is now given to the chapter which has shown unusual improvementin any or all areas since the last Convention.
Theta Upsilon traces its beginning back to 1909 when their Founders joined forces at the University of California, making scholarship and friendship thier aim. In 1913-14, the group decided to organize under the university and chose the Indian name, Mekatina, meaning "Among the Hills," and January 1, 1914 was the formal date of their founding. With the growth in numbers and campus standing came the desire to become a national Greek letter fraternity. On February 7, 1921, Mekatina girls were pledged to Theta Upsilon, a national fraternity for women whose plan was already outlined and whose ritual had been perfected by Ida Shaw Martin of the Sorority Service Bureau. On April 24, 1921, Mekatina became the Alpha chapter of Theta Upsilon and birth was given at a university whose motto is the same as the open motto of Theta Upsilon: "Let There Be Light." In 1932 Alpha Sigma Delta, founded as the Iaqua Club in 1919 at the University of California, merged with Lambda Omega, an associate member of NPC. Lambda Omega had been founded at the University of California in 1923, and its origin went back to the Norroena Club founded at Berkeley in 1915. Norroena, meaning "Breath of the North," developed its ritual around an Indian legend and had a Norse Motif emphasizing the hardihood, hospitality, economy, and friendship of the Norse people. In September of 1933, Lambda Omega merged with Theta Upsilon. On May 6, 1962, Theta Upsilon was accepted into membership in Delta Zeta Sorority.