Iota Alpha Pi??

[notaffiliated]

My mom started Iota Alpha Pi at Syracuse in the early 40's. She said she did it cause she was barred from joining any other house due to her religion.

[pinksirfidel]

Thanks for digging this thread back up! It is so interesting to read the history of this sorority! It just makes me think about how many other sororities have been forgotten? I hope the Iota Alpha Pi sisters find a way to keep in touch.

Quick question: Was D Phi E (Delta Phi Epsilon) founded upon Jewish traditions?

[33girl]

No. D Phi E was founded as a nonsectarian sorority. Some of the founders just happened to be Jewish.

[Denise_DPhiE]

Phi sigma Sigma was the first non-sectarian sorority (1913 in NYC) and DPhiE was also founded as a non-sectarian (1917 in NYC) but they didn't know PSS was also doing this in same city. This was long before email and facebook folks

Many members in the first 50 years of our existence were Jewish but that has diversified over the years.

[Tikva02]

Originally Posted by jwaldman

I was sad to find out that IAPi is no more. I was a member of the Omicron chapter at Queens College in Flushing NY, graduating in 1964. It was a predominately Jewish sorority and one of the most active and highly regarded sororities on campus. Because Queens was a very large, commuter school, it made it harder make a place for yourself, but, being in a sorority made it possible. We met a our "spot" on the Quad and had a specific table in the Cafeteria. There was always a sister around to hang out with. Our pledges put on Greek Letter Day skits competing against the other sororities. Happily, Iota won more times than not. We had parties with Phi Ep, AEPi, TEP. Many of my sisters married men (boys) from these fraternities, myself included.
I, too, have lost touch with my sisters, but have vivid memories of very happy times.

I joined Iota at Queens College in 1968. The chapter was vibrant and very active even at that time. I vividly remember the Iota table in the "Caf" , which if I am recalling correctly, was between Phi Ep on one side and Delta Phi Epsilon on the other. I recall wearing one red knee sock and one black knee sock as well as my red pledge beenie to school every day during pledging. You would not have been able to predict for an instant that the National would have been dissolved by 1971.

[mjberger]

I remember you, and of course Michael, from those very good days. I was a year behind you so you may not remember me but I have very fond memories of the phi-ep/ iota interactions and the yearly skits we put on together. The Iota "girls" I hung out with were Sue Schlitsky (?) and Ellen Katz (married phi-ep Lonney Coven), who is giving senior aerobic courses out on the Island. Your posting brought back so many good memories of the three plus years I was in phi-ep. Thanks! Marc

Originally Posted by jwaldman

I was sad to find out that IAPi is no more. I was a member of the Omicron chapter at Queens College in Flushing NY, graduating in 1964. It was a predominately Jewish sorority and one of the most active and highly regarded sororities on campus. Because Queens was a very large, commuter school, it made it harder make a place for yourself, but, being in a sorority made it possible. We met a our "spot" on the Quad and had a specific table in the Cafeteria. There was always a sister around to hang out with. Our pledges put on Greek Letter Day skits competing against the other sororities. Happily, Iota won more times than not. We had parties with Phi Ep, AEPi, TEP. Many of my sisters married men (boys) from these fraternities, myself included.
I, too, have lost touch with my sisters, but have vivid memories of very happy times.

[jwaldman]

I'm sure I would remember you, but I assume that Berger is your married name. Sue was my pledge daughter. You were the pledge class that did the NY Times/Daily News skit for Greek Letter Day. I actually taught that skit to my campers one summer and they put it on for the whole camp. Everyone loved it. I've been in touch with a few sisters on Facebook and we are hoping to get a list of names together for a possible reunion. Maybe you can check it out.

[IotaSister]

I was a member of the Iota Alpha Pi chapter at Adelphi College (now Adelphi University), in Garden City, N.Y., between 1957-1961. At the time, Adelphi was largely a commuter college and, as others have mentioned in this thread, joining a sorority gave me a sense of being connected to the campus and to a large group of friends I could always find sitting in the Panhellenic Lounge or in the cafeteria. In those days, all of the sororities and fraternities on campus restricted membership by religion, although there was nothing remotely religious, about any of IAPi's activities, it was simply a sorority which a young Jewish woman was able to join.
Our chapter was large and robust and, particularly in my Freshman and Sophomore years, it formed the core of my social circle. I spent considerably more time in the cafeteria drinking coffee, and playing bridge, with my sisters than I spent in classes. I fondly remember the red pledge beanies, practicing for our competitions with the other sororities, and the feeling of pride I had as a member of Iota Alphi Pi. During my Junior year I became more academically serious and began focusing on graduate school and a Ph.D. program, and a profession, at a time when most of my sorority sisters, like most young women of that era, were more concerned with finding husbands and settling into marriage soon after graduation from Adelphi. So, while I remained active in Iota, it became less and less central in my life those last two years at Adelphi. I did not maintain contact with my sisters after I went on to graduate school.
But I cannot imagine what my college experience would have been like without the sense of belonging and solid social support I gained from being a member of Iota Alpha Pi. I had just turned 17 when I started college, and was still very much an adolescent, not particularly sophisticated or self confident. My older sorority sisters seemed so knowing and more mature, I still remember how I looked up to them, with more than a tinge of envy for their greater sense of self-assurance. How I might have floundered without their help.
I also still remember how, in the days before the Women's Movement, we would sit in the cafeteria and discuss a woman's place in society, and whether many would be wasting their education, and their potential, by becoming only housewives and mothers, and whether woman deserved to expand their sexual freedom, as men seemed able to do so easily. This was at a time when women were not even allowed to wear pants on our campus, unless there was snow on the ground. Those discussions in the late 1950's certainly made me think, and definitely influenced how I felt about conformity and conventional norms of femininity. And it was my older and wiser IAPi sisters who encouraged me to think about such things years before the larger culture began grappling with the same feminist issues.

I am sorry to learn that Iota no longer exists. In the safe, protected sphere of my memory, those lively, lovely young women will always be hanging out together in Panhellenic Hall.

[Barbie's_Rush]

Originally Posted by IotaSister

I was a member of the Iota Alpha Pi chapter at Adelphi College (now Adelphi University), in Garden City, N.Y., between 1957-1961. At the time, Adelphi was largely a commuter college and, as others have mentioned in this thread, joining a sorority gave me a sense of being connected to the campus and to a large group of friends I could always find sitting in the Panhellenic Lounge or in the cafeteria. In those days, all of the sororities and fraternities on campus restricted membership by religion, although there was nothing remotely religious, about any of IAPi's activities, it was simply a sorority which a young Jewish woman was able to join.
Our chapter was large and robust and, particularly in my Freshman and Sophomore years, it formed the core of my social circle. I spent considerably more time in the cafeteria drinking coffee, and playing bridge, with my sisters than I spent in classes. I fondly remember the red pledge beanies, practicing for our competitions with the other sororities, and the feeling of pride I had as a member of Iota Alphi Pi. During my Junior year I became more academically serious and began focusing on graduate school and a Ph.D. program, and a profession, at a time when most of my sorority sisters, like most young women of that era, were more concerned with finding husbands and settling into marriage soon after graduation from Adelphi. So, while I remained active in Iota, it became less and less central in my life those last two years at Adelphi. I did not maintain contact with my sisters after I went on to graduate school.
But I cannot imagine what my college experience would have been like without the sense of belonging and solid social support I gained from being a member of Iota Alpha Pi. I had just turned 17 when I started college, and was still very much an adolescent, not particularly sophisticated or self confident. My older sorority sisters seemed so knowing and more mature, I still remember how I looked up to them, with more than a tinge of envy for their greater sense of self-assurance. How I might have floundered without their help.
I also still remember how, in the days before the Women's Movement, we would sit in the cafeteria and discuss a woman's place in society, and whether many would be wasting their education, and their potential, by becoming only housewives and mothers, and whether woman deserved to expand their sexual freedom, as men seemed able to do so easily. This was at a time when women were not even allowed to wear pants on our campus, unless there was snow on the ground. Those discussions in the late 1950's certainly made me think, and definitely influenced how I felt about conformity and conventional norms of femininity. And it was my older and wiser IAPi sisters who encouraged me to think about such things years before the larger culture began grappling with the same feminist issues.

I am sorry to learn that Iota no longer exists. In the safe, protected sphere of my memory, those lively, lovely young women will always be hanging out together in Panhellenic Hall.

I seriously think this is one of the coolest posts I have ever seen on Greekchat!

[jwaldman]

I was jist reading the last lengthy quote on this thread, and re-read your posting and my reply. I neglected to notice you signed it Marc, and i replied as if you were one of my sisters. A little late, but i apologize. Sue Shlitsky was my "little sister" and i thought she was terrific. I'm glad you remember Michael. He passed away about 14 years ago, so it's nice to know you recall who he is. Sorry again for the error in gender.

[goldendelta]

Originally Posted by IotaSister

I was a member of the Iota Alpha Pi chapter at Adelphi College (now Adelphi University), in Garden City, N.Y., between 1957-1961. At the time, Adelphi was largely a commuter college and, as others have mentioned in this thread, joining a sorority gave me a sense of being connected to the campus and to a large group of friends I could always find sitting in the Panhellenic Lounge or in the cafeteria. In those days, all of the sororities and fraternities on campus restricted membership by religion, although there was nothing remotely religious, about any of IAPi's activities, it was simply a sorority which a young Jewish woman was able to join.
Our chapter was large and robust and, particularly in my Freshman and Sophomore years, it formed the core of my social circle. I spent considerably more time in the cafeteria drinking coffee, and playing bridge, with my sisters than I spent in classes. I fondly remember the red pledge beanies, practicing for our competitions with the other sororities, and the feeling of pride I had as a member of Iota Alphi Pi. During my Junior year I became more academically serious and began focusing on graduate school and a Ph.D. program, and a profession, at a time when most of my sorority sisters, like most young women of that era, were more concerned with finding husbands and settling into marriage soon after graduation from Adelphi. So, while I remained active in Iota, it became less and less central in my life those last two years at Adelphi. I did not maintain contact with my sisters after I went on to graduate school.
But I cannot imagine what my college experience would have been like without the sense of belonging and solid social support I gained from being a member of Iota Alpha Pi. I had just turned 17 when I started college, and was still very much an adolescent, not particularly sophisticated or self confident. My older sorority sisters seemed so knowing and more mature, I still remember how I looked up to them, with more than a tinge of envy for their greater sense of self-assurance. How I might have floundered without their help.
I also still remember how, in the days before the Women's Movement, we would sit in the cafeteria and discuss a woman's place in society, and whether many would be wasting their education, and their potential, by becoming only housewives and mothers, and whether woman deserved to expand their sexual freedom, as men seemed able to do so easily. This was at a time when women were not even allowed to wear pants on our campus, unless there was snow on the ground. Those discussions in the late 1950's certainly made me think, and definitely influenced how I felt about conformity and conventional norms of femininity. And it was my older and wiser IAPi sisters who encouraged me to think about such things years before the larger culture began grappling with the same feminist issues.

I am sorry to learn that Iota no longer exists. In the safe, protected sphere of my memory, those lively, lovely young women will always be hanging out together in Panhellenic Hall.

Wow! This is so cool. I graduated from Adelphi in 2002 and I can't believe how much it has changed since you graduated. Thank you so much for a glimpse into AU's Greek past! I'd love to hear any more stories if you would like to share.

[judgejoyce]

Hi,
I was the Regional Parlimentarian for the NY Metro Area from 19965-66. I had wondered about what happened as well. Apparently there is an article on Wikipedia "In July 1971, the international headquarters voted to disband Iota Alpha Pi (Heller)."

If there are any alums in CT I'd love to hear from you as that's were I live these days. I'd also love to hear from NYC alums as I get into the city regularly.

[AGDAlum]

Suggested reading: "Going Greek: Jewish College Fraternities in the United States," by Marianne Rachel Sanua.
http://books.google.com/books/about/...d=1u0sPzMEwOUC

[pas]

I live in NYC and am very interested to learn more about the history of IAII!

[ajc1103]

I am looking for sisters of Iota Alpha Pi. I found a website/blog that seems to have some research: http://iotaalphapi.blogspot.com

Are there any sisters on here?