Everything about Delta Zeta totally explained
Delta Zeta (
ΔΖ) is a college
sorority founded on
October 24,
1902, at
Miami University in
Oxford, Ohio. Today, Delta Zeta has 165 college chapters in the United States and 250 alumnae chapters in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. In total there are over 180,000 college and alumnae members. In 2007, the sorority received a great deal of media attention regarding a controversy at
DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana where the national organization was accused of placing members on alumnae status based on appearance and not on the women's commitment to recruitment, as the organization asserts.
History
In 1902, Dr.
Guy Potter Benton was elected as the new President of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of the first things that Dr. Benton did was to allow young women to enroll in the previously all-male University.
That coming fall, six of the newly admitted female students organized the first sorority chapter, an idea that was widely accepted due to the three fraternities that already existed.
Seeking help in the planning of such an organization, the six women consulted Dr. Benton. He was familiar with the processes of a Greek organization due to his membership in
Phi Delta Theta fraternity and therefore became a helpful resource for the girls in the establishment of the first Delta Zeta chapter. The six women faced harassment for wanting to form a sorority. One account tells of a person stealing the constitution from the hand of the group's secretary, however Dr. Benton pursued the offender and was able to get the constitution back.
It was on October 24, 1902, that the Department of the State of Ohio issued formal Articles of Incorporation establishing the Delta Zeta Sorority. The founding members were stated as follows; Alfa Lloyd Hayes, Mary Jane Collins, Anna Louise Keen, Julia Lawrence Bishop, Mabelle May Minton, and Anne Dial Simmons.
Dr. Benton aided in preparation of a ritual, badge, and colors. Four new members soon became part of the sisterhood, Elizabeth Coulter being the first. Dr. Benton was named as Grand Patron, and became the first and only man to ever wear the Delta Zeta badge.
The sorority joined the
National Panhellenic Conference in 1910. The year 2002 marked the 100th year and Centennial Celebration for Delta Zeta. Chapters nationwide celebrated the event as well as a special convocation during the summer at the Delta Zeta National Convention.
Philanthropy
The sorority supports several programs for the hearing and speech impaired. The national philanthropic project is the Sound Beginnings Program which raises awareness for newborn hearing screening. Individual chapters are also involved in fundraising for
Gallaudet University, and programs such as
House Ear Institute.
In 2006 Delta Zeta partnered with
The Painted Turtle and The Starkey Hearing Foundation; adding both to the national philanthropic project.
The Delta Zeta Foundation
The Delta Zeta Foundation is a non-profit entity within the organization that provides various scholarships to members of the sorority as well as providing funds for leadership, philanthropy and education programs.
Mission statement
Article II
"The purpose of this sorority shall be to unite its members in the bonds of sincere and lasting friendship, to stimulate one another in the pursuit of knowledge, to promote the moral and social culture of its members, and to develop plans for guidance and unity in action; objects worthy of the highest aim and purpose of associated effort."
DePauw University controversy
At the end of 2006, the Delta Chapter of Delta Zeta at DePauw University became enmeshed in a controversy that would eventually make national headlines and result in the chapter's closing. Founded in 1909, the Delta chapter was the sorority's second oldest active chapter and its fourth oldest chapter overall. Despite its long history at DePauw, however, the Delta chapter in recent years had struggled with declining membership and acquired a negative reputation on campus.
Background
In
August 2006, national representatives, concerned about the Delta chapter's inability to recruit new members, announced that the chapter would be closed at the end of the 2006–7 school year if they failed to increase their numbers substantially or elected not to participate in active recruitment or informal
rush. At a school where an estimated 70% of the student body belongs to a fraternity or sorority, the ΔΖ house was two-thirds empty. According to some former members, the chapter was known on campus as "The Dog House," and a DePauw psychology professor's survey of students found that ΔΖ was considered "socially awkward." The sorority attracted "brainy women" many with science and math majors along with the gifted disabled. In
September 2006, however, the university informed ΔΖ headquarters that if the chapter were closed, it wouldn't be allowed to reopen on the sorority's chosen timetable.) A few days after the interview process, the national team with women from ΔΖ's
Epsilon Chapter
at nearby
Indiana University held a recruiting event in the house, where some allege 25 of the chapter members were asked not to participate and to remain out of sight. A February 25, 2007,
New York Times article quoted one former Delta Chapter member as saying, "They had these unassuming freshman girls downstairs with these plastic women from Indiana University, and 25 of my sisters hiding upstairs. It was so fake, so completely dehumanized." but in early
December 2006—shortly before finals week at DePauw—national headquarters sent out letters informing members that they were either still active or had been recommended for alumnae status and were to move out of the house by the end of
January 2007. Each new alumna received $300 to cover the difference between sorority housing and campus housing; nonetheless, many of the women were unsure that they'd find another place to live. The university eventually found housing for the evicted women.
On March 1, 2007, Delta Zeta headquarters announced that it would no longer respond to media inquiries about the DePauw chapter. As of March 6, the sorority's national Web site features an apology to the evicted students but still includes a letter calling into question those women's loyalty to the chapter and blaming them in part for its recent struggles.
On March 12, 2007, Bottoms withdrew Delta Zeta's status as a recognized campus organization, stating that the national organization's values, as demonstrated by the evictions, are not compatible with the university's. The sorority was required to leave DePauw following the conclusion of the 2006–2007 academic year. Delta Zeta responded with a statement on the front page of its Web site expressing disappointment with Bottoms's decision and reiterating its position that the review was necessary, but conceding that the 23 alumnae should probably have been notified of their change in status in person and at a different point in the school year. Bottoms characterized the
New York Times story as inaccurate and a misrepresentation of the school.
Meanwhile, 10 Delta Chapter alumnae have formed a college-sanctioned student organization,
Psi Lambda Xi, with the goal of becoming a new sorority. A founder said, "The founding purpose of the sorority is to promote a positive self-image in each other, the University and the community."
Legal actions
On March 29, 2007, it was reported in the
New York Times that Delta Zeta's national office, based in
Oxford, Ohio, had filed suit in U.S. Federal District Court in
Indianapolis against DePauw University for expelling the sorority from campus. The university said the lawsuit completely lacks merit. "From the beginning, DePauw University has acted to protect its students." In November, 2007, Delta Zeta withdrew the lawsuit and DePauw agreed that the sorority will have the opportunity to compete with other sororities attempting to colonize a chapter on the campus beginning in academic year 2010/11.
Meanwhile, eight former members hired an attorney seeking an apology and other corrective actions from Delta Zeta's national office. If negotiations fail, that'll consider filing a lawsuit.
In 1999, eight former members of the sorority's
Alpha Theta Chapter at the
University of Kentucky sued the national organization, claiming they'd been forced to take early alumnae status based on their appearance during a similar reorganization. ΔΖ settled the lawsuit in 2001. The attorney who represented the women from Kentucky called the sorority's actions toward the DePauw chapter "egregious."
DePauw University student responses
In response to the controversy, Delta's six remaining active members issued a statement alleging that their chapter had been misrepresented in the original
New York Times article.
Concern was expressed by other students that at a meeting held February 2, 2007, an educational leadership consultant from Delta Zeta national stated, "Image, I'm not going to lie to you, is a huge part of it."
Since the reorganization and before the national publicity, 8 of 11 freshman women who received invitations to join Delta Zeta during formal recruitment chose not to become members. One said, "We all got together and talked about it and tried to have an open mind. But all of us were really against what they did, and we didn't want to be associated with it." "It will be a concern because if you bring on a sorority with nationwide conflict," said the Panhellenic director of recruitment, "that's taking a big liability." The Panhellenic president stated that the recent events at DePauw were a factor in the decision.
Notable alumnae
For a full list of notable Delta Zeta alumnae please visit here. (External Link)
Collegiate Chapters
Further Information
Get more info on 'Delta Zeta'.
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