Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta | |
---|---|
ΚΑΘ | |
Black Gold | |
Symbol | Kite, Twin Stars |
Flower | Black and Gold Pansy |
Publication | The Kappa Alpha Theta Magazine |
Philanthropy | Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation, The Friendship Fund |
Chapters | 212 collegiate, 200+ alumnae |
Members | 270,000+ collegiate |
Headquarters | 8740 Founders Road Indianapolis, Indiana 46268 United States |
Website | kappaalphatheta.org |
Kappa Alpha Theta (ΚΑΘ), commonly referred to simply as Theta, is an international
Kappa Alpha Theta is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), an umbrella organization that encompasses 26 social sororities found throughout North America. The organization's own headquarters are located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
History
This article is written like a story.(June 2018) |
The Alpha chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta was founded at Indiana Asbury University, now DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, on January 27, 1870. The university began admitting women in 1867 after 30 years of a male-only student body. However, women were excluded from male-only clubs and societies. In response to the lack of women's organizations, the fraternity's founding members established the first Greek letter women's organization. The Founders were:
- Elizabeth McReynolds Locke Hamilton (Bettie Locke)
- Alice Olive Allen Brant (Alice Allen)
- Elizabeth Tipton Lindsey (Bettie Tipton)
- Hannah Virginia Fitch Shaw (Hannah Fitch)[1][2]
Bettie Locke developed the idea for a Greek letter women's society through the encouragement of her father, a professor at Indiana Asbury and a member of Beta Theta Pi, and the members of Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) at Indiana Asbury, which included her brother. Initially, the collegiate men of FIJI offered Locke their badge as a token of their friendship, but voted against initiating her as a member. Locke refused to wear the badge as she did not know the secrets and purposes the badge represented, since she was unable to become a member. Ultimately, the fraternity gifted her a symbolic silver fruit basket instead to represent their relationship and fondness for her.
Upon discovering that there were no Greek letter fraternities for women in existence (only
Theta's grand convention voted to establish a magazine in 1885 and to place its editorship with Kappa chapter at Kansas. In the intervening years, Kappa Alpha Theta's magazine has undergone a change of title from The Journal to The Kappa Alpha Theta Magazine and a change of publication schedule (from monthly to quarterly). The Kappa Alpha Theta Magazine currently is published in April, June, September, and December of each year.[5]
In 1887, Theta became an international organization with the establishment of the Sigma chapter at the University of Toronto. This became the first Canadian women's fraternity.[2][6]
G. William Domhoff, writing in Who Rules America?, listed Kappa Alpha Theta as one of "the four or five sororities with nationwide prestige" in the mid-1960s.[7]
Symbols
Kappa Alpha Theta's colors are
Chapters
Kappa Alpha Theta has more than 143 active college chapters and more than 212 alumnae chapters across the United States and Canada. Alumnae chapters are alumnae groups that have been granted charters from Grand Council. The following is a list of the chapters of Kappa Alpha Theta:[2][9]
Philanthropy
The Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation was founded in 1960 and is the philanthropic arm of the organization. The Theta Foundation awards annual undergraduate and graduate scholarships to its members, awarding more than $1.1 million per year. In addition to scholarships, the Theta Foundation also supports the sorority's educational programs as well as its international philanthropy,
Notable members
Some notable alumni of Kappa Alpha Theta include
Laura Bush was a member of the Beta Sigma chapter at Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas. Her daughters Barbara and Jenna Bush were members at Yale University and the University of Texas at Austin, respectively. Tory Burch, an American fashion designer, businesswoman, and philanthropist was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta at the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia. Amy Holmes, an American journalist and political commentator, was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta at Princeton University. Sheryl Crow was a member at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan's current governor, was a Theta at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.[11] Amy Grant, an American singer, was a member of the Alpha Eta chapter at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.[12][9]
The first women admitted to Phi Beta Kappa honor society were Thetas.[citation needed]
Local chapter misconduct
In 2000, the chapter at the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati was temporarily suspended for hazing. The pledges were forced to endure several demeaning tasks, one of which included crawling up the steps of the sorority house for the amusement of their big sisters.[13]
In 2000, the chapter at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida was shut down after a drinking party sent newly pledged members to the hospital. One member passed out and was placed on a respirator that night.[14]
In 2008, the chapter at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York was suspended for four years after an alcohol-hazing related incident.[15]
In 2014, the chapter at Columbia University in New York City was under national scrutiny after hosting a racially and ethnically insensitive event that went viral. Some of the costumes worn by sorority members were based on stereotypes meant to represent Mexico, Japan, the Netherlands, Ireland, Jamaica, and other countries. The sorority publicly apologized for the event.[16]
In 2016, the 137-year old chapter at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan was suspended by the university for underage drinking and hazing. The chapter was disbanded by the national organization a few weeks later for violating the suspension.[17][18]
In 2018, chapters at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi and Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina were closed for failure to meet quota. There was a great deal of opposition, since members felt they were being unfairly punished, simply for being less popular than other National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) sororities on campus, and not for risk management or academic issues.[19][20]
In 2019, the president of the chapter at Randolph–Macon College in Ashland, Virginia was found to have hazed members of the organization living within the chapter facility.[citation needed]
In February 2022, the members of the Eta Mu chapter at Occidental College in Los Angeles voted to disband the chapter following a controversy with a member, who reportedly sent anti-Asian and anti-Black messages in a private group chat among friends in a December 2020 incident that did not surface until two years later.[21]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0963715906.
- ^ a b c d William Raimond Baird; Carroll Lurding (eds.). "Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities (Baird's Manual Online Archive), section showing Kappa Alpha Theta chapters". Student Life and Culture Archives. University of Illinois: University of Illinois Archives. Retrieved 30 December 2021. The main archive URL is The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage.
- ISBN 0-253-21498-X.
- ^ a b c "Theta Facts | Kappa Alpha Theta". Kappa Alpha Theta. Kappa Alpha Theta. 2018-08-21. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "The Kappa Alpha Theta Magazine". Kappa Alpha Theta. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
- ^ "The Breakdown: the origins of Greek life on campus". The Varsity. 2017-09-25. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
- OCLC 912380768.
- ^ "Our Badge". Kappa Alpha Theta. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
- ^ a b "Chapter Listing". Kappa Alpha Theta. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
- ^ "The incredible life of Melinda Gates — one of the world's richest and most powerful women". November 1, 2017. Archived from the original on March 25, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
- ^ Alberta, Tim. "The Woman in Michigan' Goes National". Politico. Politico LLC. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ Stony, Fatima (12 October 2016). "Designer Spotlight: Tory Burch". collegefashion. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
- ^ Jeff Carlton (2000-02-20). "UC sorority suspended over hazing complaints". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2015-11-07.
- ^ Scott Powers (2000-04-12). "Sorority Chapter Is Shut Down At Rollins". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2015-11-08.
- ^ "Kappa Alpha Theta Receives 4-Year Suspension". The Colgate-Maroon News. Retrieved 2015-11-07.
- The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2015-11-08.
- Booth Newspapers.
- ^ Jesse, David (2016-02-23). "University of Michigan's oldest sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, disbanded". Detroit Free Press.
- ^ "Kappa Alpha Theta to close Ole Miss chapter at semester's end". 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Clemson sorority Kappa Alpha Theta told to shut down".
- ^ "Occidental's chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta disbands in wake of racist text messages". 16 March 2022.