2,350
edits
Changes
no edit summary
|Image= [[File:Delta_Delta.jpeg|200px]]
|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1930|11|21}}
|College= [httphttps://www.mcgill.ca/ McGill University]
|Location= Montreal, QC
|Homepage= [httphttps://chaptersmcgill.kappakappagammakappa.org/deltadelta/ Delta Delta Homepage]|Media= [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Delta_Delta Media related to Delta Delta Chapter]}}
----
'''Initiates: 1,074 111 (as of June 20162018)'''
------------------------------
The Greek community in McGill University continues grow. This Fall Semester Sigma Alpha Epsilon established a colony on campus and the women of Delta Delta are proud to support the Fraternity’s expansion to Montreal.
==Highlights of 2016==
Delta Delta had another amazing year together, with our chapter continuing to expand in numbers with each recruitment season. We recently welcomed 35 new members into our chapter, spurring on conversations about potentially moving to a bigger house in the future to accommodate our growing numbers. With campus interest in Greek life increasing, our Panhellenic Council has decided to bring in a new sorority, with girls from Kappa sitting on the committee to help bring about this change.
Our chapter has continued with Delta Delta specific traditions such as Blue and Blue during Inspiration Period, and we’ve incorporated new ones as well, such as our usage of the GIN system to track our study hours. We have since incorporated suggested study hours into our weekly meetings, recognizing a sister each week for the most amount of hours logged. Similarly, we created a points system to reward sisters for being consistently involved within the chapter; sisters gain points for participating in sisterhood activities, having a good attendance record at events, amassing study hours and the like, with the top scorer announced at the end of each month.
In conjunction to the implementation of study hours, Kappa was named the sorority with the top overall GPA this semester. This shows a huge improvement from the last round of rankings, showcasing our dedication to academics. We were encouraged by our VPAE via fun, month-long library crawls, nerd of the week contests and sisterhood study sessions held throughout the semester.
A challenge we faced as a chapter was our involvement with rituals. We’ve worked hard at improving our knowledge of rituals, using help from our LC and Marshall to guide us. The results were seen in the fact that Delta Delta was able to execute both our fall and winter initiation ceremonies flawlessly. Similarly, we also worked towards improving communications between officers during the year, receiving a communication workshop from our LC and discussing strategic ways to improve on it during chapter council meetings.
'''Chapter Philanthropy:'''
In February, Delta Delta held a Chili for Charity event with the brothers of Phi Kappa Pi that truly tested the chapter’s cooking abilities. With the help of some inspirational Pinterest posts and a few hours spent in the kitchen, we were able to raise $400 for First Book Canada. It was a great night filled with hearty chili, crispy garlic bread and sisterly bonding. Towards a similar cause, sisters went to a local primary school to read to first and second graders later that month, leaving the children with new books in hand and smiles on their faces.
In November, KKG gave back to local charity initiatives by donating 11 Christmas boxes to the Montreal Shoebox Project, with the total equivalent to all the boxes valued at $550. These boxes will be given to women shelters across Montreal during the holidays, a tradition we hope to continue in coming years.
Along with supporting our own, philanthropic ventures, Delta Delta members also made an effort in participating in charity events held by other greek members. Kappa ladies were well represented at Theta’s Touchdown football tournament, Gamma Phi’s Moonball competition and AOPi’s archery tag. In addition, Delta Delta members participated in Sigma Chi’s weeklong Derby Days event, helping the brotherhood raise money for the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
Not only do we participate in philanthropy events hosted by fellow Greek organizations, our chapter also contributes to our campus’ many other charity driven events. This is the second year in a row that KKG has participated in Right To Play’s Spin-a-Thon, with sisters from Delta Delta representing the first Greek organization to join in on this charity event last year.
-------------------
'''Note to Chapter Registrar:'''
Please refer to your chapter archives including chapter meeting minutes and back issues of The Key to fill in any gaps in the above historical highlights. If your chapter archives are not complete, please research your university library, campus newspaper and yearbook archives for newsworthy information about your chapter.
Please double check your work for accuracy. Contact chapter Advisory or House Board members, local Alumnae Association members, or your Province Director of Chapters for assistance. Your efforts will ensure a complete and accurate history of your chapter for future generations to enjoy!
==Highlights of 2017==
Delta Delta welcomed twenty seven news members into our family during the Fall Recruitment.,. We are proud to say that this year our chapter enjoyed the best retention in years, as all the pledged new members were initiated!
Our Membership Chairman, Adrienne Bramson, ensured that we executed our strongest recruitment to date. This year's recruitment was smaller than last year’s- in which we pledged new members - because of the colonization of an Alpha Phi chapter at McGill University this semester..
The overall nature of our chapter did change as we played a large role in welcoming the founding women at McGill. Committees were set in place to help with the smooth transition and to support their growth at McGill.
The women of Delta Delta continue to support the Philanthropy events of other chapters on campus. We also noticed that Greek life is becoming more prevalent on campus as our chapters become more involved at McGill. Thanks to our Flair Chairman, Emily Yang, we are always in our letters on campus and showing the rest of the McGill community how brilliant our women are. Our chapter has continued with Delta Delta specific traditions like a modified Blue and Blue meeting during Inspiration Period, Black Formal meetings, "Nerd of the Week", "Fleur-de-Lys and Broken Keys"and "Hoots and Salutes", “Lady Minerva” scrapbook, and a “Supportive Sister” bra. We even started new initiatives like weekly prizes for people who come to meeting and a final prize to the woman with the best attendance this semester. The chapter also started Marshal Minutes during meetings where we highlight one or two aspects of our Ritual. Delta Delta Standards also has had a strong year, with many shining moments of sisterhood and improvements that have been implemented to improve how Standards can better serve our chapter.
Our sisterhood event in the winter was self-care themed, with yoga, make your own smoothies, and notes of love written by sisters. Over the Winter and Fall semester our VPS, Casey Osborne, worked closely with our President, Andrea Papini, her advisor Gena Boulay, and representatives from headquarters to increase Standards’s support of young women in the chapter who are struggling with their mental health. Delta Delta Standards began using the Alternative Standards Contract with girls who need support, and we have seen only positive results marked by increased overall attendance and less loss of membership.. Additionally, our VPO, Crystal Tian, sent out a weekly newsletter to the chapter members and meeting agenda to President and Recording Secretary, Mackenzie Akeson, until the Fall 2017 Leadership Consultant, Sydney Taylor, suggested a positive change in the system. We have implemented this change so that there is better communication between Chapter Council and the rest of the Chapter.
Our chapter GPA improved this year, bringing up to being named the sorority with the second overall GPA this semester. Our VPAE continued to do library crawls, rewarding women with the highest and most improved GPAs, and Nerd of the Week (which celebrates the woman who studied the hardest that week). She also created more specialized Period of Concern terms to help improve their areas of weakness. In addition, we are happy to share that one of our chapter members was a recipient of a scholarship from the Kappa Kappa Gamma foundation for this academic year!
We still hold meetings in the chapter room of the Kappa house. Our President, Treasurer, and House Chairman have been strengthening the relationship with our chapter’s House Board. Two meetings were held between these chapter officers, the House Board, two chapter advisors, and Suzanne Giffen (a specialist of the Housing Committee from headquarters). As the House Board is in its second year of operation, we experienced some difficulties at the beginning, but collaboration and stronger communication skills have allowed for greater success.
==Highlights of 2018==
Delta Delta had another successful and empowering year! We welcomed twenty four new sisters during our Fall 2018 recruitment, who all bring diversity, strength and passion to our chapter. Our membership chairman, Kinza Hart, ensured that we executed our recruitment as effortlessly as possible and ensured that we got the best sisters we possibly could have. This year’s recruitment was as successful as ever, where we filled our chapter to capacity.
Our chapter has continued our traditions of Blue and Blue meeting during Inspiration Period and Black Formal meetings twice a month. We also have continued the tradition of “Lady Minerva”, the “Supportive Sister” bra, the “Fleurs-de-Lys and Broken Keys”, the “Hoots and Salutes” and our wonderful Vice President Academic Excellence, Karys Peterson-Katz, brought in a new tradition of “Smart Tea” and “Smarties of the week”. Our Vice President Standards, Mackenzie Akeson, was hard at work this year, ensuring our women were as supported as they could be and having weekly meetings with those who needed the support. Our VPS sisterhood event was a girl’s night in, with board games, personalizing a mug and a “do-it-yourself” hot chocolate station. Our corresponding secretary, Abby Jakus, sent out our weekly newsletter to our active members regarding our meeting attire as well as any fun Greek and Campus activities happening that week. This improved our attendance at campus events as well as our community involvement. Our Marshal, Kristina Conte, planned a new sisterhood event for Inspiration Week where we all participated in laser tag and she also found a venue where we were able to hold our initiation. This year, the master calendar was sent in by our Vice President Organization, Emily Yang, and we tried out a new way to give out committees. Our amazing LC came by and gave us great tips and pointers for the New Year and helped our Marshal with Rituals. Leadership day is in the works as the last thing our VPO is doing and will be ensuring that the transition will be as smooth and effortless as the previous years. This year some of our positions, such as Registrar, Flair Chair and Corresponding, are being absorbed by other positions so the combination and transition will be important.
The academics of the Delta Delta Chapter have never been better, as shown by the truly inspiring woman who have been working to their highest potential and encouraging their sisters to do the same. This semester our Vice President Academic Excellence, Karys Peterson-Katz, instituted "Kappa Koffee Dates" as a way of utilizing the house for warm group study sessions with coffee and snacks every Thursday. In addition, the women of Delta Delta sent in their 'Aspirational GPAs' at the start of the semester with the idea being that if they achieve their goal they receive a wonderful prize. Furthermore, the Delta Delta women participated in a Library Crawl that allowed them to visit study spaces they had never considered before and expand their views on what habits work best for them! Finally, Karys also held multiple workshops for mental health services and healthy living practices during finals in order to ensure each sister was able to succeed and receive support and guidance. The 2018 year brought new traditions of giving out Smarties to celebrate the woman who studied the most and encouraged others to join her. She also incorporated the specialized Period of Concern terms for each individual to help improve their areas of weakness and to individualize it to the women’s personal life.
This year was super fun for Philanthropy! Our Philanthropy Chairmain, Caitlin Durcan, started off the winter 2018 semester by writing Valentine’s Day cards to the local Montreal Children’s hospital spreading all the love we can. Kappa Kappa Gamma and the Zeta Psi Fraternity also combined our effort and collected clothing and canned foods that helped support Sun Youth Organization, a non-profit organization that helps provide an array of services for underprivileged youth in Montreal. The winter 2019 semester with a bake sale that helped raise over $200 for First Book Canada.
During the Fall 2018 semester, we joined McGill’s “Right To Play” spinathon in which we beat our donation goal and were able to go beyond what we initially aimed for. Our main event of the fall semester was having an event at Spin Energy which is a local spin studio right in our Milton Park community. From our ticket sales and donations, we raised $950! Individual members also participated in other organizations events like Sigma Chi’s Derby Days, Gamma Phi Beta’s Moonball, and other non- Greek activities like volunteering and fundraising for additional charities. The energy and participation from the Greek-community, our kappa sisters and McGill community members has been beyond anything we have seen before and allowed our Philanthropy to go beyond our expectations.
==Highlights of 2019==
[[File:Delta Delta chapter members 2019.jpg|thumb|Some Delta Delta chapter members at the Kappa house in 2019.]]
This year the Delta Delta Chapter welcomed thirteen new, amazing, kind and strong women. Due to our expanding chapter, we decided to look for a new house so we can all continue to grow. In April 2019, we found a new house and during the summer our President, house board and some other girls helped settle into the home. This house allows for seven women to live in, for all 70 actives to sit in the chapter room during meetings and invites all of us to come enjoy time at the house. We definitely have more room to grow now.
This year, our President, Vice President Standards, Vice President Organization, the Membership chairman as well as the Education chairman all attended the Kappa Leadership Conference in Atlanta. Our chapter was also selected to take part in a program called leadTODAY, where we spent a day learning and exploring new and creative ways to make our chapter stronger and as best as it can be. We all appreciated the experienced and have started to implement some of the ideas we discussed.
This year we decided to switch our local philanthropy to Shield of Athena, which is a support shelter and organization that helps women, children and families who have been affected by domestic and or sexual violence. The women from our chapter are very passionate about women supporting and helping other women and we wanted to find something that we can help make a difference in. We settled on this because we know that domestic abuse and sexual violence is a huge issue and that women and families who are victim to this feel alone a lot of the times. In March, we had an event called Grabba Grabba Donut, where we sold Krispy Kreme donuts to raise money for First Book Canada and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. We were able to raise nearly 400$. During the fall semester, we decided to do a clothing drive where anyone was welcomed to drop off any clothes they didn't want or need anymore at the Kappa house. All of the clothing was donated to a local women’s shelter called Chez Doris, because Shield of Athena didn’t have a need for the clothes this year.
Our event chairman went above and beyond with her formal and semi-formal. In the winter semester, our formal was held at the Intercontinental Hotel and making it the most amazing night ever we had a Poutine Bar to show our Montreal roots as well as a delicious candy bar. Our semi-formal in the fall semester was held at the Hotel Crystal, where our events chairman and philanthropy chairman worked together to create a silent auction so we can raise money and have an amazing night. We were able to raise 450$ for First Book Canada, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation as well as Shield of Athena. Our events chairman also organized amazing mixers. From dinner with Theta at Cacao 70, to an 80s themed mixer with Alpha Delta Phi, to a mixer we called Sigs and Wigs with Sigma Chi, we were able to hang out with our fellow Greek friends and create amazing memories.
Our new home allowed us to have an amazing Initiation, as well as an amazing Founder’s Day. For our Founder’s Day this year we had a ceremony October 6, 2019, due to Canadian Thanksgiving during our real Founder’s Day. The ceremony took place at our new house, where alums and actives all came together to enjoy the day. We had coffee, desserts and fruit platters to share. We also pulled old artifacts, such as a scrapbook dating back to 1930, when our Chapter was born.
==Highlights of 2020==
At the beginning of Winter 2020, we held a game night and donut sisterhood event, and two successful mixers! Following the announcement of Covid-19 in March, all other philanthropic and social events were unfortunately cancelled, including out LC visit and Sapphire Ball. Meetings were moved to a virtual platform, and we still held a senior sister send off over Zoom.
Over the summer, to keep us all connected during quarantine, our VPS held sisterhood Saturdays that continued into the fall. One of our actives also started a Kappa Bookclub during the summer and into the beginning of Fall. Our Chapter created Covid Check-in Groups for the actives, so everyone could feel comfortable asking questions and reporting any break outs of the virus around the Chapter.
Throughout the semester, study rallies were held to help the transition to virtual university, and weekly virtual study sessions were also held. Meetings continued online in the Fall, and we started doing Committee Night in place of one meeting per month so that actves could have more opportunities to be included and participate in Chapter activities during the pandemic.
[[File:KKG Delta Delta 2020.jpeg|thumb|Delta Delta, McGill, hosting a virtual chapter event following restrictions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.]]
Our Chapter was the first in Alpha District to conduct virtual recruitment and initiation with much success, we were lucky to welcome pledge class Eta, 18 wonderful women, with bid day welcome videos and a virtual bid day speed dating event. Big-Little reveal was conducted over Instagram with a gossip girl theme!
The week of the Sesquicentennial was also our Chapter’s I-Week, which gave our chapter the opportunity to celebrate our new members, the future of our chapter, as well as older members’ experiences and the history of our Fraternity and Chapter. We held our Chapter’s traditional Blue and Blue meeting, which incorporated the returning of the new member pin (minus the pins due to Covid-19) and sharing our happiest Kappa memories, on October 13th virtually. This gave all the actives an opportunity to participate regardless of where they were located and also to respect the Covid-19 safety guidelines. In the same meeting we did a Kappa Kahoot Game, to test our Kappa knowledge and to learn new fun facts about our Chapter, international Chapters and Alumna Associations, and the Fraternity founding.
Our Events Chairman planned and executed two virtual cooking events, learning and cooking as a Chapter curry and squash risotto. She also planned a virtual Kappa Murder Mystery night, which had amazing success! Our first philanthropy event of the year was unfortunately cancelled due to Covid-19, however over the summer the Greek community at McGill came together and raised over $20,000 for Demand Justice Now in support of the BLM movement. Our chapter also raised over $1600 for First Book Canada with online Instagram bingo sheets, and $645 was raised with a virtual 5km run/walk event for the First Book Canada Representation in Reading Initiative! To end the semester, PR started a 12 Days of Kappa Kindness which gives a daily prompt for donating to a philanthropy, supporting a sister, or doing a random act of kindness.
To incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion into our Chapter, Chapter Council opted to create a new DEI position and committee to oversee topics that fall into this category. This team worked with other officers and the Chapter to promote the qualities of DEI, and have accomplished some amazing initiatives: during formal meetings a land acknowledgment is made, a PR focus on LGBTQ+, Indigenous, and BIPOC inclusion, and working to promote local BIPOC businesses on social media. Our DEI officer has also been working with other Greek organizations at McGill to help them establish DEI officers and initiatives.
This year Delta Delta supported First Book Canada and Demand Justice Now, an initiative in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. First Book Canada is our Fraternity philanthropy which we continuously support with our fundraisers every semester. This year we chose Demand Justice Now as a local philanthropy initiative with other organizations in the McGill Greek community to give local support to the international BLM movement.
==Highlights of 2021==
Despite the challenges of COVID, Delta Delta Chapter had a successful and eventful year, with active participation from its members, various new initiatives from Chapter Council, as well as continuous help and support from our advisors and specialists.
The VPO committee completed many projects in addition to maintaining the TWIK and Master Calendar. These projects included the Kappa Book Club, the Kappa Cookbook, and Kappa Awards. This past year the secretary sent out the ‘Note from the Secretary’ that recaps the meeting highlights, shares important links and reminds the chapter of important dates. The attendance sheets and meeting minutes were moved online to google docs and google sheets to be shared with other chapter council executives to receive real-time updates.
We welcomed 12 members in winter 2021 entirely virtually through COB recruitment over Zoom. In the fall we’ve finally had formal recruitment that was done in a hybrid format. This was the first time that all members were finally able to see one another in person in the context of Kappa. We did a rotation-style work week where groups had to go to the stations around the Milton Park area to participate in recruitment prep activities. This provided an opportunity for the younger members to practice their recruitment skills with the older Kappas who have been on the other side of recruitment. Delta Delta celebrated a Rock & Roll-themed Bid Day at Jeanne Mance on a sunny September afternoon. Complete with a DJ and “Born to Be KKG” banner hung from the gazebo. The countdown to the Big-Little reveal on Halloween was packed with getting-to-know-you events like Speed Dating and a Pancake Breakfast.
We could not host a community service project due to COVID-19 limitations and health risks. However, members have completed service hours around campus and in the general Montréal area. Some organizations that members have been involved in are Montreal General Hospital, Meals for Milton Parc, Breast cancer association, International Museum of Surgical Science, Arts Environmental council, MotionBall, Jack.org, Borderless world volunteers, McGill UNICEF, etc. Our chapter is also actively involved in McGill Greek life and active in other organizations’ fundraiser events on the McGill campus.
In October 2021, Delta Delta chapter hosted a thrift shop that raised over 1000 CAD over the course of a week where chapter members contributed to clothing donations, organizing, taking shifts at the thrift shop, as well as advertising and purchasing clothes. We donated 50% of the proceeds to Jack.org and the other half to Gabriel’s Light, an organization in support of suicide prevention and awareness, which is chosen by the chapter.
McGill Panhellenic decided to place focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) during recruitment by creating a DEI section in the Recruitment Rules. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, this section was not passed and will be passed onto the next Panhellenic council. However, this was still an important step toward an increased focus on DEI in Panhellenic Council (rather than just in individual chapters).
In fall 2021 Delta Delta chapter participated in three educational programs: an Indigenous Education program facilitated by indigenous activist Tia Kennedy; a Sustainable Students program facilitated by the education committee; and we were visited by Kappa facilitator Avery Moses who gave our chapter the Courage to Commit program: Behind Happy Faces. In addition, our chapter appointed a new DEI chair who organized two programming activities on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the chapter this year.
Operating in a pandemic: The year 2021 started with a hectic but rewarding transition. However, it came with challenges as the new office had to navigate all the deadlines without much experience in their new positions and being disconnected from each other physically due to COVID.
We continued to host virtual meetings to make it accessible for those who weren’t in the country and to follow all the provincial restrictions on house gatherings. We continued the chapter traditions of Broken Keys, Fleur De Lis, and supportive sister bra, which are all chapter favourites.
Events this year were certainly unique due to the outstanding circumstances of the pandemic. In the earlier part of the year, we held multiple events over zoom such as mixers and sisterhood events - even an online Sapphire Ball. Virtual events were held on platforms like glimpse and zoom and included a bevy of fun team-building activities like online games such as trivia, debates and Pictionary. After the summer break, we finally transitioned into in-person events that aligned with COVID guidelines such as mask-wearing and social distancing at mixers and using outdoor spaces for small groups at a time. There was always a virtual option and we made sure to put in place contact tracing and self-reporting mechanisms. Most notably we got to hold our Semiformal event in person after the dancing became allowed in venues (as per provincial law). Vaccine passports were also used as an entrance requirement for the venue.
Initiation winter 2021 and fall 2021 were both held over zoom. Delta Delta Chapter was honoured to have hosted over 100 participants from over 10 chapters across North America over zoom for our fall 2021 Virtual Initiation. We initiated 48 members from Epsilon chapter at Illinois Wesleyan, Beta Delta Chapter at the University of Michigan, Beta Psi at UofT, Beta Theta at Oklahoma, Delta Phi at Bucknell, Epsilon Alpha at TCU, Epsilon Beta at Colorado State, Epsilon Eta at Auburn, Epsilon Lambda at Tennessee, Epsilon Omicron at UC Davis, Epsilon Rho at Texas A&M, Eta Epsilon at Johns Hopkins, Eta Tau at Georgetown, and finally, Delta Delta chapter at McGill University.
For Founders’ day in 2021, Education Chairman and Marshal put on our first official in-person chapter event since COVID-19. We had sisters come in groups that met provincial regulations to learn about Kappa, have some snacks and take photos at our photo station. I-week was held online with challenges that encouraged the active chapter members to get to know the new members. Blue & Blue meeting was held with the Return of the New Member Pin Ceremony along with other Delta Delta traditions. As a part of the Inspirational Period, our chapter also held a pyjama-themed sisterhood event. Our marshal and standards officer hosted in 10-people time-slots and at two separate stations (cooking-decorating, sundae-making, as well as card-making) at the Chapter House and their apartment to abide by provincial guidelines.
We also held successful education programs and had significant participation considering our limitation of being restricted to a virtual setting for all of our programming: Chapter History presented by chapter Marshal; Student Health: Nutrition and Exercise and Stress Management programs presented by the Education Chairman; and we were visited by Kappa facilitator Kerry Mallett who gave our chapter the Courage to Commit program: Are You Ensuring Everyone’s Asked to Dance? Throughout the winter semester, we had two virtual senior sister bonding events and attended two virtual senior sister educational programs. The first was on Budgeting and Investing facilitated by TD Wealth Vice President Portfolio Manager Pam Churchill. The second was an Alumni Panel with four Delta Delta alumni from different fields who were able to give insight into life after graduation for our seniors. At the end of the semester, our events chairman planned a senior roast at our virtual formal, and the education chairman planned a senior sister send-off at our last meeting of the semester. While participation was difficult this semester being fully online I think our seniors and our chapter as a whole made the most of it.