Difference between pages "Beta Theta" and "Epsilon Omega"

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{{Infobox Fraternity
 
{{Infobox Fraternity
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|Name= Beta Theta
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|Name= Epsilon Omega
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|GreekSymbol= BΘ
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|GreekSymbol= EΩ
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|Image= [[File:Beta_Theta.jpg|200px]]
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|Image= [[File:Epsilon_Omega.jpg|200px]]
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|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1914|08|25}}
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|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1979|03|10}}
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|College= [http://www.ou.edu/web.html University of Oklahoma]
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|College= [http://www.dickinson.edu/ Dickinson College]
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|Location= Norman, OK
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|Location= Carlisle, PA
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|Homepage= [http://chapters.kappakappagamma.org/betatheta/ Beta Theta Homepage]
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|Homepage= [http://www2.dickinson.edu/storg/kappa/ Epsilon Omega Homepage]
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|Media= [http://wiki.kappakappagamma.org/index.php?title=Category:Beta_Theta Media related to Beta Theta Chapter]}}
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|Media= [http://wiki.kappakappagamma.org/index.php?title=Category:Epsilon_Omega Media related to Epsilon Omega Chapter]}}
  
  
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'''University of Oklahoma, established 1890'''
 
  
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'''Dickinson College established in 1783, Carlisle, Pennsylvania'''
  
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'''Chapter founded in 1914'''
 
  
  
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'''4,085 initiates (as of June 2016)'''
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'''Epsilon Omega founded March 10, 1979 - 33 charter members'''
  
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----------------------------------------------
 
  
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'''Charter Members:'''
 
  
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Avis Caroline Barbour, Nellie Jane McFerron, Perrill Elizabeth Munch, Stella Cecilia Ostenberg, Florence Nellie Van Buskirk, Lillian Ethel White.
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'''1,161 initiates (as of June 2016)'''
  
  
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------------------------
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'''Charter Members:''' Catherine Andriadis, Susan Bacon, Nancy Bauer, Joan Brandonburg, Elise Dagostino, Susan Dague, Shelly Dalrynmple, Cheryl Daugherty, Karen Ford, Lynne Forrey, Janice Friedman, Angela Gelason, Katherine Grant, Elizabeth Gray, Lynette Hewitt, Kathleen Kipp, Darcie Lolo, Sandra Lopatofsky, Ruthann Mamrak, Laura Marshall, Julie McMullen, Susan Miller, Mary Beth Monahan, Wendy Paxton, Kathleen Poole, Yvonne Schirm, Susan Shane, Joan Sommers, Elizabeth Spizzirro, Constance Tambakis, Cynthia Waldron, Donna Weir, Alison Whitmer
  
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'''Fraternity Council Members:'''
 
  
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Helen Smart Brenholts, Director of Chapters 1943-1944, Field Secretary 1941-1944; Helen Cornish Hutchinson, Fraternity Vice President 1950-1952, Director of Alumnae 1952-1956; Jane Young Barrett, Director of Chapters 1998-2000, Director of Standards 1994-1998;
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'''Some Outstanding Epsilon Omega Alumnae:''' (If you have chapter alumna who have received recognition in any of these three categories, please list them with the date(s) of recognition.)
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Heloise Smartt (Brenholts), Field Secretary 1941-1944; Ruth Tyler, Field Secretary 1953-1956; Virginia Merritt (Autry), Field Secretary 1960-1962; Deidra Ballard, Field Secretary 1973-1975; Linda Dickey (Hilsabeck), 1974-1976; Field Secretary; Patti Gilliard (Smith), Field Secretary 1975-1977; Linda Schmidt, Field Secretary 1978-1979 Allyson Coffey, Traveling Consultant 1984-1985;  Crystal Marcum (Bacon), Leadership Consultant 2006-2007
 
  
  
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'''Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:'''
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'''Fraternity Council Members'''
  
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Wendy Paxton (Alfano), Field Secretary 1981-1982;
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Susan Berg (Abbott), Graduate Counselor, 1983-1984
  
  
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'''Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:'''  
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'''Fraternity Loyalty Award'''
  
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Helen Robson Walton, 1990, Philanthropist, volunteer, served on a governor’s commission on literacy among other areas; Becky Powell Casey, 2000, CEO for Harold’s Stores, Inc. (men’s and ladies apparel); Mareta West, 1970
 
  
  
  
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'''Additional Outstanding Beta Theta Alumnae:'''
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'''Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients'''
  
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Martha Rowsey (Anthis), Graduate Counselor 1950-1052; Lynette Mehl (Hilliard), Graduate Counselor 1965-1966; Caren Cook, Graduate Counselor 1976-1978; Patti Gilliard (Smith), Graduate Counselor 1976-1978; Lisa Schmidt, Graduate Counselor 1979-1980; Crystal Marcum (Bacon), Graduate Counselor 2006-2007
 
  
  
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==The Early Years  (From The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma 1870–1976)==
 
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In 1912 six girls at the University of Oklahoma formed a local organization, Sigma Tau Omega, with the idea of petitioning Kappa Kappa Gamma. Other campus groups had petitioned unsuccessfully, but these girls had a quiet determination, and by the spring of 1913 were ready to reveal their plans. With the help of three faculty wives who had resigned as patronesses of other sororities, five leather-bound petitions were compiled; a Kappa national officer, Mary Rodes Leaphart, inspected the chapter; and at the 1914 Convention in Estes Park, Colorado, Beta Theta was installed. Beta Mu was the installing chapter.
 
  
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The new chapter, having first rented the home of a professor on leave of absence, moved into a larger house in 1915. During the World War 1 years members of the chapter did Red Cross hospital work; worked at the Food Administration whose headquarters were at the university; and sent gifts and money to the Kappa project in France.
 
  
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In 1918, the chapter won the Panhellenic Scholarship Cup for the third consecutive year. Shortly after that the Kappa furnace blew up and other Greek groups invited the Kappas to meals until the house was restored.
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A few years later, after a four-year rental of the old Sigma Nu house, a new Kappa house was built at 519 Boulevard. From 1923 to 1939 that was Beta Theta’s address.
 
  
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==Highlights of the 1920s==
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==Colonization (From The Key, Fall 1978)==
  
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In the fall of 1926 the chapter was cited for a rush violation, but the penalties imposed by the campus Panhellenic were declared unjust by the national Panhellenic, and reduced to a single restriction – that the Kappas should not be permitted to attend any Fraternity affairs for one year.
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As alive and contemporary as today’s student, Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania is equally endowed with history and proud tradition. The heritage and traditions of Kappa Kappa Gamma blended well with the background of Dickinson as the Fraternity established Epsilon Omega Colony during the first week of October 1979.
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Three years before America declared her independence from England, a grammar school was opened on land given by the Proprietors of Pennsylvania. By 1873, under the direction of Benjamin Rush, its founder, Dickinson College was chartered by the Pennsylvania legislature. Named in honor of John Dickinson, “penman of the revolution” and then governor of the commonwealth, the college has grown from a land purchase costing all of $151.00 to a campus of 117 acres and valued at over $25,000,000. The physical heart of the campus is “Old West,” a national historic landmark designed by Benjamin Latrobe, architect of the capitol in Washington, D.C. At present, part of the campus is a 65-acre recreational area and the college also manages a 3,300-acre wildlife sanctuary and research station.
  
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There was much controversy about cigarette smoking in 1928 and Beta Theta went into action with the first university approved smoking room. Other houses followed quickly.
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In 1884, women students were admitted to Dickinson, despite opposition from faculty and students, and only three years later the Pennsylvania Alpha Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was installed. In addition to a number of honorary fraternities, there are now ten national men’s fraternities on campus and about half of the 800 male students are members. Kappa joins Pi Beta Phi as the only other national sorority on campus, but there are two local groups and about 35 per cent of the approximately 800 women students belong to the three current groups. The men live in college-owned fraternity dormitories, and the women rent apartment meeting rooms.
  
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The Hoover-Smith presidential race brought excitement to the Kappa Kitchen and Herbert Hoover, who had been a KKB, was officially invited by the Kappa Kitchen Boys to become an honorary Beta Theta KKB. The chapter was host to a smashingly successful state convention in the spring of 1929, its purpose to arouse alumnae support.
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Kappa’s colonization team was headed by Gay Chuba Berry, Penn State, Director of Alumnae; assisted by an adviser to the Delta Phi chapter at Bucknell, the Province Director of Chapters, a field secretary, and a graduate counselor assigned to the new colony. Members of Delta Phi—Bucknell and Delta Alpha—Penn State assisted with rush functions.
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A large pledge class of 37 in the fall of 1929 meant remodeling the third floor of the house, lovingly called thereafter “Seventh Heaven.”
 
  
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Many girls could not return to school during the Depression, but Beta Theta continued to pledge in the high 20s. Some traditions begun in the 1920s have lasted. Faculty tea became faculty dessert in 1970. Kappas won campus stunt night time and again. The first two Engineer Queens were Kappas and there have been many winners since. Homecomings, Moms Day and Dads Day began in the 1920s.
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Located in an historic area and surrounded by rolling farm lands, Dickinson is only 20 miles from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s capital, 30 miles from Gettysburg National Military Park, and 30 miles from Hershey, “Chocolate Town, U.S.A.” The grave of Molly Pitcher, heroine of the revolution, is in Carlisle, and the area claims several lovely parks with scenic views, swimming and fishing, not to mention numerous limestone caves for those who enjoy spelunking.
  
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==Highlights of the 1930s==
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Life at Dickinson centers on a traditional liberal arts education that is continually sharpened and focused by innovation. On the lighter side, the mermaid atop the ivy-covered walls of Old West presents a challenge to the men. Each fall a male student climbs up and removes the mermaid. Each spring members of the women’s honorary are responsible for putting the weather vane back in place. Tradition takes many forms!
  
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In 1932 a new kind of rush, the party system, was adopted and the Kappa Monte Carlo Party was the best of all. In 1932 the dean ordered no more walkouts. (In the early 1970s the Greeks were having their own walkouts with Panhellenic approval and guidelines.) Walkouts are similar to class sneaks…a bus is rented and a cabin in the country or at a lake is the destination for a weekend of fraternity lore, group closeness, and song composition, both serious and foolish.
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In a more academic vein, the current catalogue presents the philosophy of the college: “Liberal knowledge, learning for its own sake and learning for the cultural enrichment it provides, is the oldest and most fundamental aim of Dickinson education.” A statement from the 1960s encourages Dickinsonians to see their world as one in which they are able, “by virtue of the power gained through knowledge, to influence both their environment and the course of history,’ and thereby to use their power in the service of the human community.”
  
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The social life of 1934 had the added attraction of an evening with the university president, his wife, and his mother, and two evenings with the dean of women. For the first year the chapter dance was held outside the chapter house.
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The ideals of Dickinson College—learning, liberty and virtue, and those of Kappa Kappa Gamma should provide an ideal background for the growth of Epsilon Omega Chapter. Welcome!
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FLASH! On October 5th, 33 upper-class women were pledged.
  
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The chapter newsletter, A Peek in Beta Theta’s Keyhole, was started in 1935, and was first a fortnightly, now an annual publication. Blind Dates for pledges were started in 1935, a custom which has varied from actual dates nightly for several consecutive nights to several 30-minute mixers in an evening. Blind Dates live on!
 
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The excitement of 1936 was placing third in a radio sorority singing contest. Another highlight of the year was planning a new chapter house. Kappa architect Margaret Read, Colorado, helped local architects, and in 1939 the Kappas moved into a new house. Although there would be an addition and occasional redecorating, this was to remain the chapter house for years to come.
 
  
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The talk of the entire campus in the spring of 1939 was the fact that singer Jeannette McDonald had stayed in the Kappa house when she came to Norman for a concert.
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==Installation (From The Key)==
  
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==World War II Era==
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Despite a cool, drizzly day, the atmosphere was warm and spirits high as Epsilon Omega Chapter was installed at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa. on March 9 and 10, 1979. A symbol of the enthusiasm and pride of the 33 charter members was the banner hung high on the wall of the Holland Union Dining Room. Months of pledge study and a recent rush period were not enough to weaken the strength or spirit of the girls who stayed up most of Thursday night to create a poster telling the rest of the campus how they felt about becoming Kappa’s 103rd active chapter:
 +
“Sisters you are, sisters we’ll be. Congratulations, Kappa Kappa Gamma; we’ve only just begun.”
 +
Registration in the Mary Dickinson Room on Friday afternoon gave visitors a chance to meet Kappa local and national officers and enjoy refreshments prepared by the Harrisburg Alumnae Club.
  
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With the 1940s came World War II. There was a naval base in Norman and Kappa philanthropic activities were centered there. It was a time of entertainment at the Naval hospital, of blind dates with cadets, open houses, and present-filled Christmas stockings. Knitting for the Red Cross was part of the war effort.
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Though only 45 in paid membership, these women are delighted to have a chapter nearby and have worked hard to help the colony and make the installation a memorable occasion. Registration and hospitality were headed by a former Beta Province meeting treasurer from 1973, the year Harrisburg was hostess. Handling the checkbook and financial arrangements was a local alumna.
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A cheery fire in the lovely home of a Penn State alumna was a welcome setting for Fireside Service. The quiet ritual was soon replaced by a happy din as initiates and visitors became acquainted and enjoyed a reception co-hosted by local alumnae.
  
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Frontier Week highlighted the 1945-1946 school year. Everyone wore blue jeans to class. Second semester started with a bang…a dance…and the boys were back on campus!
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Carlisle is an attractive town with a rather old-fashioned square at its hub. On one corner of the square is St. John Episcopal Church, site of the initiation. Two Kappas drove from Headquarters in our blue and blue van and performed their customary magic act of setting the scene and arranging the equipment for what proved to be a beautiful initiation ceremony.
  
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Beta Theta was proud in 1947 when it helped install Delta Sigma Chapter at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University). The scholarship point system was inaugurated and members without a certain number of points could not vote. A scholarship fund was started and each girl donated $1 for a student in financial need. Beta Theta won the Panhellenic Scholarship Cup seven times between 1947 and 1953.
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Installing officers Jean Hess Wells, Georgia, Fraternity President, and Gay Chuba Barry, Penn State, Director of Alumnae, were assisted by the installation chairman, Beta Province Director of Chapters, Field Secretary, Alumnae Editor of The Key, and the graduate counselor for Epsilon Omega. It was a proud chapter president who received the charter on behalf of the chapter.
 +
The new initiates barely had time to change clothes before the formal pledging of 29 terrific freshmen women. The chapter president had excellent practice for her presidency when, as membership chairman, she led the colony through a series of parties based on Kappa facts, making Christmas ornaments which were later given to a nursing home, a “Roaring Twenties”  party, a country theme that included Kappa Pickers, a nightclub theme entitled “Kappakabana” and finally, “Cinderella” for preference party. Although they say that they surprised themselves and others with their enormous success in rush, it seems likely that they had not yet realized the power-potential of Kappa when 33 super colonizers set out to strengthen their group. The dedication with which these girls do everything was evident in the polished was they conducted the pledge ceremony.
  
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A change in chapter organization took place in 1948, when the standards chairman became the vice-president. This was also a big football year at the university. A listening party, that is a party held in an especially decorated basement of “rec” room to listen to an out-of-town game, was a happy event. In 1948 the Oklahoma Sooners smashed North Carolina in the Sugar Bowl as many Kappa listeners cheered the Big Red team.
+
Again, there was barely time to catch their breath when everyone congregated in Drayer Lounge for the campus reception. An alumna from Carnegie Mellon was chairman of this event which saw a room crowded with well-wishers. Panhellenic members, parents, faculty and friends joined in welcoming Kappa Kappa Gamma to the Dickinson campus. It was here that the chapter outdid itself by distributing copies of their first newsletter—a beautiful 13-page issue complete with photos and excellent articles on their activities thus far.
  
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==Highlights of the 1950s==
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In whatever spare moments could be found during the day, visitors dropped in to see the Kappa apartment, just a few blocks from campus and right off the square. Empty and cold when rented last fall, it now shows signs of loving care and looks like home. Under the supervision of two alumnae, including a decorator from the Philadelphia area, the apartment is bright, cheerful and comfortable. Gifts from alumnae included a kitchen shower, and several pieces of furniture from the recently-closed Beta Alpha Chapter at the University of Pennsylvania were welcome additions.
 +
Still riding high on a bubble of excitement, Kappas picked up their long skirts and stepped over puddles to return to campus for the Installation Banquet. A lovely setting and delicious dinner were around by the banquet chairman. The installation chairman provided a warm welcome as toastmistress. A special greeting and toast to the new chapter was given by the president of Delta Phi Chapter, Bucknell, and a gracious response came from the Epsilon Omega president.
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Greetings were sent by individuals and groups throughout the province and nation and Gay Barry read many of them to the 200 guests. The Associate Dean of Students and member of Delta Delta Delta welcomed Kappa on behalf of the college. Everyone who was even remotely involved with the colonization and installation knew how helpful she had been and how her personal assistance had helped to smooth the way for us.
  
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By 1950 the university carnival had become the Sooner Scandals. Competing acts satirized university life, and Kappa Doll House took first place. Being first was not news…there is a long-standing tradition of leadership in the chapter. In 1951 one girl stands out: Nadine Nortan (Holloway) was elected president of the Senior Class – an honor for her and for Kappa.
 
  
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In 1952 Beta Theta received the Standards Cup at Convention and in 1955 the silver service of the highest average at Kappa’s State Day. Kappas won second place at the Sooner Scandals in 1956, and seven intramural trophies in 1958-1959. That year several bedrooms, an enlarged dining room, and a remodeled kitchen helped care for a growing number of Beta Thetas.
 
  
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==Highlights of the 1960s==
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==Highlights of the 1980s==
  
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In the 1960s Homecoming was full of excitement. Not only were there queens, there were extravagant house decorations. One was a huge, revolving, musical birthday cake. When a Daily Oklahoman photographer asked to have the cake’s motor turned off so he could snap a picture, he was surprised to see it stop on its own, a move inspired by the 20 Sigma Alpha Epsilon pledges and 10 Kappa actives inside the cake!
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Epsilon Omega grew as a chapter throughout the 1980s and was successful in recruitment as evident by the 35 new members who joined the chapter in 1987. The chapter continued to strengthen its commitment to membership development and sisterhood. Epsilon Omega celebrated the accomplishments of the chapter women by holding a scholarship banquet and the chapter was recognized for their scholastic achievement and high G.P.A. The Kappas were among the leaders of Dickinson’s campus and participated in a variety of activities, including campus clubs and sports teams. The chapter also exuded Panhellenic spirit by having two events with other Dickinson sororities: Monmouth Duo with Pi Beta Phi and Kite and Key with Kappa Alpha Theta.
  
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Three annual dances of the 1960s were the Barbeque, the Christmas Formal, and the Monmouth Duo with the Pi Beta Phis. This started in 1960 as the annual spring party. The annual philanthropy became a Christmas party for mission children which was given with Delta Upsilon. There was much social activity among the Greeks: the Chi Omega pizza party (which became an annual Owl-o-ween celebration) and dinner exchanges. Greek Week was exciting, with exchanges, Greek Games, and awards banquet.
 
  
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In 1963 lending a hand to neighbors became a social affair. Early that fall the ΣΑΕ house next door burned nearly to the ground and the Kappas did the neighborly thing and invited the guys-next-door to lunch. Kappas made lovely houseboys!
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'''Philanthropy:'''
  
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The campus turned in the 1960s to philanthropic involvement through Campus Chest. The chapter was cited several times for the best booth, and in 1964 the pledges’ marriage cave within a mountain took the honors.
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The Dickinson women were also committed to Kappa’s tradition of philanthropy and embarked on a series of fundraisers, including an All-Greek Car Wash, Sham-o-grams, and an Easter Egg Hunt. The chapter also supported Paraguay Orphans during this period.
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Having fun while helping others is one matter; there was also fun for fun’s sake. Fraternities developed contests for the afternoons of big spring parties and all sororities took part. Egg hunts (raw eggs); tricycle relays, pie-eating, tugs of war, pillow fights over mud pits, and later, beer-drinking contests were just a few. Nearly all involved slime and grime for the contestants. Kappas often won a muddy prize. It was all in fun!
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Convention Awards:
  
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Cars on the campus were growing in number and there was a parking problem, so in 1962 a parking lot was finished behind the house. After a “lot warming” members of Beta Theta Pi decided to share this wonderful facility. Finally the problem was remedied with a fence, a guard, and a few towed-away cars. The Kappa lot was called the meanest and most exclusive on campus!
 
  
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In 1960 a record-breaking class of 53 was pledged. These were days of Panhellenic concern over scholarship and girls were required to stay in their rooms studying, with no talking, no music, no television, for nearly every hour they were not in class. Such campusing lasted for one week before finals.
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==Highlights of the 1990s==
  
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A landmark year was 1964-1965, Beta Theta’s 50th Anniversary. There was a splendid banquet with all the remaining founders as guests of honor. The program telling of the chapter’s founding stirred pride in everyone there.
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The 1990s brought new challenges for Epsilon Omega chapter. In 1990, Dickinson College revised its policies on Recruitment and the sororities transitioned to a fall Recruitment for upper-class women. Although the chapter had to make adjustments, they did so quickly and continued to recruit between 25-30 members each year. The Kappas remained devoted to sisterhood activities and development and continued old traditions such as hosting the scholarship banquet while holding new events like an Initiation banquet. Epsilon Omega also reached out to alumnae members through alumnae receptions held during Homecoming weekend.  
  
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It was quite a year. One dark, stormy night there was a two-hour power failure and word came by special messenger that the chapter had won the Kappa Sigma trophy for “Sorority of the Year.” Everyone gathered for a spirit session with songs and cheering despite the storm.
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The chapter continued to forge strong relationship with the Dickinson College community. A Faculty Tea was held every year to better acquaint the faculty with the Kappa women and the Fraternity’s goals. The chapter was also recognized for having the highest G.P.A. on campus.
  
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A young Kappa made history in 1965 for the University of Oklahoma, as well as for her chapter. Vicki Gotcher was elected the second woman Student Senate president in the country. She was the first woman president at Oklahoma.
 
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And so, the 1960s rolled along, the chapter continued in campus leadership; social events crowded study time; scholarship awards were won, with more Kappas in Mortar Board and honoraries than any other group. One year the presidents of three major honoraries were all Beta Thetas.
 
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The Centennial Year of the Fraternity was entered into with pride as Beta Theta alumnae, old and young, joined actives for a banquet and heritage program. Those new to Kappa were awakened to the knowledge that they stood on the threshold of a second century with the challenge of making the second one hundred years as outstanding as the first.
 
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The previous information was excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity, 1870-1976. The information that follows has been gleaned from available resources including Chapter History Reports, chapter meeting minutes, letters and comments from chapter members and alumnae, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity Archives, and The Key. Each chapter is expected to update its history record annually. Contact Fraternity Headquarters at kkghq@kkg.org with questions.
 
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==Highlights of the 1970s==
 
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(From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.)
 
  
 
'''Housing:'''  
 
'''Housing:'''  
  
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In 1991, Epsilon Omega took a bold step and applied for on-campus housing. The request was approved and the chapter received on-campus housing, making Kappa the first sorority at Dickinson to do so. In order to celebrate this milestone, and to make the new house more like a home, the chapter women held a decorating day at the house. In 1995, the chapter, still living in the house on College Street, diligently worked on raising money for new furniture.
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'''Philanthropy:'''
 
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'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''
 
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==Highlights of the 1980s:==
 
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(From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:)
 
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'''Housing:'''
 
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'''Philanthropy:'''
 
'''Philanthropy:'''
  
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Philanthropy remained one of Epsilon Omega’s priorities throughout the decade. Fundraisers included a pole sitting event for cystic fibrosis and a plant sale for Safe Harbor, an organization that assists the homeless. The Kappas with with Phi Psi to host the Rock-a-thon, which raised funds for a scholarship to help a high school senior from Carlisle go to college. The chapter also sponsored a child in India through the United Christian’s Fund, chaperoned a youth dance at a local church, and sent letters to soldiers in Saudi Arabia. In 1998, the chapter and other Greek-letter organizations were involved with the March for Gay Rights and Respect, which was held in response to anti-gay letters on Dickinson’s campus.
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Convention Awards:
  
  
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'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''
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==Highlights of 2000-2010==
  
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As the twenty-first century dawned, Epsilon Omega remained devoted to membership development and the recognition of personal and chapter achievement. New programs such as “Smart Cookies” and the “Word of the Week” were implemented to encourage Academic Excellence within the chapter. Epsilon Omega still remembered to have fun and held a Kappa Krush party and fall and spring formals each year. The active members also continued to reach out with alumnae members through the annual alumnae brunch. The chapter also retained its relationship with the Dickinson College faculty through hosting the Faculty Tea.
  
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In 2007, Dickinson College’s Panhellenic Association completely reorganized itself and added Recruitment events in the spring to get Potential New Members excited for the recruitment process in the fall in addition to hosting multiple recruitment workshops with the campus sororities. As a result, Dickinson had the most successful sorority Recruitment in college history, and Kappa welcomed a large class of New Members.
  
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==Highlights of the 1990s:==
 
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(From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:
 
  
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'''Housing:'''
  
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'''Housing:'''
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The chapter still retains a house where 17 of the second-year members live.
  
  
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'''Philanthropy:'''
 
'''Philanthropy:'''
  
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Epsilon Omega remained involved in various philanthropies. The chapter hosted philanthropy activities such as a Lip Sync Contest benefiting Reading Is Fundamental, Kappa Kisses for a local domestic violence shelter, and flag football for research on the Marfan Syndrome. The chapter women also honored the memory of Kappa sisters by organizing Rock 'N Bowl, which raised money for the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation in memory of a sister at Virginia Tech, and Run for Steph, held in honor of a sister killed in a car accident after graduation. Epsilon Omega participated in other campus-wide philanthropies such as Up Till Dawn which raised more than $40,000 dollars for Saint Jude’s Hospital.
  
  
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'''Convention Award:'''
  
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'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''
 
  
  
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==Highlights of 2011-2019==
  
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==Highlights of 2011==
  
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==Highlights of 2000-2010==
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In 2011, Epsilon Omega focused on working with other organizations on campus to improve life at Dickinson College and Greek Life. The chapter collaborated with Dickinson students, especially Greek women, to strengthen campus policy on sexual assault. The chapter participated in a forum about Greek Life for the entire campus which permitted the women to weigh in on the benefits of membership in a Greek-letter organization.
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(From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:
 
  
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'''Philanthropy:'''
  
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'''Housing:''' Beta Theta has an average of 274 members and an average in the high 60s of new members. The highest number of new members was 80 in the fall of 2004. The house slept 94-96 so filling the house seemed to be no problem.
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Epsilon Omega continued to host many of its annual philanthropic events, including Run For Steph and Lip Sync for Literacy. The chapter participated in a variety of activities sponsored by other Greek-letter organizations, including the Nu Factor, which was organized by Delta Nu and Sigma Alpha Epsilon. The chapter also sent volunteers weekly to help out at a local soup kitchen and elementary school.  
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Convention Awards:
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'''Philanthropy:''' The chapter raised more tha  $135,000 in the 2000s. Each year they had a golf tournament, Kappa Klassic, and a spaghetti dinner at the chapter house. They donated the funds raised to the JD McCarty Center in Norman and to the Rose McGill Fund.
 
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'''Convention Awards:''' Through the 2000s the chapter has received honorable mention in the following: Technology, Standards, Risk Management; Recruitment, Panhellenic, Public Relations, New Member Program, Excellence in Chapter Management, Gracious Living, House Board, Chapter/ AB, Most Outstanding Chapter
 
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==Highlights of 2011-2019:==
 
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(From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.):
 
  
 
==Highlights of 2012==
 
==Highlights of 2012==
  
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Scholarship
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The past chapter year was a big year of change for the Epsilon Omega chapter. We started the year with a new Chapter Council and our first big philanthropy event was Kappa Kisses for Valentine's Day. Kappa Kisses is our annual event where we create Valentine's Day goodie bags to be sold and put in students' mailboxes. The proceeds raised from our efforts go towards Domestic Violence Services.  
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Spring 2012 GPA - 3.372 - Rank - 4th Place
 
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Fall 2012 Member GPA - 3.4 - Rank - 1st Place
 
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Fall 2012 New Member GPA - 3.313 - Rank - 3rd Place
 
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'''Kappa Tutors'''
 
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The Beta Theta chapter provides members with a Kappa-to-Kappa tutoring system in which members who tutor other members are paid per hour by Kappa. This tutoring system has shown to be a successful way for Kappa’s to grow academically and build relationships with fellow Kappas within their academic field.
 
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'''Adopt-a-Prof'''
 
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In spring of 2012, Kappa was happy to be matched with Juanita Vargas, prominent leader and professor from the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education. Many of our members have enjoyed meeting with her and welcoming her and her family into our home.  
 
  
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In the fall of 2012, we spent time with our Adopt-A-Prof, Amy Davenport. Amy oversees and directs our campus wide workout facility. Our chapter has enjoyed getting to know her and her family.  As a chapter, we send care packages, flowers, have dinners with her to form a special bond.
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Our chapter participated in the college wide Relay for Life and raised money as a team for the American Cancer Society. At the end of the semester we helped fraternity Kappa Sigma with their annual Parkinson's Walk, working with them to raise money, sell t-shirts, and promote the event. In addition to all of these special events, girls volunteered weekly at a local soup kitchen as well as participated in the Homework Club at local elementary schools, LaTorte Elementary and in Grandview Park, an area where there are many underprivileged families who we help mentor, tutor, and just hang out with students after school.  
  
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'''Smart Cookie'''
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The new academic year began with a wonderful and successful recruitment that gave a new member class of thirty-two new Kappas! Shortly after recruitment, the Northeast experienced Hurricane Sandy which devastated areas across the east coast including several of our own members' homes. In late October we organized bake sale efforts to raise money toward Hurricane Sandy Relief and successfully donated the proceeds to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.  Next we hosted our annual Lipsync for Literacy event, teaming up with fraternity Kappa Sigma to raise money in support of Reading is Fundamental, an organization that seeks to promote reading and literacy in American youth. We continued our participation this fall with the food banks and soup kitchens of Carlisle as well as our involvement with the elementary schools and homework clubs. We ended the semester with a lovely and heartwarming holiday sisterhood event where we celebrated the holidays as well as wrapped donated books we received that were distributed to Project Share of Carlisle, an organization supporting underprivileged and homeless families.  
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Every week at chapter, our Vice President of Academic Excellence announces a “Smart Cookie” award to be given out to a Kappa who has received an “A” on a test or paper that week. Members can enter the drawing by placing their name or work in a folder. The member who is drawn receives a homemade baked treat. This unique way of positive reinforcement encourages members to succeed academically.
 
  
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'''Period of Support'''
 
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This is a new program that Kappa established to support members after the member has earned a semester of concerning grades. These members are paired with a academically strong member on the academic excellence committee. This mentor encourages the member to use campus and Kappa learning resources. These members on Period of Support also meet regularly with the Vice President of Academic Excellence for encouragement and advice.
 
  
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'''Owl Groups'''
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==Highlights of 2013==
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Our Vice President of Academic Excellence took up a chapter wide survey, identifying everyone’s major and minors. She then compiled them in a master list and passed them out to the chapter members. This gave the younger women in the house the opportunity to ask older members questions about their majors and use them as mentors and for study assistance.
 
  
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'''Group Honors/Awards - University of Oklahoma'''  
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Epsilon Omega Chapter found in 2013 one of our happiest and most successful years both philanthropically and personally for our sisters. In January we elected new Chapter Council.  This CC was comprised of new and veteran members who created an atmosphere of well-rounded ideas and opinions for the New Year. This group of girls was especially motivated to help Epsilon Omega work towards the goals and ideals of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the national as well as local level. We started the calendar year off with one of our two major philanthropy events, Kappa Kisses. Kappa Kisses is an annual event in which we sell homemade Valentine greeting cards with heresy kisses attached to them. All the proceeds go to Domestic Violence Center.  For 2013 we ended up donating around $650!
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Homecoming Queen 2012 - Maggie Cannon
 
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Campus Activities Council Sooner Scandals - 1st Place
 
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Campus Activities Council University Sing - 2nd Place
 
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Best Supporting Actress
 
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Campus Activities Council Homecoming - 3rd Place Overall
 
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Banner Competition - 1st Place
 
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Float Competition - 2nd Place
 
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Panhellenic Standards of Excellence Awards
 
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Academic Achievement
 
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Commitment to Founding Values
 
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• Leadership and Membership Development
 
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• Risk Management and Social Responsibilities
 
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• Recruitment and Education of New Member
 
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• Develop & Foster Relationships with Stakeholders
 
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• PanHellenic Outstanding Alumni Award - Jane Barrett
 
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• PanHellenic House of the Year for International Greek Exchange 2012
 
  
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'''2012 Kappa Convention Awards'''
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During the winter months we also held several sisterhood dinners. These dinners always proved to be a great time and never ceased to bring all the girls closer and closer together. Our hard-working Event Committee also organized a beautiful dinner with some of the sister’s favorite Professors and Dickinson Administrators. The room was decorated beautifully, the food was delicious and there was a slide show projecting photos that had been taken throughout the year.  We ended the academic year with a senior send-off dinner to say goodbye to the senior class and have one final sisterhood event before we all went our separate ways for summer vacation. All the senior parents sent in baby pictures and the littles of the senior girls each stood up and recited a funny anecdote about her big. It was a great way to say goodbye to a very memorable group of girls.
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New Member Program Award Winner
 
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Honorable Mentions:Advisory Board Award; House Board Award; Chapter/Advisory Board Relations Award; Technology Award; Philanthropy Award; Philanthropy Signature Event Award; PanHellenic Award; Recruitment Award; Public Relations Award; Excellence in Chapter Management Award
 
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Traditions
 
  
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Senior Bump Line
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Before we knew it we were back at Dickinson and ready to start a new school year! Recruitment began in late August and all went smoothly. Carly ’15 part of the new member class of 2012 said of her first recruitment, “It brought all the classes closer together which made the whole recruitment process very special”. The New Member class has twenty-six great girls who were all so excited to receive bids from Kappa! Our New Member Education Program was completely re-vamped thanks to our wonderful New Member Educator who worked tirelessly on it making sure it was perfect and succinct. Before initiation current members got a refresher course on ritual and they all said it was beneficial and made the girls feel more connected to Kappa and its rich history. The calendar year concluded with the Kappa sponsored Lip-Sync. We had a great-turn out and all the proceeds went to “Reading is Fundamental”.  
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The last chapter meeting of the year, all active members, except seniors, recreate the recruitment ‘Bump Line’ in Kappa Hall. The seniors then enter and we ‘bump’ them in for their last chapter.  
 
  
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Special Events
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Our chapter has made great strides this year as individuals, as a group and as a sisterhood. We have faced challenges with maturity and tackled them head-on thanks to exceptional leadership. All the members of Epsilon Omega know that we are an organization that is only as strong as our weakest link. Everyday we strive to be the best fraternity of women as possible and will continue to work together in order to achieve all of our goals.  
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• Soonerthon Miracle Child - Lucy
 
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Each year, Kappa gets paired with a Miracle Child from OU Children’s Hospital. This year we were gladly paired with an eight year old girl, Lucy. We threw her a birthday party with presents, cakes and ended the night with a sleepover.  
 
  
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Owl-O-Ween
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We faced some difficulties at the end of the year as a chapter but have laid out our goals and plan of action for the upcoming year that we are confident we can accomplish. We plan on making the next chapter year even busier than the last, filling our time with even more philanthropy events, a monthly sisterhood bonding event, and more to propel our chapter to even greater heights! 
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For Halloween this year, we invited alumnae and their children to join us in trick-or-treating throughout the house. We also provided crafts, food and drinks.
 
  
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Dad’s Day
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With the new year came new changes for the chapter on campus and the college's perspective on Greek Life. While the college created some new challenges governing our role as a Greek organization on campus, it has motivated us to demonstrate even more our role as a group of women supporting women on our campus and all that Kappas contribute to the Dickinon community.  
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For Dad’s Day, Kappa held a lunch the afternoon before a home football game complete with pictures and a raffle.
 
  
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Mom’s Day
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Our members are involved in many different areas at Dickinson, whether it be captain of the nationally recognized Mock Trial team, distinguished varsity athletes, Dean's List honor students, and more, the Kappas of Dickinson never cease to impress and truly represent Kappa in every sense of the word.  
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For Mom’s Day, Kappa hosted a brunch at our Kappa Hall and put on an incredible fashion show.
 
  
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Relay for Life
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We have outlined plans to become an even closer group of women who support each other every step of the way, regardless of the challenges created by the school. Our plans include strengthening our Chapter Council and making this the brain power and center of our chapter, utilizing each member to their fullest potential and working together to create a great year ahead. Our community service efforts are going to be even stronger and we are already adding multiple events to our schedule, as well as mandatory hours for each member to have completed by the end of the semester. In addition, in order to improve our image on campus we are coordinating with our new faculty adviser who will come and sit in on meetings, have dinner with the chapter once a month, and we hope will give us a new perspective looking in on our chapter. This also includes our greater involvement with the Women's Center on campus as we hope to show both the school and other students that Kappas truly are women in support of other women and the positive effect and role models Kappas can be for women. We look forward to continuing our traditions through the spring and into the fall as well as becoming even better Kappas each and every day.
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One of the members of Beta Theta’s mom passed away from cancer in early 2012. In honor of her mom, Kappa put a team together honoring her name and participated in Relay for Life at The University of Oklahoma.  
 
  
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Soonerthon
 
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Soonerthon is OU’s Dance Marathon which raises money for OU Children’s Hospital. Kappa put together a very large team and participated in the 12 hour event.
 
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Big Event
 
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Big Event is a campus wide community day of service where groups are designated to areas of service around the Norman/OKC metro. Kappa formed two teams that went to two different locations. 
 
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University Sing
 
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Beta Theta was paired with Sigma Phi Epsilon to the theme “Picture Perfect” for U-Sing 2012. The chapter had to choose a picture from an old year book and build a performance around it.
 
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Sooner Scandals
 
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To the theme, “Be Careful What You Wish For,” Kappa put together an incredible show alongside Delta Tau Delta about a boy who wished to be apart of the circus and later finds out, it was not what he expected. Kappa took first place in Scandals 2012!
 
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Homecoming
 
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“Let the Games Begin” was the Homecoming theme for 2012. Each group chose a board game of their choice to build and create homecoming around. Beta Theta was paired with Sigma Alpha Epsilon to the theme ‘Jumanji’.
 
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Kite and Key
 
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Paired with Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa had a formal evening with a live band at the Farmers Market in downtown Oklahoma City.
 
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Glo Kappa
 
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Kappa’s dance the night away in all neon gear at Norman’s Red Room
 
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Monmonth
 
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Kappa’s and Pi Phi’s enjoyed a formal evening at Oklahoma City’s Remington Park.
 
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KKG Where Will You Be
 
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Kappa’s dressed as who they wanted to be in ten years. Everyone made their costumes unique and all their own.
 
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Philanthropic Involvement
 
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RIF Book Drop
 
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Beta Theta hosts an annual book drive in the fall semester. Our members generously donate books for every grade level and both genders to give to several Title I schools in the Norman Public School District. In years past, we were able to give to a book to every child. This year in particular,we collected over 2,500 from both chapter members and other organizations on campus to give to several different elementary schools. One elementary school was a low income rural school just outside of the Norman. This school had been hit by a tornado so our books help rebuild their school library.
 
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Kappa Kupcakes
 
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"Kappa Kupcakes," a public philanthropy event that takes place every spring semester in April. At this event, local businesses collectively donate thousands of cupcakes for attendees, a local DJ plays music on the front lawn, the chapter house is decorated, chapter members dress up (some actually dress up as cupcakes) or wear our Kappa Kupcakes t-shirt, and PanHellenic chapters participate in a cupcake cook off. Funds raised go to Center for Children and Families Inc.
 
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Goodwill
 
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At the end of each semester, we take up donations to give to Goodwill. It is something so simple that our house loves to participate in.
 
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Local Fire Department
 
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When Beta Theta has excess unopened food from a catered special event, we donate it to our local fire department for the men on duty.
 
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'''Chapter Goals''' For the year 2012, our chapter goals were to:
 
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Increase academic accountability
 
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To achieve this goal, we put a huge emphasis on academics on a weekly basis. At the beginning of the fall semester, we had each member and new member write down their GPA goal. We combined them all and came up with a chapter goal. Throughout the semester, we had encouragement to help us reach our goals. 
 
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Increase campus involvement and leadership
 
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Beta Theta successfully had continuous involvement in over 70 different student organizations on campus. Campus Actives Council (CAC) hosts the campuses main events throughout the year such as Homecoming, Dance Marathon and ten other campus wide activates. Kappa has representation in all twelve executive committees.
 
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Educate members of general etiquette
 
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To better inform our members on general etiquette, we invited Kate Stanton, Executive Director of Student Affairs, to speak about the importance of maintaining social etiquette. She was engaging, funny and members learned a lot from her presentation.
 
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Invite honored Beta Theta alumnae to speak at chapter
 
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Chapters advisors came to introduce themselves at weekly chapter meetings. We hope to expand beyond advisers this year to alumnae that are prominent leaders in the state.
 
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Increase attendance on campus events
 
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As a chapter, we provided more incentives to get involved.  The New Member Educator also invited organization liaisons to the new member meetings to better inform them on organizations on campus. We also added calendars on the back of chapter announcements.
 
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Improve visibility on PanHellenic leadership
 
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This past year, Beta Theta strived to have at least two people apply for every open PanHellenic position. We also had several members as Rho Gamma’s during formal recruitment.
 
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Host a multicultural event
 
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Beta Theta hosted three different multicultural events including a pumpkin carving night with a multicultural group on campus.
 
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Publicize philanthropic causes
 
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Beta Theta has gone to great lengths to insure quality PR. We updated our website, set up a twitter and instagram account and utilized social media. We also continue to make t-shirts for events as well as banners to hang outside our house. This past year we have also personally gone to other chapters on campus to share events.
 
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Increase Chapter knowledge and understanding of ritual
 
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After convention, we knew we needed to come back and improve our rituals. We held ritual reviews weekly for members to make sure everything was in place for initiation. When the time rolled around, Beta Theta was fully prepared to do everything by the book. Our chapter is extremely proud of the accomplishments and changes we have made this past year with our rituals.
 
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Give a detailed budget presentation each semester
 
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Nicole Upshaw, our chapter treasurer for 2012, put together a PowerPoint slideshow both semesters to better explain where each dollar of our dues was going and why.
 
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Increase chapter unity through fun activities
 
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As a chapter, we attended a Oklahoma City Thunder NBA basketball game. We also had a movie night on the front lawn of the Kappa house where we rented a giant TV screen and laid out lounged on blankets and had popcorn.
 
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Foster an environment of accountability and increase morale in Standards Standards Committee did a great job of making sure all situations were dealt with equally and fair to all members. The Vice President of Standards made presentations throughout both semesters to make sure all members understood the standards guidelines.To increase morale, the Standards committee has several fun activities for the chapter including ‘mocktinis’ the chapter before spring break along with a standards presentation.
 
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'''Challenges and How They Were Overcome'''
 
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PanHellenic ‘No Frills’ policy
 
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The University of Oklahoma’s PanHellenic system has recently decided to adopt a ‘No Frills’ policy in accordance with National PanHellenic guidelines. In the Spring of 2012 this policy was put up to a vote of the chapters on campus. Kappa fully supported PanHellenic throughout this process but the policy did not pass by one vote. Although the policy did not pass, Beta Theta still decided to change recruitment by having a day focused on community service. Out of the PanHellenic system, Kappa was the only chapter to start moving in this direction. The policy was passed in the fall 2012 after recruitment.
 
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PanHellenic Community Service Hours
 
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PanHellenic has recently changed the minimum community service hours per member to 10 hours a semester. Kappa has adapted and encouraged our members to abide by the changes.
 
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Emergency Plan
 
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Over the summer of 2012, a member of another sorority on campus died tragically while attending summer classes. Campus policies were strengthened and alcohol consumption was taken more seriously. The sorority involved was not aware of the rules and policies following an emergency situation. In reflection of this incident, Kappa informed its members of what to do should a crisis affect our chapter.
 
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'''World/Local Events'''
 
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OKies for Africa
 
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A member of Kappa, planned and organized a concert in Kappa Hall,where we raised money and sold shirts to assist an orphanage in Africa.
 
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Opportunity Boxes
 
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Beta Theta paired with Delta Tau Delta to organize and put together opportunity boxes for children in Haiti. Kappa ending up sending over 100 boxes full of children’s toys.
 
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Presidential Campaigns
 
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Several members of our chapter were campaign callers during the presidential election. They were prepared to answer questions about the campaign as well as take donations.
 
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Watch Party
 
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The University of Oklahoma Student Government Association hosted watch parties for each presidential debate, at which Kappa’s were in attendance.
 
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Natural Disasters
 
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Fires swept through areas of Oklahoma, taking homes, businesses and caused countless other damages. Beta Theta took supplies such as food and water to rescue workers.
 
  
 
==Highlights of 2014==
 
==Highlights of 2014==
  
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Scholarship
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Epsilon Omega Chapter found 2014 to be one of our most successful years, both philanthropically and personally for our sisters.  In January we elected new Chapter Council. This CC was comprised of new and veteran members who created an atmosphere of well-rounded ideas and opinions for the New Year. This group of girls was especially motivated to help Epsilon Omega work towards the goals and ideals of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the national as well as local level. We started the calendar year off with one of our two major philanthropy events, Kappa Kisses. Kappa Kisses is an annual event in which we sell homemade Valentine greeting cards with heresy kisses attached to them. The kisses and cards are assembled at a sisterhood event and the cards are made during a rush event. All the proceeds go to Domestic Violence Center.  For 2014 we ended up donating around $750, over $100 more than last year!
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•Spring 2014 GPA -  3.333
 
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•Fall 2014 Member GPA - 3.361
 
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Rank – 2nd Place
 
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•Kappa Tutors:
 
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The Beta Theta chapter provides members with a Kappa-to-Kappa tutoring system in which members who tutor other members are paid per hour by Kappa. This tutoring system has shown to be a successful way for Kappa’s to grow academically and build relationships with fellow Kappas within their academic field.
 
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•Adopt-a-Prof:
 
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In the fall of 2014, we spent time with our Adopt-A-Prof, Amy Davenport. Amy oversees and directs our campus wide workout facility. Our chapter has enjoyed getting to know her and her family.  As a chapter, we send care packages, flowers, have dinners with her to form a special bond.
 
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•Smart Cookie:
 
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Every week at chapter, our Vice President of Academic Excellence announces a “Smart Cookie” award to be given out to a Kappa who has received an “A” on a test or paper that week. Members can enter the drawing by placing their name or work in a folder. The member who is drawn receives a homemade baked treat. This unique way of positive reinforcement encourages members to succeed academically.
 
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•Period of Support:
 
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Kappa established this program to support members after the member has earned a semester of concerning grades. These members are paired with a academically strong member on the academic excellence committee. This mentor encourages the member to use campus and Kappa learning resources. These members on Period of Support also meet regularly with the Vice President of Academic Excellence for encouragement and advice.
 
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•Owl Groups:
 
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Our Vice President of Academic Excellence took up a chapter wide survey, identifying everyone’s major and minors. She then compiled them in a master list and passed them out to the chapter members. This gave the younger women in the house the opportunity to ask older members questions about their majors and use them as mentors and for study assistance.
 
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Group Honors/Awards
 
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University of Oklahoma
 
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•Homecoming Queen 2014 – Sarah Campbell
 
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•President’s Trophy Award
 
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•Campus Activities Council University Sing
 
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•Soonerthon Miracle Network Award
 
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•Campus Activities Council Homecoming
 
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•Pep Rally Competition- 1st Place
 
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Special Events
 
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•Soonerthon Miracle Child – Lucy
 
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Each year, Kappa gets paired with a Miracle Child from OU Children’s Hospital. This year we were gladly paired with an eight year old girl, Lucy, whom we have been paired with in the past. The Kappas have developed a great relationship with her and her family and are happy to be able to support her again this year. This past semester we went to Andy Alligator’s with the Soonerthon group and then continued the fun back at the Kappa house! We had presents for Lucy and a yummy ice cream bar. We played for hours, painted each other’s faces, and shared a lot of laughs. We ended the night with a sleepover.
 
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•Owl-O-Ween:
 
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For Halloween this year, we invited alumnae and their children to join us in trick-or-treating throughout the house. We also provided crafts, food and drinks.
 
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•Dad’s Day:
 
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For Dad’s Day, Kappa held a lunch the afternoon before a home football game complete with pictures and a raffle.
 
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•Mom’s Day:
 
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For Mom’s Day, Kappa hosted a brunch at our Kappa Hall and put on an incredible fashion show.
 
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•Relay for Life:
 
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One of the members of Beta Theta’s mom passed away from cancer in early 2012. In honor of her mom, Kappa put a team together honoring her name and participated in Relay for Life at The University of Oklahoma for the past three years .
 
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•Soonerthon:
 
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Soonerthon is OU’s Dance Marathon which raises money for OU Children’s Hospital. Kappa put together a very large team and participated in the 12 hour event. Sarah Campbell, a junior kappa, was the chairman for the event and ended up raising $318,711.14 to donate to the OU Children’s Hospital.  
 
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•Big Event:
 
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Big Event is a campus wide community day of service where groups are designated to areas of service around the Norman/OKC metro. Kappa formed two teams that went to two different locations.   
 
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•University Sing:
 
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Beta Theta was paired with Delta Tau Delta for U-Sing 2014. The chapter
 
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had to choose a picture from an old year book and build a performance around it.
 
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•Homecoming:
 
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“Bound as One” was the Homecoming theme for 2014. Each group chose a story book of their choice to build and create homecoming around. Beta Theta was paired with Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Kappa Psi, and Lambda Phi Epsilon to the theme ‘Water for Elephants.
 
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•Kappa Kappa Galaxy:
 
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Kappa’s have fun dressing up as aliens, robots, and other futuristic costumes with a kappa twist in downtown Oklahoma City.
 
  
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•Centennial:
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During the fall and winter months we also held several sisterhood events. These events ranged from supporting our varsity athletes at field hockey and soccer games, to helping plan and run in our annual 5k, Run For Steph. These events always proved to be a great time and never ceased to bring all the girls closer and closer together. Our hard-working Event Committee also organized a beautiful dinner with some of the sister’s favorite Professors and Dickinson Administrators. The room was decorated beautifully, the food was delicious and there was a slide show projecting photos that had been taken throughout the year.  We ended the academic year with a senior send-off brunch to say goodbye to the senior class and have one final sisterhood event before we all went our separate ways for summer vacation. All the senior parents sent in baby pictures and the littles of the senior girls each stood up and recited a funny anecdote about her big. It was a great way to say goodbye to a very memorable group of girls.  
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Last year, the Beta Theta Chapter celebrated their 100th anniversary! The entire chapter had a luncheon, fun activities, and a dinner party for all of Beta Theta’s past and present members to enjoy for the weekend. The Centennial Ball took place at the Embassy Suites located in Norman.
 
  
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• Monmonth:
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Before we knew it we were back at Dickinson and ready to start a new school year! Recruitment began in late August and all went smoothly. Isabel ’17 part of the new member class of 2014 said of her first experience with rush, “It brought all the classes closer together which made the whole recruitment process very special”. The New Member class has thirty-three great girls who were all so excited to receive bids from Kappa! Our New Member Education Program was completely re-vamped thanks to our wonderful New Member Educator who worked tirelessly on it making sure it was perfect and succinct. Before initiation current members got a refresher course on ritual and they all said it was beneficial and made the girls feel more connected to Kappa and its rich history. The calendar year concluded with the Kappa sponsored Lip-Sync. We had a great-turn out and all the proceeds went to “Reading is Fundamental”.
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Kappa’s and Pi Phi’s enjoyed a formal evening at Oklahoma City’s Remington Park.
 
  
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Our chapter has made great strides this year as individuals, as a group and as a sisterhood. We have faced challenges with maturity and tackled them head-on thanks to exceptional leadership. All the members of Epsilon Omega know that we are an organization that is only as strong as our weakest link. Everyday we strive to be the best fraternity of women as possible and will continue to work together in order to achieve all of our goals.
  
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Philanthropic Involvement
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There have been no significant changes on campus. The overall nature of our chapter is very positive and optimistic. We plan on have just as a successful 2014 as we did a 2013. Our chapter is excited to continue on this progressive path in the year to come.
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•RIF Book Drive:
 
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Beta Theta hosts an annual book drive in the fall semester. Our members generously donate books for every grade level and both genders to give to several Title I schools in the Norman Public School District. This year we had the opportunity to donate to our local philanthropy, CCFI, also. They used the books in their Holiday Wishes gift drive. This year we collected over 2,000 books from both chapter members and other organizations on campus to give to several different elementary schools. We are now participating in a volunteer and mentoring program with one of the schools that received donations from us. The book drive was extremely successful this year and we are happy to spread the love for reading to children all around Norman.
 
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•Kappa Kupcakes:
 
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"Kappa Kupcakes” is our public philanthropy event that takes place every spring semester. Last year we had it in April and this year it will be held on March 4th. At this event, the Norman and OU community have the chance to come to Kappa and eat cupcakes to support our local philanthropy, the Center for Children and Families, Inc. Attendees enjoy cupcakes and a cake-decorating contest, along with a photo booth and lovely outdoor seating. Last year we presented a check for $4,800 to CCFI. This year we aim to make above and beyond last year’s total. This event is not only full of yummy treats, but it benefits a great cause and provides wonderful community interaction.
 
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•Goodwill
 
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At the end of each semester, we take up donations to give to Goodwill. It is something so simple that our house loves to participate in.
 
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•Local Fire Department
 
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When Beta Theta has excess unopened food from a catered special event, we donate it to our local fire department for the men on duty.
 
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Chapter Goals
 
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For the year 2014, our chapter goals were to:
 
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Green Quadrant:
 
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•Improve Chapter Council's understanding of chapter budget
 
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•Prepare chapter budget and present to chapter
 
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•The treasurer will hold office hours once a week
 
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•Familiarize members with Panhellenic and encourage greater participation
 
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•Provide incentives for attending weekly Panhellenic meetings
 
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•Continue to nominate at least two individuals for Panhellenic office
 
−
 
 
−
•Increase member involvement with chapter events
 
−
 
 
−
•Utilize Chapter Council to individually encourage the chapter to support members who have planned events
 
−
 
 
−
•Improve attendance at campus events
 
−
 
 
−
•Have campus applications readily available in the house to encourage member involvement
 
−
 
 
−
•Post weekly campus events calendars around the house to remind members of opportunities
 
−
 
 
−
•Implement “Kappa on Kampus” to reward a member each month who has shown great involvement
 
−
 
 
−
 
−
Blue Quadrant:
 
−
 
 
−
•Increase chapter knowledge of History and Ritual
 
−
 
 
−
•Implement short ritual reminder of the week/kappa fact at each chapter meeting
 
−
 
 
−
•Enhance level of committee involvement
 
−
 
 
−
•Restructure committee chapters with a greater emphasis on the importance of committees
 
−
 
 
−
•VP - Organization will have a meeting with each committee head to discuss leadership strategy and plans
 
−
 
−
Yellow Quadrant:
 
−
 
 
−
•Motivate and encourage members in their academic endeavors
 
−
 
 
−
•Continue to update and organize the chapter’s test files
 
−
 
 
−
•Implement incentives program and recognition for individuals with a high GPA, not strictly those who receive a 4.0, like a weekly “smart cookie” award
 
−
 
 
−
•Reinstall academic excellence as a priority in recruitment
 
−
 
−
Red Quadrant:
 
−
 
 
−
•Further accountability of Standards and increase morale
 
−
 
 
−
•Pursue consistent and fair consequences for Standards violations
 
−
 
 
−
•Educate chapter on the Standards process and consequences
 
−
 
 
−
•Morale will plan and host sisterhood events to increase morale and bond within the chapter
 
−
 
 
−
•Improve chapter image within the community
 
−
 
 
−
•Promote positive PR through social media outlets, local newspapers, and community
 
−
 
 
−
•Promote positive PR throughout campus by hosting a social media awareness event
 
−
 
 
−
 
−
Challenges and How They Were Overcome
 
−
 
 
−
•PanHellenic ‘No Frills’ policy:
 
−
The University of Oklahoma’s PanHellenic system has recently decided to adopt a ‘No Frills’ policy in accordance with National PanHellenic guidelines. In the Spring of 2012 this policy was put up to a vote of the chapters on campus. Kappa fully supported PanHellenic throughout this process but the policy did not pass by one vote. Although the policy did not pass, Beta Theta still decided to change recruitment by having a day focused on community service. Out of the OU PanHellenic system, Kappa was the only chapter to start moving in this direction. The policy was passed in the fall 2012 after recruitment. Beta Theta has continued improved over the two years and has expanded from a day focused on individual community service to the chapter's heart for philanthropy.
 
−
 
 
−
•PanHellenic Community Service Hours:
 
−
PanHellenic has recently changed the minimum community service hours per member to 10 hours a semester. Kappa requires 15 hours of community service per semester, per member. We offer endless opportunities for our members to serve the community.
 
−
 
 
−
•Emergency Plan:
 
−
Over the summer of 2014, a member of another sorority on campus died tragically while attending summer classes. Campus policies were strengthened and alcohol consumption was taken more seriously. The sorority involved was not aware of the rules and policies following an emergency situation. In reflection of this incident, Kappa informed its members of what to do should a crisis affect our chapter.
 
−
 
 
−
World/Local Events
 
−
•OKies for Africa:
 
−
A member of Kappa, planned and organized a concert in Kappa Hall, where we raised money and sold shirts to assist an orphanage in Africa.
 
−
 
 
−
•Opportunity Boxes:
 
−
Beta Theta paired with Delta Tau Delta to organize and put together opportunity boxes for children in Haiti. Kappa ending up sending over 100 boxes full of children’s toys.
 
−
 
 
−
•Guatemala Mission Trip:
 
−
Three members of Beta Theta raised money to go on a mission trip to Totonicapan, Guatemala. They worked with Habitats for Humanity and built two homes for those in need.
 
  
  
 
==Highlights of 2015==
 
==Highlights of 2015==
−
 
+
Epsilon Omega Chapter started off 2015 with a bang when we welcomed 26 new Kappas into our fraternity. This is the first time the school has done recruitment in the spring of students’ first year at Dickinson, and it was a great success! We also gave out COB bids to two very special and deserving girls.
−
Scholarship
 
−
 
 
−
• Spring 2015 GPA -  3.396
 
−
 
 
−
• Fall 2015 Member GPA - 3.361
 
−
 
 
−
Rank – 2nd Place
 
 
   
 
   
−
• Kappa Tutors
+
We started the year with philanthropy in mind when we held our annual Kappa Kisses fundraiser. We made Valentine’s Day cards, attached chocolate kisses to them, and students were able to send notes to friends. We raised $740 for the Domestic Violence Services in the area. Our Kappas also assisted in serving a Pancake Breakfast for the local Children’s Center. It was extremely rewarding and we have continued our relationship with the coordinator there. We also sent Kappas to the Winter Carnival at North Dickinson Elementary School. The volunteers ran games, sold refreshments, and overall had an amazing, energetic afternoon!
  
−
The Beta Theta chapter provides members with a Kappa-to-Kappa tutoring system in which members who tutor other members are paid per hour by Kappa. This tutoring system has shown to be a successful way for Kappa’s to grow academically and build relationships with fellow Kappas within their academic field.
+
Other highlights of the spring semester include the college’s Relay for Life. Many of our sisters have witnessed the horrifying effects of cancer, so we all walked that night in letters to support them and everyone else who has battled cancer. We ended the year with the Senior Brunch. This was an incredibly sentimental morning, as we wish our seniors could stay with us, but it was great to have one last sisterhood event with them.
  
−
• Adopt-a-Prof
+
We began the new academic year volunteering for the annual 5K, Run for Steph. This is an event on campus that is very close to our hearts and helps to bring us closer together. We hosted Lip Sync in October. There was an impressive turnout—we raised around $3,725 as well as collected many books. The money and books were donated to our national philanthropy Reading is Fundamental. Our sisters continue to volunteer for Homework Club, which is an after school program at two local elementary schools. This is an incredibly rewarding and memorable experience for them, and many girls continue their volunteer work there all throughout their time at Dickinson. Our chapter attended a gender based violence prevention workshop with Kelly Wilt, the Violence Prevention Coordinator at Dickinson. It was an engaging and eye opening presentation. We can’t wait to work with Kelly again!
  
−
In the fall of 2015, we spent time with our Adopt-A-Prof, Amy Davenport. Amy oversees and directs our campus wide workout facility. Our chapter has enjoyed getting to know her and her family.  As a chapter, we send care packages, flowers, have dinners with her to form a special bond.
+
The Epsilon Omega chapter named Lauren Gessner ’16 as the recipient for the Kauffman Key. She was voted by her sisters as demonstrating a true and joyful love of learning, of friends, and of Kappa that serves as an inspiration and model to all chapter members. We also started polished sister awards this semester. Sisters can nominate other Kappas who have been working hard and have been in good spirits, as well as have been put together. The “polished sisters” receive a bottle of Essie nail polish as a prize. This has been a fun way to recognize those who have represented Kappa well.
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
• Smart Cookie
 
 
   
 
   
−
Every week at chapter, our Vice President of Academic Excellence announces a “Smart Cookie” award to be given out to a Kappa who has received an “A” on a test or paper that week. Members can enter the drawing by placing their name or work in a folder. The member who is drawn receives a homemade baked treat. This unique way of positive reinforcement encourages members to succeed academically.
+
This calendar year, our chapter has faced a few challenges but has worked tirelessly to overcome them and improve. In response to our focus letter, we implemented Round Robins for the Chapter Council. In response to our chapter’s mediocre GPA, Kate Eby ’18, our Vice President of Academic Excellence, has initiated changes within the chapter to encourage our sisters to improve their academics. We are implementing a period of concern for 2016, sisters with ‘U’s on their roll call grades are required to meet with the VPAE and President, etc. While our LC was here, she listed officer training and leadership as one of Epsilon Omega’s weaknesses. To fix this, all members of Chapter Council updated their leadership binders and included extra tips for the next girl to hold the position. We also are bringing in a leadership trainer and having a leadership workshop when we get back to school in January 2016. A challenge we foresee in 2016 is a large group of girls going through recruitment. To be proactive with this issue, it is now mandatory for all seniors to attend every night of recruitment. We are bursting with excitement to meet our next class of Kappas and see what 2016 has in store for us!
  
−
• Period of Support
+
Our campus has continued to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Greek life on campus. We have worked with the other Greek organizations on campus to support each other and the college, showing all that Kappa and Greek life in general add to campus life. The Blue Ribbon Project was started to evaluate Greek life from a third party perspective. This is a great way for us to voice our opinions of Greek life. In order to unify the sororities on campus with administration and faculty, we held a Teacher Appreciation night. We are motivated to continue working with the college to improve the impression of Greek life on campus!
−
+
The nature of the Epsilon Omega chapter in general is one of extreme pride, sisterhood, and optimism. We are looking forward to continuing to make a difference on campus and in the community. All the members of Epsilon Omega know that we are an organization that is only as strong as our weakest link. Everyday we strive to be the best fraternity of women as possible and will continue to work together in order to achieve all of our goals!
−
Kappa established this program to support members after the member has earned a semester of concerning grades. These members are paired with a academically strong member on the academic excellence committee. This mentor encourages the member to use campus and Kappa learning resources. These members on Period of Support also meet regularly with the Vice President of Academic Excellence for encouragement and advice.
 
  
−
• Owl Groups
+
Chapter Philanthropy:
  
−
Our Vice President of Academic Excellence took up a chapter wide survey, identifying everyone’s major and minors. She then compiled them in a master list and passed them out to the chapter members. This gave the younger women in the house the opportunity to ask older members questions about their majors and use them as mentors and for study assistance.
+
What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?
−
 
 
−
Group Honors/Awards
 
 
   
 
   
−
University of Oklahoma 
+
We support our national philanthropies, Reading is Fundamental and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Organization. We also support the Domestic Violence Services of Cumberland County and Perry County.
  
−
• President’s Trophy Award
+
Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
  
−
• Campus Activities Council University Sing
+
Our chapter has a devotion to literacy and education. We also love children and try to involve them in our philanthropy efforts whenever we can!
−
 
−
• Soonerthon Miracle Network Award
 
  
−
• Campus Activities Council Homecoming
+
==Highlights OF 2016==
  
  
 +
Epsilon Omega Chapter started off Fall 2015 as we welcomed 36 new Kappas into our
 +
fraternity. This was the second time we ever had Spring recruitment in the Spring instead of the fall
 +
and we were so excited about having such a large class!
  
−
Special Events
+
We started the year with philanthropy in mind when we held our annual Kappa Kisses fundraiser.
 +
We made Valentine’s Day cards, attached chocolate kisses to them, and students were able to send
 +
notes to friends. We raised a lot money for Domestic Violence Services in the area. Our Kappas also
 +
assisted in serving a Pancake Breakfast for the local Children’s Center. It was extremely rewarding
 +
and we have continued our relationship with the coordinator there. We also sent Kappas to the
 +
Winter Carnival at North Dickinson Elementary School. The volunteers ran games, sold
 +
refreshments, and overall had an amazing, energetic afternoon! Other highlights of the spring
 +
semester include the college’s Relay for Life. Many of our sisters have witnessed the horrifying
 +
effects of cancer, so we all walked that night in letters to support them and everyone else who has
 +
battled cancer.
  
−
• Soonerthon Miracle Child – Lucy
+
We began the new academic year volunteering for the annual 5K, Run for Steph. This is an event
 +
on campus that is very close to our hearts and helps to bring us closer together. We hosted Lip
 +
Sync in October. We raised over 3000 dollars and the money and books were donated to our
 +
national philanthropy Reading is Fundamental. Our sisters continue to volunteer for Homework
 +
Club, which is an after school program at two local elementary schools. This is an incredibly
 +
rewarding and memorable experience for them, and many girls continue their volunteer work there
 +
all throughout their time at Dickinson. We also did an event this fall we called Kappacinos. We sat
 +
outside on our academic quad and handed out free coffee to all the faculty and staff that walked by.
 +
We had a sign out explaining our philanthropy and asked for donations if anyone felt generous and
 +
wanted to donate. Overall, it was very fun and a great success.
  
−
Each year, Kappa gets paired with a Miracle Child from OU Children’s Hospital. This year we were gladly paired with an eight year old girl, Lucy, whom we have been paired with in the past. The Kappas have developed a great relationship with her and her family and are happy to be able to support her again this year. This past semester we went to Andy Alligator’s with the Soonerthon group and then continued the fun back at the Kappa house! We had presents for Lucy and a yummy ice cream bar. We played for hours, painted each other’s faces, and shared a lot of laughs. We ended the night with a sleepover.
+
We continued polished sister awards this semester. Sisters can nominate other Kappas who have
 +
been working hard and have been in good spirits, as well as have been put together. The “polished
 +
sisters” receive a bottle of Essie nail polish as a prize. This has been a fun way to recognize those
 +
who have represented Kappa well. We also have “Standards Standouts” that the standards
 +
committee nominates to reward in front of the chapter. This could be anyone who has been an
 +
exemplary student, and an exemplary Kappa. They get a little goodie bag with all fun Kappa gifts.
 +
We also have “Officer of the Month.” This is something similar where we acknowledge a girl on
 +
our chapter council who is doing her job successfully. It is nice to be recognized in your chapter
 +
and feel rewarded for the job you are doing.
  
 +
This calendar year, our chapter has faced a few challenges but has worked tirelessly to overcome
 +
them and improve. In response to our focus letter, we have continued to implement Round Robins
 +
for the Chapter Council. In response to our chapter’s mediocre GPA, Maddie Vance ’19, our Vice President of Academic Excellence, has initiated changes within the chapter to encourage our sisters to improve their academics. We are implementing a period of concern for 2016, sisters with ‘U’s on their roll call grades are required to meet with the VPAE and President, etc. She also has started a “smartie panties” reward system where members nominate other sisters for their good grades. Maddie picks a few girls to recognize throughout our chapter and gives them little rewards for their hard work. We just recently had a Kappa trainer come in and work with our leaving and coming in chapter council. It was a very productive and meaningful way for our chapter’s leaders to come together and work with each other to figure out how to better our sorority as a whole for next semester. We spoke about ways to positively run recruitment and ensure we give bids to the best possible group of girls next semester.
  
−
• Owl-O-Ween
+
Our campus has continued to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Greek life on campus. We have worked with the other Greek organizations on campus to support each other and the college, showing all that Kappa and Greek life in general add to campus life. The Blue Ribbon Project was started to evaluate Greek life from a third party perspective. This is a great way for us to voice our opinions of Greek life. In order to unify the sororities on campus with administration and faculty, we held a Teacher Appreciation night. We are motivated to continue working with the college to improve the impression of Greek life on campus!
 +
The nature of the Epsilon Omega chapter in general is one of extreme pride, sisterhood, and optimism. We are looking forward to continuing to make a difference on campus and in the community. All the members of Epsilon Omega know that we are an organization that is only as strong as our weakest link. Everyday we strive to be the best fraternity of women as possible and will continue to work together in order to achieve all of our goals!
  
−
For Halloween this year, we invited alumnae and their children to join us in trick-or-treating throughout the house. We also provided crafts, food and drinks.  
+
We have a new President as of this past fall so it has been our chapter and all of Panhel's goal to make a good impression and have him support Greek life. It is very important to us to ensure that our administration sees all the good we do for our school as a whole. Since Dickinson College is relatively small, we have a smaller chapter in size comparison to many other chapters nationwide. This allows us to be not only know every individial member's name, but also formulate relationships with our sisters beyond our weekly chapter meetings. We all see eachother every day, multiple times a day, on campus and because of this, our chapter is a strong cohesive unit.
  
−
• Dad’s Day
+
'''Chapter Philanthropy'''
  
−
For Dad’s Day, Kappa held a lunch the afternoon before a home football game complete with pictures and a raffle.
+
We support our national philanthropies, Reading is Fundamental and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Organization. We also support the Domestic Violence Services of Cumberland County and Perry County.
 +
Our chapter has a devotion to literacy and education. We also love children and try to involve them in our philanthropy efforts whenever we can.
  
−
• Mom’s Day
+
Kappa continues to have a house where 17 members live. However due to the large size of our chapter we meet in a large classroom in one of our academic buildings known as "Denny."
  
−
For Mom’s Day, Kappa hosted a brunch at our Kappa Hall and put on an incredible fashion show.
+
==Highlights of 2020s:== 
  
−
• Relay for Life
+
(Information from the chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.)
  
−
One of the members of Beta Theta’s mom passed away from cancer in early 2012. In honor of her mom, Kappa put a team together honoring her name and participated in Relay for Life at The University of Oklahoma for the past three years .
 
  
 +
'''Housing:'''
  
−
• Soonerthon
 
−
 
−
Soonerthon is OU’s Dance Marathon which raises money for OU Children’s Hospital. Kappa put together a very large team and participated in the 12 hour event.
 
−
 
−
• Big Event
 
−
 
−
Big Event is a campus wide community day of service where groups are designated to areas of service around the Norman/OKC metro. Kappa formed two teams that went to two different locations.
 
−
 
−
 
−
• University Sing
 
−
 
−
Beta Theta was paired with Beta Theta Pi for U-Sing 2015. The theme was "The Show Must Go On" and the chapter chose the Amazing Spiderman and built a performance around it.
 
−
 
−
 
−
• Homecoming
 
−
 
−
“Historical Moments from the 60s” was the Homecoming theme for 2015. Each group chose a historical moment from the 60s of their choice to build and create homecoming around. Beta Theta was paired with Phi Kappa Psi and Alpha Phi to the theme Moon Landing.
 
−
 
−
 
−
• Blue & Blue 
 
−
 
−
Kappa’s have fun dressing up in all things blue and had a good time at Andy Alligators.
 
−
 
−
• Kappa Holiday Hoopla
 
−
 
−
Kappa's all dressed up as different holidays and had a fun evening in downtown Oklahoma City.
 
−
 
−
• Monmonth
 
−
 
−
Kappa’s and Pi Phi’s enjoyed a formal evening at Oklahoma City’s Remington Park. The event was formal with a Casino Royale theme; each girl brought a date and there was dancing, catered hors d’oeuvres, and various poker games to play.
 
−
 
−
• Sundaes with Steve
 
−
 
−
At one of our chapter events we hosted Steve Ashmore for Sundaes with Steve. The reason why he held the event is to understand a little bit more about Steve. He also spoke about how to better prepare ourselves in college in regards to social events. We got to discuss a little more with him about how to make wise decisions in college and in life after college. After the event was over we had Roxy’s Ice Cream come to serve ice cream sundaes to our chapter members and guests.
 
−
 
−
• Military Heroes Card-Making
 
−
 
−
This is our first year to partner with the Kappa Sigma fraternity for a philanthropic event! We are hosting a Military Heroes Card Making event in order to honor those who have served and still continue to serve our country. Each attendee will make five cards for the military heroes. Kappa Kappa Gamma is very excited to host this group service project at our home. We will be making new friends, while also honoring those who most deserve it before Veterans Day.
 
−
 
−
• Founder's Day
 
−
 
−
For our Founder’s Day we celebrate the beginning of Kappa Kappa Gamma with a ritual service every year. This year, we decided to spruce it up by asking alumnae to come and speak about their Kappa Days. We had Mollie Blackburn Andrews, class of ’85, come and speak about her experience in Kappa. She talked about how things are different and how they are the same. There were stories about recruitment then and now, and how the specific Kappa house has changed over the years. But then finished explaining that the one constant was the sisterhood in Kappa. She spoke of how her membership in Kappa has been there for life and how her friends and relationships in Kappa have been some of the sweetest in life. It was a very special time to celebrate the beginning of Kappa with a reflections and education from one of our wonderful alumna.
 
−
 
−
 
−
Philanthropic Involvement
 
−
 
−
• RIF Book Drive
 
−
 
−
Beta Theta hosts an annual book drive in the fall semester. Our members generously donate books for every grade level and both genders to give to several Title I schools in the Norman Public School District. This year we had the opportunity to donate to our local philanthropy, CCFI, also. They used the books in their Holiday Wishes gift drive. This year we collected over 2,000 books from both chapter members and other organizations on campus to give to several different elementary schools. We are now participating in a volunteer and mentoring program with one of the schools that received donations from us. The book drive was extremely successful this year and we are happy to spread the love for reading to children all around Norman.
 
−
 
−
• Kappa Kupcakes
 
−
 
−
"Kappa Kupcakes” is our public philanthropy event that takes place every spring semester. Last year we had it in April and this year it will be held on March 4th. At this event, the Norman and OU community have the chance to come to Kappa and eat cupcakes to support our local philanthropy, the Center for Children and Families, Inc. Attendees enjoy cupcakes and a cake-decorating contest, along with a photo booth and lovely outdoor seating. Last year we presented a check for $4,800 to CCFI. This year we aim to make above and beyond last year’s total. This event is not only full of yummy treats, but it benefits a great cause and provides wonderful community interaction.
 
−
 
−
• CCFI Diaper drive
 
−
 
−
Beta Theta hosts an annual diaper drive in the fall semester. Our members generously donate diapers of all sizes so that families without the means to cover the costs of diapers can obtain them for free. This year, we were also able to donate 5,700 diapers to our local philanthropy, the Center for Children and Families, Inc. They used the diapers to distribute to the community from their Diaper Pantry that they house inside of CCFI. This year we had an outstanding turnout donation wise, which was a great way to start the year! The diaper drive was a great community service event to introduce the freshman to CCFI and just a little taste of what they offer. We are grateful for the opportunity to support CCFI in any way. It was very neat for our members to be able to visit CCFi to personally drop off the diapers once the drive was over.
 
−
 
−
 
−
• Goodwill
 
−
 
−
At the end of each semester, we take up donations to give to Goodwill. It is something so simple that our house loves to participate in.
 
−
 
−
• Local Fire Department
 
−
 
−
When Beta Theta has excess unopened food from a catered special event, we donate it to our local fire department for the men on duty.
 
−
 
−
 
−
Chapter Goals
 
−
 
−
For the year 2015, our chapter goals were to:
 
−
 
−
 
−
Green Quadrant:
 
−
 
−
•Improve Chapter Council's understanding of chapter budget
 
−
 
−
•Prepare chapter budget and present to chapter
 
−
 
−
•The treasurer will hold office hours once a week
 
−
 
−
•Familiarize members with Panhellenic and encourage greater participation
 
−
 
−
•Provide incentives for attending weekly Panhellenic meetings
 
−
 
−
•Continue to nominate at least two individuals for Panhellenic office
 
−
 
−
•Increase member involvement with chapter events
 
−
 
−
•Utilize Chapter Council to individually encourage the chapter to support members who have planned events
 
−
 
−
•Improve attendance at campus events
 
−
 
−
•Have campus applications readily available in the house to encourage member involvement
 
−
 
−
•Post weekly campus events calendars around the house to remind members of opportunities
 
−
 
−
•Implement “Kappa on Kampus” to reward a member each month who has shown great involvement
 
−
 
−
 
−
Blue Quadrant:
 
−
 
−
•Increase chapter knowledge of History and Ritual
 
−
 
−
•Implement short ritual reminder of the week/kappa fact at each chapter meeting
 
−
 
−
•Enhance level of committee involvement
 
−
 
−
•Restructure committee chapters with a greater emphasis on the importance of committees
 
−
 
−
•VP - Organization will have a meeting with each committee head to discuss leadership strategy and plans
 
−
 
−
 
−
Yellow Quadrant:
 
−
 
−
•Motivate and encourage members in their academic endeavors
 
−
 
−
•Continue to update and organize the chapter’s test files
 
−
 
−
•Implement incentives program and recognition for individuals with a high GPA, not strictly those who receive a 4.0, like a weekly “smart cookie” award
 
−
 
−
•Reinstall academic excellence as a priority in recruitment
 
−
 
−
 
−
Red Quadrant:
 
−
 
−
•Further accountability of Standards and increase morale
 
−
 
−
•Pursue consistent and fair consequences for Standards violations
 
−
 
−
•Educate chapter on the Standards process and consequences
 
−
 
−
•Morale will plan and host sisterhood events to increase morale and bond within the chapter
 
−
 
−
•Improve chapter image within the community
 
−
 
−
•Promote positive PR through social media outlets, local newspapers, and community
 
−
 
−
•Promote positive PR throughout campus by hosting a social media awareness event
 
−
 
−
 
−
Challenges and How They Were Overcome
 
−
 
−
• PanHellenic ‘No Frills’ policy
 
−
 
−
The University of Oklahoma’s PanHellenic system has recently decided to adopt a ‘No Frills’ policy in accordance with National PanHellenic guidelines. In the Spring of 2012 this policy was put up to a vote of the chapters on campus. Kappa fully supported PanHellenic throughout this process but the policy did not pass by one vote. Although the policy did not pass, Beta Theta still decided to change recruitment by having a day focused on community service. Out of the OU PanHellenic system, Kappa was the only chapter to start moving in this direction. The policy was passed in the fall 2012 after recruitment. Beta Theta has continued to improve over the past three years and has expanded from a day focused on individual community service to the chapter's heart for philanthropy.
 
−
 
−
• PanHellenic Community Service Hours
 
−
 
−
PanHellenic has recently changed the minimum community service hours per member to 10 hours a semester. Kappa requires 15 hours of community service per semester, per member. We offer endless opportunities for our members to serve the community.
 
  
−
• Emergency Plan
 
−
 
−
Over the summer of 2014, a member of another sorority on campus died tragically while attending summer classes. Campus policies were strengthened and alcohol consumption was taken more seriously. The sorority involved was not aware of the rules and policies following an emergency situation. In reflection of this incident, Kappa informed its members of what to do should a crisis affect our chapter.
 
−
 
−
World/Local Events
 
−
 
−
• OKies for Africa
 
−
 
−
A member of Kappa, planned and organized a concert in Kappa Hall, where we raised money and sold shirts to assist an orphanage in Africa.
 
−
 
−
• Opportunity Boxes
 
−
 
−
Beta Theta paired with Delta Tau Delta to organize and put together opportunity boxes for children in Haiti. Kappa ending up sending over 100 boxes full of children’s toys.
 
−
 
−
• Guatemala Mission Trip
 
−
 
−
Three members of Beta Theta raised money to go on a mission trip to Totonicapan, Guatemala. They worked with Habitats for Humanity and built two homes for those in need.
 
−
 
−
 
−
==Highlights for 2016==
 
−
 
−
 
−
Pledge Date 8/16/2016
 
−
Initiation 10/22/2016
 
−
80 active seniors, 80 active juniors 85 active sophomores, 86 active freshman
 
−
331 total active members
 
−
 
−
Founders Day: Kappa’s 146th Anniversary
 
−
 
−
Hannah Henry, Madison Mobley, and Sally Bock got into dental school.
 
−
 
−
Sarabeth Coatney and Mallory Tucker received University College PACE Award.
 
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Heather Hamilton received a position on the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
 
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Beta Theta completely remodeled the attic and the basement of the house. The basement now has a full workout room.
 
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Monmouth date party with Pi Beta Phi
 
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Kountry Kappa date party
 
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Kappa Kappa Galaxy date party
 
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Kite and Key date party with Kappa Alpha Theta
 
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Beta Theta paired with alpha Kappa Delta Phi, Kappa Sigma Sigma, and Camp Crimson. The Pirates of the Caribbean themed group won 1st for their float and 3rd with their sidewalk chalk.
 
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Beta Theta paired with Delta Upsilon in University Sing. The groups received the Best Choreography Award.
 
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Greek Preiview Day provided optimal opportunity for high school seniors and unaffiliated persons and their families to connect with the five Greek councils at OU.
 
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Mom’s Day
 
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Beta Theta held a luncheon for the mom’s before the football game.
 
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Dad’s Day
 
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Beta Theta held a luncheon for the dad’s before the football game.
 
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Soonerthon Miracle Child: Lucy
 
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Beta Theta was paired with Lucy again this year. Members developed a genuine relationship with Lucy and her mother. Members participated in a movie/sleep over night and other fun activities with Lucy throughout the year.
 
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Smarty Pants
 
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Every week at chapter, Kappa members can enter their name in a drawing for a small prize. The participants must receive an A on an important academic exam or assignment.
 
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Kappa Tutors
 
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Beta Theta continued the Kappa-to-Kappa tutoring system where Kappa members can tutor their fellow Kappa sisters. The tutors are paid by Kappa.
 
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Strategic Plan Goals 2016:
 
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1. Continued improvement in member accountability and sisterhood through the standards process
 
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2. Increased understanding and appreciation of our ritual
 
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3. Adherence to both the new member program and senior program in their entirety and ensuring all chapter programming events enhances the lives of members
 
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4. Improvememnts to chapter management through increased officer knowledge, delegation, and communication with advisers
 
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5. Thorough and continuous education of members on the importance of and adherence to all risk management policies
 
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6. Unity in diversity 
 
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The incoming freshman class of 2016 was the largest, highest academically ranked and most diverse class in Sooner history.
 
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Beta Theta members enjoyed watching the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio.
 
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Beta Theta members followed the 58th US presidential election. President Donald Trump won popular and electoral vote.
 
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Our philanthropies include:
 
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Reading is Fundamental: Book Drive
 
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The Center for Children and Families Inc.: Kappa Kupcakes
 
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Soonerthon
 
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Relay for Life
 
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Big Event
 
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Goodwill
 
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Every spring semester, Beta Theta hosts "Kappa Kupcakes," which raises money for Kappa Kappa Gamma's national philanthropy, The Center for Children and Families Inc. The Norman, OU and Beta Theta community bake cupcakes to be distributed during the event. Attendees can pay an entrance fee and eat cupcakes, particupate in decorating contests and take photos during the event. This past spring, Beta Theta raised $18,500 for CCFI.
 
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Beta Theta hosts a book drive every fall semester, and members donate grade-level books to schools in the Norman Public School District and CCFI. This year Beta Theta collected 500 books to give to several Norman schools and CCFI. The book drive was extremely successful, and the schools greatly apprecaite the donations.
 
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Beta Theta hosts a diaper drive every fall semester, and members can donate diapers to donate to The Center for Children and Families Inc. CCFI distributes the diapers to the community from their Diaper Pantry.
 
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Every year, Beta Theta members participate in the campus-wide philanthropy events; Soonerthon, Relay for Life and Big Event.
 
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At the end of each semester, Beta Theta donates extra or unwanted to the local Goodwill. 
 
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Weekly chapter meetings are held in Kappa Hall.
 
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Suggested for the Oral History Project are:
 
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Madalyn Mantle. Abigayle Biggs, Sarabeth Coatney, Katherine Sleem
 
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==Highlights of 2020s:==
 
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(From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.)
 
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'''Housing:'''
 
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'''Philanthropy:'''
 
'''Philanthropy:'''
  
  
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'''Convention Awards:'''
  
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'''Convention Awards:'''
 
  
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'''Note to Chapter Registrar:'''
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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.
  
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Your efforts will ensure a complete and accurate history of your chapter for future generations to enjoy!
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'''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!
 

Revision as of 00:35, 27 February 2017

 

Epsilon Omega
EΩ
Epsilon Omega.jpg
FoundedMarch 10, 1979 (1979-03-10) (47 years ago)
CollegeDickinson College
LocationCarlisle, PA
HomepageEpsilon Omega Homepage
Media related to Epsilon Omega Chapter


Dickinson College established in 1783, Carlisle, Pennsylvania


Epsilon Omega founded March 10, 1979 - 33 charter members


1,161 initiates (as of June 2016)


Charter Members: Catherine Andriadis, Susan Bacon, Nancy Bauer, Joan Brandonburg, Elise Dagostino, Susan Dague, Shelly Dalrynmple, Cheryl Daugherty, Karen Ford, Lynne Forrey, Janice Friedman, Angela Gelason, Katherine Grant, Elizabeth Gray, Lynette Hewitt, Kathleen Kipp, Darcie Lolo, Sandra Lopatofsky, Ruthann Mamrak, Laura Marshall, Julie McMullen, Susan Miller, Mary Beth Monahan, Wendy Paxton, Kathleen Poole, Yvonne Schirm, Susan Shane, Joan Sommers, Elizabeth Spizzirro, Constance Tambakis, Cynthia Waldron, Donna Weir, Alison Whitmer


Some Outstanding Epsilon Omega Alumnae: (If you have chapter alumna who have received recognition in any of these three categories, please list them with the date(s) of recognition.)


Fraternity Council Members

Wendy Paxton (Alfano), Field Secretary 1981-1982; Susan Berg (Abbott), Graduate Counselor, 1983-1984


Fraternity Loyalty Award



Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients



Colonization (From The Key, Fall 1978)

As alive and contemporary as today’s student, Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania is equally endowed with history and proud tradition. The heritage and traditions of Kappa Kappa Gamma blended well with the background of Dickinson as the Fraternity established Epsilon Omega Colony during the first week of October 1979.

Three years before America declared her independence from England, a grammar school was opened on land given by the Proprietors of Pennsylvania. By 1873, under the direction of Benjamin Rush, its founder, Dickinson College was chartered by the Pennsylvania legislature. Named in honor of John Dickinson, “penman of the revolution” and then governor of the commonwealth, the college has grown from a land purchase costing all of $151.00 to a campus of 117 acres and valued at over $25,000,000. The physical heart of the campus is “Old West,” a national historic landmark designed by Benjamin Latrobe, architect of the capitol in Washington, D.C. At present, part of the campus is a 65-acre recreational area and the college also manages a 3,300-acre wildlife sanctuary and research station.

In 1884, women students were admitted to Dickinson, despite opposition from faculty and students, and only three years later the Pennsylvania Alpha Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was installed. In addition to a number of honorary fraternities, there are now ten national men’s fraternities on campus and about half of the 800 male students are members. Kappa joins Pi Beta Phi as the only other national sorority on campus, but there are two local groups and about 35 per cent of the approximately 800 women students belong to the three current groups. The men live in college-owned fraternity dormitories, and the women rent apartment meeting rooms.

Kappa’s colonization team was headed by Gay Chuba Berry, Penn State, Director of Alumnae; assisted by an adviser to the Delta Phi chapter at Bucknell, the Province Director of Chapters, a field secretary, and a graduate counselor assigned to the new colony. Members of Delta Phi—Bucknell and Delta Alpha—Penn State assisted with rush functions.

Located in an historic area and surrounded by rolling farm lands, Dickinson is only 20 miles from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s capital, 30 miles from Gettysburg National Military Park, and 30 miles from Hershey, “Chocolate Town, U.S.A.” The grave of Molly Pitcher, heroine of the revolution, is in Carlisle, and the area claims several lovely parks with scenic views, swimming and fishing, not to mention numerous limestone caves for those who enjoy spelunking.

Life at Dickinson centers on a traditional liberal arts education that is continually sharpened and focused by innovation. On the lighter side, the mermaid atop the ivy-covered walls of Old West presents a challenge to the men. Each fall a male student climbs up and removes the mermaid. Each spring members of the women’s honorary are responsible for putting the weather vane back in place. Tradition takes many forms!

In a more academic vein, the current catalogue presents the philosophy of the college: “Liberal knowledge, learning for its own sake and learning for the cultural enrichment it provides, is the oldest and most fundamental aim of Dickinson education.” A statement from the 1960s encourages Dickinsonians to see their world as one in which they are able, “by virtue of the power gained through knowledge, to influence both their environment and the course of history,’ and thereby to use their power in the service of the human community.”

The ideals of Dickinson College—learning, liberty and virtue, and those of Kappa Kappa Gamma should provide an ideal background for the growth of Epsilon Omega Chapter. Welcome! FLASH! On October 5th, 33 upper-class women were pledged.


Installation (From The Key)

Despite a cool, drizzly day, the atmosphere was warm and spirits high as Epsilon Omega Chapter was installed at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa. on March 9 and 10, 1979. A symbol of the enthusiasm and pride of the 33 charter members was the banner hung high on the wall of the Holland Union Dining Room. Months of pledge study and a recent rush period were not enough to weaken the strength or spirit of the girls who stayed up most of Thursday night to create a poster telling the rest of the campus how they felt about becoming Kappa’s 103rd active chapter: “Sisters you are, sisters we’ll be. Congratulations, Kappa Kappa Gamma; we’ve only just begun.” Registration in the Mary Dickinson Room on Friday afternoon gave visitors a chance to meet Kappa local and national officers and enjoy refreshments prepared by the Harrisburg Alumnae Club.

Though only 45 in paid membership, these women are delighted to have a chapter nearby and have worked hard to help the colony and make the installation a memorable occasion. Registration and hospitality were headed by a former Beta Province meeting treasurer from 1973, the year Harrisburg was hostess. Handling the checkbook and financial arrangements was a local alumna. A cheery fire in the lovely home of a Penn State alumna was a welcome setting for Fireside Service. The quiet ritual was soon replaced by a happy din as initiates and visitors became acquainted and enjoyed a reception co-hosted by local alumnae.

Carlisle is an attractive town with a rather old-fashioned square at its hub. On one corner of the square is St. John Episcopal Church, site of the initiation. Two Kappas drove from Headquarters in our blue and blue van and performed their customary magic act of setting the scene and arranging the equipment for what proved to be a beautiful initiation ceremony.

Installing officers Jean Hess Wells, Georgia, Fraternity President, and Gay Chuba Barry, Penn State, Director of Alumnae, were assisted by the installation chairman, Beta Province Director of Chapters, Field Secretary, Alumnae Editor of The Key, and the graduate counselor for Epsilon Omega. It was a proud chapter president who received the charter on behalf of the chapter. The new initiates barely had time to change clothes before the formal pledging of 29 terrific freshmen women. The chapter president had excellent practice for her presidency when, as membership chairman, she led the colony through a series of parties based on Kappa facts, making Christmas ornaments which were later given to a nursing home, a “Roaring Twenties” party, a country theme that included Kappa Pickers, a nightclub theme entitled “Kappakabana” and finally, “Cinderella” for preference party. Although they say that they surprised themselves and others with their enormous success in rush, it seems likely that they had not yet realized the power-potential of Kappa when 33 super colonizers set out to strengthen their group. The dedication with which these girls do everything was evident in the polished was they conducted the pledge ceremony.

Again, there was barely time to catch their breath when everyone congregated in Drayer Lounge for the campus reception. An alumna from Carnegie Mellon was chairman of this event which saw a room crowded with well-wishers. Panhellenic members, parents, faculty and friends joined in welcoming Kappa Kappa Gamma to the Dickinson campus. It was here that the chapter outdid itself by distributing copies of their first newsletter—a beautiful 13-page issue complete with photos and excellent articles on their activities thus far.

In whatever spare moments could be found during the day, visitors dropped in to see the Kappa apartment, just a few blocks from campus and right off the square. Empty and cold when rented last fall, it now shows signs of loving care and looks like home. Under the supervision of two alumnae, including a decorator from the Philadelphia area, the apartment is bright, cheerful and comfortable. Gifts from alumnae included a kitchen shower, and several pieces of furniture from the recently-closed Beta Alpha Chapter at the University of Pennsylvania were welcome additions. Still riding high on a bubble of excitement, Kappas picked up their long skirts and stepped over puddles to return to campus for the Installation Banquet. A lovely setting and delicious dinner were around by the banquet chairman. The installation chairman provided a warm welcome as toastmistress. A special greeting and toast to the new chapter was given by the president of Delta Phi Chapter, Bucknell, and a gracious response came from the Epsilon Omega president.

Greetings were sent by individuals and groups throughout the province and nation and Gay Barry read many of them to the 200 guests. The Associate Dean of Students and member of Delta Delta Delta welcomed Kappa on behalf of the college. Everyone who was even remotely involved with the colonization and installation knew how helpful she had been and how her personal assistance had helped to smooth the way for us.


Highlights of the 1980s

Epsilon Omega grew as a chapter throughout the 1980s and was successful in recruitment as evident by the 35 new members who joined the chapter in 1987. The chapter continued to strengthen its commitment to membership development and sisterhood. Epsilon Omega celebrated the accomplishments of the chapter women by holding a scholarship banquet and the chapter was recognized for their scholastic achievement and high G.P.A. The Kappas were among the leaders of Dickinson’s campus and participated in a variety of activities, including campus clubs and sports teams. The chapter also exuded Panhellenic spirit by having two events with other Dickinson sororities: Monmouth Duo with Pi Beta Phi and Kite and Key with Kappa Alpha Theta.


Philanthropy:

The Dickinson women were also committed to Kappa’s tradition of philanthropy and embarked on a series of fundraisers, including an All-Greek Car Wash, Sham-o-grams, and an Easter Egg Hunt. The chapter also supported Paraguay Orphans during this period. Convention Awards:


Highlights of the 1990s

The 1990s brought new challenges for Epsilon Omega chapter. In 1990, Dickinson College revised its policies on Recruitment and the sororities transitioned to a fall Recruitment for upper-class women. Although the chapter had to make adjustments, they did so quickly and continued to recruit between 25-30 members each year. The Kappas remained devoted to sisterhood activities and development and continued old traditions such as hosting the scholarship banquet while holding new events like an Initiation banquet. Epsilon Omega also reached out to alumnae members through alumnae receptions held during Homecoming weekend.

The chapter continued to forge strong relationship with the Dickinson College community. A Faculty Tea was held every year to better acquaint the faculty with the Kappa women and the Fraternity’s goals. The chapter was also recognized for having the highest G.P.A. on campus.


Housing:

In 1991, Epsilon Omega took a bold step and applied for on-campus housing. The request was approved and the chapter received on-campus housing, making Kappa the first sorority at Dickinson to do so. In order to celebrate this milestone, and to make the new house more like a home, the chapter women held a decorating day at the house. In 1995, the chapter, still living in the house on College Street, diligently worked on raising money for new furniture.


Philanthropy:

Philanthropy remained one of Epsilon Omega’s priorities throughout the decade. Fundraisers included a pole sitting event for cystic fibrosis and a plant sale for Safe Harbor, an organization that assists the homeless. The Kappas with with Phi Psi to host the Rock-a-thon, which raised funds for a scholarship to help a high school senior from Carlisle go to college. The chapter also sponsored a child in India through the United Christian’s Fund, chaperoned a youth dance at a local church, and sent letters to soldiers in Saudi Arabia. In 1998, the chapter and other Greek-letter organizations were involved with the March for Gay Rights and Respect, which was held in response to anti-gay letters on Dickinson’s campus. Convention Awards:


Highlights of 2000-2010

As the twenty-first century dawned, Epsilon Omega remained devoted to membership development and the recognition of personal and chapter achievement. New programs such as “Smart Cookies” and the “Word of the Week” were implemented to encourage Academic Excellence within the chapter. Epsilon Omega still remembered to have fun and held a Kappa Krush party and fall and spring formals each year. The active members also continued to reach out with alumnae members through the annual alumnae brunch. The chapter also retained its relationship with the Dickinson College faculty through hosting the Faculty Tea.

In 2007, Dickinson College’s Panhellenic Association completely reorganized itself and added Recruitment events in the spring to get Potential New Members excited for the recruitment process in the fall in addition to hosting multiple recruitment workshops with the campus sororities. As a result, Dickinson had the most successful sorority Recruitment in college history, and Kappa welcomed a large class of New Members.


Housing:

The chapter still retains a house where 17 of the second-year members live.


Philanthropy:

Epsilon Omega remained involved in various philanthropies. The chapter hosted philanthropy activities such as a Lip Sync Contest benefiting Reading Is Fundamental, Kappa Kisses for a local domestic violence shelter, and flag football for research on the Marfan Syndrome. The chapter women also honored the memory of Kappa sisters by organizing Rock 'N Bowl, which raised money for the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation in memory of a sister at Virginia Tech, and Run for Steph, held in honor of a sister killed in a car accident after graduation. Epsilon Omega participated in other campus-wide philanthropies such as Up Till Dawn which raised more than $40,000 dollars for Saint Jude’s Hospital.


Convention Award:


Highlights of 2011-2019

Highlights of 2011

In 2011, Epsilon Omega focused on working with other organizations on campus to improve life at Dickinson College and Greek Life. The chapter collaborated with Dickinson students, especially Greek women, to strengthen campus policy on sexual assault. The chapter participated in a forum about Greek Life for the entire campus which permitted the women to weigh in on the benefits of membership in a Greek-letter organization.

Philanthropy:

Epsilon Omega continued to host many of its annual philanthropic events, including Run For Steph and Lip Sync for Literacy. The chapter participated in a variety of activities sponsored by other Greek-letter organizations, including the Nu Factor, which was organized by Delta Nu and Sigma Alpha Epsilon. The chapter also sent volunteers weekly to help out at a local soup kitchen and elementary school. Convention Awards:

Highlights of 2012

The past chapter year was a big year of change for the Epsilon Omega chapter. We started the year with a new Chapter Council and our first big philanthropy event was Kappa Kisses for Valentine's Day. Kappa Kisses is our annual event where we create Valentine's Day goodie bags to be sold and put in students' mailboxes. The proceeds raised from our efforts go towards Domestic Violence Services.

Our chapter participated in the college wide Relay for Life and raised money as a team for the American Cancer Society. At the end of the semester we helped fraternity Kappa Sigma with their annual Parkinson's Walk, working with them to raise money, sell t-shirts, and promote the event. In addition to all of these special events, girls volunteered weekly at a local soup kitchen as well as participated in the Homework Club at local elementary schools, LaTorte Elementary and in Grandview Park, an area where there are many underprivileged families who we help mentor, tutor, and just hang out with students after school.

The new academic year began with a wonderful and successful recruitment that gave a new member class of thirty-two new Kappas! Shortly after recruitment, the Northeast experienced Hurricane Sandy which devastated areas across the east coast including several of our own members' homes. In late October we organized bake sale efforts to raise money toward Hurricane Sandy Relief and successfully donated the proceeds to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Next we hosted our annual Lipsync for Literacy event, teaming up with fraternity Kappa Sigma to raise money in support of Reading is Fundamental, an organization that seeks to promote reading and literacy in American youth. We continued our participation this fall with the food banks and soup kitchens of Carlisle as well as our involvement with the elementary schools and homework clubs. We ended the semester with a lovely and heartwarming holiday sisterhood event where we celebrated the holidays as well as wrapped donated books we received that were distributed to Project Share of Carlisle, an organization supporting underprivileged and homeless families.


Highlights of 2013

Epsilon Omega Chapter found in 2013 one of our happiest and most successful years both philanthropically and personally for our sisters. In January we elected new Chapter Council. This CC was comprised of new and veteran members who created an atmosphere of well-rounded ideas and opinions for the New Year. This group of girls was especially motivated to help Epsilon Omega work towards the goals and ideals of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the national as well as local level. We started the calendar year off with one of our two major philanthropy events, Kappa Kisses. Kappa Kisses is an annual event in which we sell homemade Valentine greeting cards with heresy kisses attached to them. All the proceeds go to Domestic Violence Center. For 2013 we ended up donating around $650!

During the winter months we also held several sisterhood dinners. These dinners always proved to be a great time and never ceased to bring all the girls closer and closer together. Our hard-working Event Committee also organized a beautiful dinner with some of the sister’s favorite Professors and Dickinson Administrators. The room was decorated beautifully, the food was delicious and there was a slide show projecting photos that had been taken throughout the year. We ended the academic year with a senior send-off dinner to say goodbye to the senior class and have one final sisterhood event before we all went our separate ways for summer vacation. All the senior parents sent in baby pictures and the littles of the senior girls each stood up and recited a funny anecdote about her big. It was a great way to say goodbye to a very memorable group of girls.

Before we knew it we were back at Dickinson and ready to start a new school year! Recruitment began in late August and all went smoothly. Carly ’15 part of the new member class of 2012 said of her first recruitment, “It brought all the classes closer together which made the whole recruitment process very special”. The New Member class has twenty-six great girls who were all so excited to receive bids from Kappa! Our New Member Education Program was completely re-vamped thanks to our wonderful New Member Educator who worked tirelessly on it making sure it was perfect and succinct. Before initiation current members got a refresher course on ritual and they all said it was beneficial and made the girls feel more connected to Kappa and its rich history. The calendar year concluded with the Kappa sponsored Lip-Sync. We had a great-turn out and all the proceeds went to “Reading is Fundamental”.

Our chapter has made great strides this year as individuals, as a group and as a sisterhood. We have faced challenges with maturity and tackled them head-on thanks to exceptional leadership. All the members of Epsilon Omega know that we are an organization that is only as strong as our weakest link. Everyday we strive to be the best fraternity of women as possible and will continue to work together in order to achieve all of our goals.

We faced some difficulties at the end of the year as a chapter but have laid out our goals and plan of action for the upcoming year that we are confident we can accomplish. We plan on making the next chapter year even busier than the last, filling our time with even more philanthropy events, a monthly sisterhood bonding event, and more to propel our chapter to even greater heights!

With the new year came new changes for the chapter on campus and the college's perspective on Greek Life. While the college created some new challenges governing our role as a Greek organization on campus, it has motivated us to demonstrate even more our role as a group of women supporting women on our campus and all that Kappas contribute to the Dickinon community.

Our members are involved in many different areas at Dickinson, whether it be captain of the nationally recognized Mock Trial team, distinguished varsity athletes, Dean's List honor students, and more, the Kappas of Dickinson never cease to impress and truly represent Kappa in every sense of the word.

We have outlined plans to become an even closer group of women who support each other every step of the way, regardless of the challenges created by the school. Our plans include strengthening our Chapter Council and making this the brain power and center of our chapter, utilizing each member to their fullest potential and working together to create a great year ahead. Our community service efforts are going to be even stronger and we are already adding multiple events to our schedule, as well as mandatory hours for each member to have completed by the end of the semester. In addition, in order to improve our image on campus we are coordinating with our new faculty adviser who will come and sit in on meetings, have dinner with the chapter once a month, and we hope will give us a new perspective looking in on our chapter. This also includes our greater involvement with the Women's Center on campus as we hope to show both the school and other students that Kappas truly are women in support of other women and the positive effect and role models Kappas can be for women. We look forward to continuing our traditions through the spring and into the fall as well as becoming even better Kappas each and every day.


Highlights of 2014

Epsilon Omega Chapter found 2014 to be one of our most successful years, both philanthropically and personally for our sisters. In January we elected new Chapter Council. This CC was comprised of new and veteran members who created an atmosphere of well-rounded ideas and opinions for the New Year. This group of girls was especially motivated to help Epsilon Omega work towards the goals and ideals of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the national as well as local level. We started the calendar year off with one of our two major philanthropy events, Kappa Kisses. Kappa Kisses is an annual event in which we sell homemade Valentine greeting cards with heresy kisses attached to them. The kisses and cards are assembled at a sisterhood event and the cards are made during a rush event. All the proceeds go to Domestic Violence Center. For 2014 we ended up donating around $750, over $100 more than last year!

During the fall and winter months we also held several sisterhood events. These events ranged from supporting our varsity athletes at field hockey and soccer games, to helping plan and run in our annual 5k, Run For Steph. These events always proved to be a great time and never ceased to bring all the girls closer and closer together. Our hard-working Event Committee also organized a beautiful dinner with some of the sister’s favorite Professors and Dickinson Administrators. The room was decorated beautifully, the food was delicious and there was a slide show projecting photos that had been taken throughout the year. We ended the academic year with a senior send-off brunch to say goodbye to the senior class and have one final sisterhood event before we all went our separate ways for summer vacation. All the senior parents sent in baby pictures and the littles of the senior girls each stood up and recited a funny anecdote about her big. It was a great way to say goodbye to a very memorable group of girls.

Before we knew it we were back at Dickinson and ready to start a new school year! Recruitment began in late August and all went smoothly. Isabel ’17 part of the new member class of 2014 said of her first experience with rush, “It brought all the classes closer together which made the whole recruitment process very special”. The New Member class has thirty-three great girls who were all so excited to receive bids from Kappa! Our New Member Education Program was completely re-vamped thanks to our wonderful New Member Educator who worked tirelessly on it making sure it was perfect and succinct. Before initiation current members got a refresher course on ritual and they all said it was beneficial and made the girls feel more connected to Kappa and its rich history. The calendar year concluded with the Kappa sponsored Lip-Sync. We had a great-turn out and all the proceeds went to “Reading is Fundamental”.

Our chapter has made great strides this year as individuals, as a group and as a sisterhood. We have faced challenges with maturity and tackled them head-on thanks to exceptional leadership. All the members of Epsilon Omega know that we are an organization that is only as strong as our weakest link. Everyday we strive to be the best fraternity of women as possible and will continue to work together in order to achieve all of our goals.

There have been no significant changes on campus. The overall nature of our chapter is very positive and optimistic. We plan on have just as a successful 2014 as we did a 2013. Our chapter is excited to continue on this progressive path in the year to come.


Highlights of 2015

Epsilon Omega Chapter started off 2015 with a bang when we welcomed 26 new Kappas into our fraternity. This is the first time the school has done recruitment in the spring of students’ first year at Dickinson, and it was a great success! We also gave out COB bids to two very special and deserving girls.

We started the year with philanthropy in mind when we held our annual Kappa Kisses fundraiser. We made Valentine’s Day cards, attached chocolate kisses to them, and students were able to send notes to friends. We raised $740 for the Domestic Violence Services in the area. Our Kappas also assisted in serving a Pancake Breakfast for the local Children’s Center. It was extremely rewarding and we have continued our relationship with the coordinator there. We also sent Kappas to the Winter Carnival at North Dickinson Elementary School. The volunteers ran games, sold refreshments, and overall had an amazing, energetic afternoon!

Other highlights of the spring semester include the college’s Relay for Life. Many of our sisters have witnessed the horrifying effects of cancer, so we all walked that night in letters to support them and everyone else who has battled cancer. We ended the year with the Senior Brunch. This was an incredibly sentimental morning, as we wish our seniors could stay with us, but it was great to have one last sisterhood event with them.

We began the new academic year volunteering for the annual 5K, Run for Steph. This is an event on campus that is very close to our hearts and helps to bring us closer together. We hosted Lip Sync in October. There was an impressive turnout—we raised around $3,725 as well as collected many books. The money and books were donated to our national philanthropy Reading is Fundamental. Our sisters continue to volunteer for Homework Club, which is an after school program at two local elementary schools. This is an incredibly rewarding and memorable experience for them, and many girls continue their volunteer work there all throughout their time at Dickinson. Our chapter attended a gender based violence prevention workshop with Kelly Wilt, the Violence Prevention Coordinator at Dickinson. It was an engaging and eye opening presentation. We can’t wait to work with Kelly again!

The Epsilon Omega chapter named Lauren Gessner ’16 as the recipient for the Kauffman Key. She was voted by her sisters as demonstrating a true and joyful love of learning, of friends, and of Kappa that serves as an inspiration and model to all chapter members. We also started polished sister awards this semester. Sisters can nominate other Kappas who have been working hard and have been in good spirits, as well as have been put together. The “polished sisters” receive a bottle of Essie nail polish as a prize. This has been a fun way to recognize those who have represented Kappa well.

This calendar year, our chapter has faced a few challenges but has worked tirelessly to overcome them and improve. In response to our focus letter, we implemented Round Robins for the Chapter Council. In response to our chapter’s mediocre GPA, Kate Eby ’18, our Vice President of Academic Excellence, has initiated changes within the chapter to encourage our sisters to improve their academics. We are implementing a period of concern for 2016, sisters with ‘U’s on their roll call grades are required to meet with the VPAE and President, etc. While our LC was here, she listed officer training and leadership as one of Epsilon Omega’s weaknesses. To fix this, all members of Chapter Council updated their leadership binders and included extra tips for the next girl to hold the position. We also are bringing in a leadership trainer and having a leadership workshop when we get back to school in January 2016. A challenge we foresee in 2016 is a large group of girls going through recruitment. To be proactive with this issue, it is now mandatory for all seniors to attend every night of recruitment. We are bursting with excitement to meet our next class of Kappas and see what 2016 has in store for us!

Our campus has continued to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Greek life on campus. We have worked with the other Greek organizations on campus to support each other and the college, showing all that Kappa and Greek life in general add to campus life. The Blue Ribbon Project was started to evaluate Greek life from a third party perspective. This is a great way for us to voice our opinions of Greek life. In order to unify the sororities on campus with administration and faculty, we held a Teacher Appreciation night. We are motivated to continue working with the college to improve the impression of Greek life on campus! The nature of the Epsilon Omega chapter in general is one of extreme pride, sisterhood, and optimism. We are looking forward to continuing to make a difference on campus and in the community. All the members of Epsilon Omega know that we are an organization that is only as strong as our weakest link. Everyday we strive to be the best fraternity of women as possible and will continue to work together in order to achieve all of our goals!

Chapter Philanthropy:

What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?

We support our national philanthropies, Reading is Fundamental and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Organization. We also support the Domestic Violence Services of Cumberland County and Perry County.

Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?

Our chapter has a devotion to literacy and education. We also love children and try to involve them in our philanthropy efforts whenever we can!

Highlights OF 2016

Epsilon Omega Chapter started off Fall 2015 as we welcomed 36 new Kappas into our fraternity. This was the second time we ever had Spring recruitment in the Spring instead of the fall and we were so excited about having such a large class!

We started the year with philanthropy in mind when we held our annual Kappa Kisses fundraiser. We made Valentine’s Day cards, attached chocolate kisses to them, and students were able to send notes to friends. We raised a lot money for Domestic Violence Services in the area. Our Kappas also assisted in serving a Pancake Breakfast for the local Children’s Center. It was extremely rewarding and we have continued our relationship with the coordinator there. We also sent Kappas to the Winter Carnival at North Dickinson Elementary School. The volunteers ran games, sold refreshments, and overall had an amazing, energetic afternoon! Other highlights of the spring semester include the college’s Relay for Life. Many of our sisters have witnessed the horrifying effects of cancer, so we all walked that night in letters to support them and everyone else who has battled cancer.

We began the new academic year volunteering for the annual 5K, Run for Steph. This is an event on campus that is very close to our hearts and helps to bring us closer together. We hosted Lip Sync in October. We raised over 3000 dollars and the money and books were donated to our national philanthropy Reading is Fundamental. Our sisters continue to volunteer for Homework Club, which is an after school program at two local elementary schools. This is an incredibly rewarding and memorable experience for them, and many girls continue their volunteer work there all throughout their time at Dickinson. We also did an event this fall we called Kappacinos. We sat outside on our academic quad and handed out free coffee to all the faculty and staff that walked by. We had a sign out explaining our philanthropy and asked for donations if anyone felt generous and wanted to donate. Overall, it was very fun and a great success.

We continued polished sister awards this semester. Sisters can nominate other Kappas who have been working hard and have been in good spirits, as well as have been put together. The “polished sisters” receive a bottle of Essie nail polish as a prize. This has been a fun way to recognize those who have represented Kappa well. We also have “Standards Standouts” that the standards committee nominates to reward in front of the chapter. This could be anyone who has been an exemplary student, and an exemplary Kappa. They get a little goodie bag with all fun Kappa gifts. We also have “Officer of the Month.” This is something similar where we acknowledge a girl on our chapter council who is doing her job successfully. It is nice to be recognized in your chapter and feel rewarded for the job you are doing.

This calendar year, our chapter has faced a few challenges but has worked tirelessly to overcome them and improve. In response to our focus letter, we have continued to implement Round Robins for the Chapter Council. In response to our chapter’s mediocre GPA, Maddie Vance ’19, our Vice President of Academic Excellence, has initiated changes within the chapter to encourage our sisters to improve their academics. We are implementing a period of concern for 2016, sisters with ‘U’s on their roll call grades are required to meet with the VPAE and President, etc. She also has started a “smartie panties” reward system where members nominate other sisters for their good grades. Maddie picks a few girls to recognize throughout our chapter and gives them little rewards for their hard work. We just recently had a Kappa trainer come in and work with our leaving and coming in chapter council. It was a very productive and meaningful way for our chapter’s leaders to come together and work with each other to figure out how to better our sorority as a whole for next semester. We spoke about ways to positively run recruitment and ensure we give bids to the best possible group of girls next semester.

Our campus has continued to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Greek life on campus. We have worked with the other Greek organizations on campus to support each other and the college, showing all that Kappa and Greek life in general add to campus life. The Blue Ribbon Project was started to evaluate Greek life from a third party perspective. This is a great way for us to voice our opinions of Greek life. In order to unify the sororities on campus with administration and faculty, we held a Teacher Appreciation night. We are motivated to continue working with the college to improve the impression of Greek life on campus! The nature of the Epsilon Omega chapter in general is one of extreme pride, sisterhood, and optimism. We are looking forward to continuing to make a difference on campus and in the community. All the members of Epsilon Omega know that we are an organization that is only as strong as our weakest link. Everyday we strive to be the best fraternity of women as possible and will continue to work together in order to achieve all of our goals!

We have a new President as of this past fall so it has been our chapter and all of Panhel's goal to make a good impression and have him support Greek life. It is very important to us to ensure that our administration sees all the good we do for our school as a whole. Since Dickinson College is relatively small, we have a smaller chapter in size comparison to many other chapters nationwide. This allows us to be not only know every individial member's name, but also formulate relationships with our sisters beyond our weekly chapter meetings. We all see eachother every day, multiple times a day, on campus and because of this, our chapter is a strong cohesive unit.

Chapter Philanthropy

We support our national philanthropies, Reading is Fundamental and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Organization. We also support the Domestic Violence Services of Cumberland County and Perry County. Our chapter has a devotion to literacy and education. We also love children and try to involve them in our philanthropy efforts whenever we can.

Kappa continues to have a house where 17 members live. However due to the large size of our chapter we meet in a large classroom in one of our academic buildings known as "Denny."

Highlights of 2020s:

(Information from the chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.)


Housing:


Philanthropy:


Convention Awards:


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!

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