Difference between pages "Delta Beta" and "Gamma Upsilon"

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{{Infobox Fraternity
 
{{Infobox Fraternity
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|Name= Delta Beta
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|Name= Gamma Upsilon
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|GreekSymbol= ΔB
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|GreekSymbol= ΓY
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|Image= [[File:Delta_Beta.jpeg|200px]]
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|Image= [[File:Gamma_Upsilon.jpeg|200px]]
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|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1930|10|25}}
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|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1929|05|11}}
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|College= [http://www.duke.edu/ Duke University]
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|College= [https://www.ubc.ca/ University of British Columbia]
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|Location= Durham, NC
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|Location= Vancouver, BC
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|Homepage= [http://chapters.kappakappagamma.org/deltabeta/ Delta Beta Homepage]
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|Homepage= [https://ubc.kappa.org/ Gamma Upsilon Homepage]
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|Media= [http://wiki.kappakappagamma.org/index.php?title=Category:Delta_Beta Media related to Delta Beta Chapter]}}
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|Media= [https://wiki.kkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Gamma_Upsilon Media related to Gamma Upsilon Chapter]}}
  
  
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'''Duke University, founded 1823'''
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'''University of British Columbia established in 1912, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada'''
  
  
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'''Gamma Upsilon founded May 11, 1929 – 15 charter members'''
  
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'''Delta Beta founded October 25, 1930'''
 
  
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'''1,378 initiates (as of June 2018)'''
  
  
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'''2,396 initiates (as of June 2015)'''
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'''Charter Members:'''
 
'''Charter Members:'''
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Janie Elizabeth Carlton, Mary Elizabeth Craven, Frances Lelia Currin, Florence Roney Dailey, Katherine E. Mary Davies, Edna Kilgo Elias, Mildred Moore Guthrie, Virginia Lucille Hobgood, Martha Howie, Dorothy Cornell Leary, Katherine Markham, Nancy Elizabeth Roberson, Margaret Rogers, Nellie Louise Sellars, Erma Elizabeth Williams.  
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Doris Isabel Crompton, Isobel Gertrude Douglass, Jean Margaret Dowler, Hilary Rowena Bainbridge Helliwell, Elizabeth Deinstadt Killam, Cecilia Millicent Maria Agnes Garesche Lauder, Mary Kathleen Lyle Mathers, Louise Dorothy McDonald, Dorothy Craig McKay, Katherine Hay Farris Robson, Kathleen Purvis Solloway, Helen Margaret C. Sutherland, Mary Hamilton Watts, Alice Margaret Geddes White.
  
  
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'''Some of Delta Beta’s Outstanding Alumnae:''' (If you have chapter alumnae who have received recognition in any of these three categories, please list them with the date(s) of recognition.)
 
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'''Fraternity Council Members:'''
 
'''Fraternity Council Members:'''
  
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Ann Wescott (Mayo), Field Secretary 1958-1960;
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Hillary Holmes (Archer), Traveling Consultant 1999-2000;
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Gillian Marshall, Laura Seyler, Mia Flett, Julia Rastad, Trishana Tuyet-Pham, Rachel Beck, Yaz Tremblay, Madelaine Hargrave.
  
  
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'''Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:'''
 
'''Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:'''
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Shelley Moore Capito, 2016,  
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Dorothy Taylor, 1954, journalist, author; (Katherine ) Avis Pumphrey, 1964, Social Service pioneer
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'''Additional Outstanding Delta Beta Alumnae'''
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==The Early Years==
  
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Sophie Martin (Wood), Graduate Counselor 1957-1958;
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“We, at the University of British Columbia, are proud and happy to be part of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity. We are not so well known as some of the American chapters, but we have been going strong since 1929.” So writes the research historian for Gamma Upsilon Chapter.
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Ann Wescott (Mayo), Graduate Counselor 1957-1958;
 
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Elizabeth Helmer (Pfiffner), Graduate Counselor 1959-1960;
 
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Judith Mayers (Bryan), Graduate Counselor 1959-1960;
 
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Corinne Mani (Yancy), Graduate Counselor 1979-1981;
 
  
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The University of British Columbia opened in September, 1915, “cradled in wartime,” with few buildings and very little equipment. The relationship of the faculty and students contributed in no small measure to the development of the university on the edge of the Empire in Vancouver, Canada. The faculty helped formulate student policies and stood loyally by student government through all its vicissitudes.
  
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The part which seven women students had in the evolution of student government led, through this by-path, to the founding of Delta Phi, a local sorority, in the spring of 1919. Its purpose was “to bind together in friendship, a group of graduates and undergraduates of the university in a closer way than may be accomplished in the alumni association.”
  
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Shelley Moore Capito—U.S. Congresswoman (R-WV), first elected in 2000. Representative Capito has been honored by the North American Interfraternity Council (NIC) with its “Award of Distinction” for extraordinary support of the Greek community. Shelley supports a bill allowing tax-deductible donations to be used for housing and infrastructure improvements to Greek chapter facilities. Also notable, she co-sponsored the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program signed into law in December 2003.
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The year following the founding of Delta Phi two more sororities appeared on the campus. Two years later, at the call of the Delta Phi president, representatives of the three sororities organized the Inter-Sorority Board. This step led to official recognition of sororities by Student Council, and later by the University Senate. From that time on more groups appeared and became increasingly interested in linking themselves with international fraternities and sororities. A summary of Delta Phi meetings for a number of years might have been, “To be or not to be, that is the question.”
  
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Housing and healthcare are not new initiatives to Shelley. A third-term representative, she prides herself on being approachable, accessible and in touch with the needs of her West Virginia constituents. As the only female and only Republican congresswoman from West Virginia, she works hard to visit the 18 counties in her district while serving on the House Rules Committee, Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, and the Congressional Steel Caucus. (Shelley was originally featured in the spring 2001 issue.)
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The year 1925 was an important one in the history of the university. It was then that the big switch-over was made to the permanent site at Point Grey.
  
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Shelley freely admits that juggling family time with her Congressional commitments is difficult. She has felt guilty for not being a part of all of her teenaged daughter’s activities. “But,” says Shelley, “my daughter reassured me that she was proud of me and knew I was involved in something bigger than both of us.” Shelley’s entire family— daughter, husband and two sons—have all worked together to interact with constituents, make speeches and conduct research.
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Delta Phi became Gamma Upsilon Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma May 11, 1929, after the long debate over the question of affiliation ended. The chapter was installed by Georgia Hayden Lloyd-Jones, Wisconsin, and Beta Pi Chapter, University of Washington. Actives and alumnae were initiated together in an impressive ceremony.  
  
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Shelley also credits her Kappa affiliation with providing her with an instant network of mentors. “Kappa taught me to look for the best in people and to appreciate diversity,” adds Shelley. “Washington, D.C., is a haven for interested, intelligent, service-minded young women.” Shelley encourages all young people pursuing a career in politics or public service to complete internships, volunteer and work on campaigns.
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Gamma Upsilon, following the tradition established by the local sorority, continued to take a leading role in university life, as well as carrying on projects away from the campus.
  
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Entertainment:
 
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Annabeth Gish—TV and film actress, Film credits include Mystic Pizza
 
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Natalie Garibian Peters, author, The Love of My Life: the Memoirs of Howard G. Minsky
 
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Susannah Gora, author, YouCouldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried: the Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation
 
  
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==World War II Years==
  
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During World War II, the girls took part in money-raising events for the Canadian Red Cross. Mary Frances Trumbull (Tuck), Panhellenic president, was “convenor” or chairman of the 1945 Red Cross Ball, which netted $4,000. Members of Gamma Upsilon made up 20 percent of the university’s Red Cross Corps. They also paid regular visits to military hospitals and provided Christmas gifts and music for pensioners in an old people’s home.
  
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One of these wartime members was Audrey Reifel, who demonstrated outstanding leadership and gave unselfishly to Gamma Upsilon until her sudden death. In 1950, the chapter established the Reifel Award, to be presented to an active making outstanding contributions to the well-being of the chapter. The Reifel family generously donated to the chapter three paintings by two of Canada’s foremost artists, in memory of their daughter.
  
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==The Early Years  (From The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma 1870–1976)==
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The Kappas have always been involved in many activities. Two members were championship tennis players in the 1930s. Another received one of the most prestigious University of British Columbia athletic awards for two consecutive years.
  
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The history of Delta Beta Chapter can be seen as a microcosm of the history of the Women’s College of Duke University. As the college women changed, so changed the lifestyle of the Kappas.  
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Although a woman becoming a minister is not unusual today, the chapter is especially proud of a member who was one of the best known ministers in Vancouver. She brought up three children before she entered this profession.
  
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In 1897, Washington Duke, a pioneer tobacco manufacturer established an endowment for Trinity College, Durham, with the condition that women be admitted “on equal footing.” The next year a small dormitory for women was completed, but it was not until World War I, when men were scarce that women’s enrollment increased significantly.
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Katherine Avis Pumphrey, a social worker, received the 1964 Kappa Alumnae Achievement Award, and a 50-year pin.
  
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The year in the history of Duke was 1924, for it was that year that James Buchanan Duke’s famous Duke Endowment was announced, with 40 million dollars going to education, charity and the relief of human suffering. The tobacco king considered the Duke Endowment his greatest achievement. In time the value of the fund multiplied several times. The greatly expanded institution became Duke University, and the name Trinity College was retained for the undergraduate men’s division of the university. A new campus, West, or Men’s Campus, designed and built in Gothic style, was ready for occupancy in 1930. Some of the Trinity College buildings were remodeled and new ones constructed in Georgian architecture for East, or Women’s Campus. The two areas were one mile apart, joined by a private boulevard. The Women’s College became a coordinate of Trinity in 1930. Between 1930 and 1972, women at Duke had an autonomous student government, a Y.W.C.A., and all lived on East Campus.
 
  
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Under the four deans of the Women’s College, the complexion of Duke women gradually changed as did the sorority system and Delta Beta in particular. Under Dean Alice M. Baldwin, 1930-1937, women freshmen and sophomores had classes separate from the men. Enrollment doubled from 506 to more than 1000 in that period.
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'''Housing'''
  
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During Florence Brickley’s tenure, 1947-1962, enrollment increased slightly, and admissions standards rose. During the 1950s there was a shift to university-wide activities. Interest in class organization declined. The first two years became coeducational. Efforts were made by M. Margaret Ball, 1963-1969, to revitalize the Women’s College. Intellectual activities, liberalized regulations, emphasis on living-learning dormitories put substance into the college. Dean Juanita Kreps, 1969-1972, administered the first women’s move to the men’s campus and vice versa. Women were allowed to live off campus for the first time. In 1972, the colleges were officially closed, and by fall all students returned as students of Duke University.
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Until 1952, except for a brief period in the late 1920s when an unsuccessful attempt was made to maintain a house, the Kappas on the University of British Columbia campus had been meeting in private homes. In that year, a cooperative effort on the part of nine sororities and their alumnae built a Panhellenic House which continues today as the campus center for the women’s fraternities.
  
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By 1929 there were four national sororities and several local groups at Duke. That year the local, Sigma Beta, was added to the Pan-Hellenic Council and remained local for two years. With the help of sponsors Miss Eva Malone (Ellis) and Mrs. Clarence Pemberton and under the guidance of Rheva Ott Shryock, Pennsylvania, the girls decided to petition Kappa Kappa Gamma. The request for a charter accompanied by a film prepared by the members was granted at the 1930 Convention. Installation, October 25, 1930, was attended by Clara O. Pierce, Ohio State, Province Directors, alumnae and actives from 12 Eastern chapters.
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Among the most popular campus activities are Mardi Gras and Songfest. Mardi Gras formerly combined carnival, pep meets and raffle. It generated wide excitement and involvement. Ending three gala days was a costume ball with a floor show. Today Mardi Gras is a campus game night, and all proceeds, up to $10,000 a year, are given to charity. Songfest seems to grow every year, with sororities and fraternities competing in song and dance for the prized Songfest Cup. Although Kappas have not been successful in winning this cup, we have great fun presenting our show.
  
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Although there was a National Depression and strict rules on campus, locally, the Kappa mood was busy and fun-loving. Members of the new chapter were active on campus and Ruth Phillips (Polack), president of the senior class, was responsible for getting decent restroom facilities in the West Campus library.
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Recruitment was hosted for the first time in the brand new Panhellenic House, a project for Panhellenic and the Vancouver Alumnae Association. Alumnae donated both their time and funds towards the construction of the facility. Located on campus, Panhellenic House is home to 64 women students in “quads” located on the top three floors. Gamma Upsilon occupies an entire quad, known as Kappa Quad. The facility is shared with group, including Kappa Alpha Theta and Gamma Phi Beta. Panhellenic House has eight chapter rooms, and Kappa was assigned one of the largest ones at the front of the building. Loyal alumnae raised funds to provide the Kappa chapter room with tasteful interior decoration, and the chapter was pleased to have a place to finally call “home.”
  
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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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'''Chapter Traditions'''
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==Highlights of the 1980s-1990s==
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From 1985 to 1995, UBC was ranked as one of the top 50 universities in the world. This brought increased enrollment and expansion to the campus. UBC purchased Pacific Spirit Park during the expansion phase as part of the UBC Endowment Lands. Due to the increase in the university, Gamma Upsilon was also able to expand. The downside to expansion was the crowding of the Panhellenic House (built in 1958). In an effort to find a solution, Kappa’s actively helped in the planning of the Forever Friends Campaign in 1994. This campaign helped to raise more than $4,000,000 to put towards a new Panhellenic House to help overcome the constraints of limited space.
  
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Mondays nights were “closed nights” – no phone calls, no men in “East,” no women off campus. Meetings were held on Monday – there was no excuse for missing a meeting! Throughout the 1930s there was participation but as yet no chapter-sponsored philanthropy. The 1937 Chanticleer, (yearbook) said …”and so with a dash and a smash you have the Kappas -possessors of happiness and beauty, and the essential elements to make a good chapter.”
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In 1985, Dr. David W. Strangway was named University President. Computerized telephone registration was introduced in 1988. This new registration method put an end to students having to physically walk across campus from department to department to register for classes.
  
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The early 1940s were clouded by World War II. “It was practically like a girls’ school with a Navy base a miles away,” remembers a Delta Beta of those days. “The Kappas were a very close chapter – probably because so many of our boyfriends were far away. Many of the Kappas rolled bandages and entertained soldiers at the nearby Navy base. Women for the first time assumed leadership posts previously held by men.
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UBC celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1990 with a series of special events, which included the largest open house in the university’s history. U.S. President, Bill Clinton visited UBC in 1993 which drew publicity to the campus and Professor Michael Smith received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his pioneering work in the development of “site directed mutagenesis”.  
  
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One of the many traditions of Delta Beta is the awarding of the Standards Key each semester to the senior who best exemplifies Kappa. This key was formerly worn by Rheva Ott Shryock. She presented it to the chapter in 1948.
 
  
  
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'''Turbulent Times'''
 
  
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Sorority life at Duke in the early 1960s can best be described as a period of adjustment. In September 1959, when the Pan-Hellenic building had been condemned as a fire hazard, the change to classrooms of the Carr Building was accepted, yet the move was a shock to many sororities which had just finished extensive redecorating, as had the Kappas. Headquarters purchased Delta Beta’s furniture and rush schedules were rearranged. Everyone thought this change was only temporary.
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==Highlights of 2000-2010==
  
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All sororities were threatened by a loss of spirit and lack of communication; because members saw each other regularly only once a week. Delta Beta made use of “dorm reps,” dorm parties, secret buddies,” the big-little sister program, and planned to eat together. At a time when everyone was predicting the demise of the Greek system, chapter spirit suddenly was high.
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One of the chapter’s greatest challenges was welcoming large classes of new members into the chapter. With so many new members coming, it was necessary to assure that everyone was given the opportunity to get to know each other well. This challenge was met by holding many sisterhood events, such as spa nights and picture frame decorating. This way, new members and active members alike were able to bond and feel comfortable with their new sisters.
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Sorority life, as always, had serious and lights sides. At a seminar program in 1960, faculty and administration members spoke on issues related to their fields. Cystic Fibrosis Clinic was still part of its philanthropy efforts, there were parties for faculty children, block tickets to the campus concert-lectures series, and required study hall for pledges and low-average upper classmen. But sororities in general were assailed and asked to justify their existence.  
 
  
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By the 1967-68 school year, criticism reached a peak. The president of Pan-Hellenic resigned from her office and her sorority in the middle of fall rush. Isolated student involvement grew into great student participation in political and social concerns. Sorority life seemed more irrelevant than ever to many, and one group dropped its national affiliation because of the rules, which bound its members in this increasingly liberal institution.
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Another challenge was getting everyone involved. The way that the chapter overcame this challenge was to introduce “Kappa Kore Groups.” Each member of the chapter was assigned to one of the Kore Groups, and each group was assigned to another fraternity and sorority in the Greek system. Members were expected to attend the events of their respective fraternities and sororities, and were given extra Kore Group points for attending events outside of their assigned group. This was a fun way to get everyone involved, and to stir up a little competition!
  
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The Delta Beta President advocated that Delta Beta also “go local” to the shock of many members. During the next school year 10 to 12 Kappas resigned in protest, calling Delta Beta an irrelevant, social and selective group.
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Throughout this decade, UBC continued to be an active campus. Focus remained on promoting a sustainable lifestyle on and off campus. Excitement for the Winter Olympic Games in 2010 was apparent on campus. Movies and television shows were filmed around the campus. Throughout the years, the chapter also participated in numerous league sports and other sporting events, including Storm the Wall, winning Water Wars, and coming in third in Day of the Longboat.
  
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To survive these difficult times, Delta Beta had to redefine its goals. Officers planned activities which combined fun and intellectual stimulation: efforts were made to get together frequently. Often meetings became forums for invited speakers.
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Gamma Upsilon also continued its tradition of Reading Buddies with a third grade class at University Hill Elementary school every Friday and won a number of awards from Panhellenic including third place Philanthropy Award, third place Sports Award, and third place Top All Around Sorority. Six members were also recognized for achieving outstanding academic averages and five were recognized for achieving an outstanding number of sports points. Charlotte Paterson was honored with winning the Panhellenic Top Individual Athlete Award and Magee Walker won the Panhellenic All-Around Woman Award.
  
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By the time of Kappa’s Centennial and Delta Beta’s 40th birthday, morale had been regained and Kappa was recognized as the most high-spirited and close-knit group on campus. The Kappas were often kidded as too “gung-ho.”
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The members participated in a number of other Greek events during Greek Week and held its annual Sapphire Ball at the Four Seasons Resort and Spa in Whistler, BC. Gamma Upsilon also held an annual Parent/Alumni Tea. During the summer, members stayed in contact with each other and some attended a "Kamp Kappa" camping trip near a lake in B.C. Several members also attended Kappa Convention, where the chapter received recognition with Honorable Mentions in New Member Program, Recruitment, and Chapter Management.
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The school year begins annually with a chapter recruitment retreat in August, leading up to successful recruitment result. New members were presented at the Pride of Panhellenic luncheon. Bid Day celebration was themed the "Miss Kappa Pageant" during which each Key Sister was revealed by the "judges". Gamma Upsilon celebrated the founding of Kappa with events featuring many of its own alumnae. The social committee organized a great Date Dash surprise event prior to Inspiration Week and Initiation, at which the Leadership Consultant assisted.  The chapter conducted its annual Kappa Book Drive and celebrated the chapter’s 80th birthday with a special event. The chapter also participated in and won Order of Omega's Songfest competition with a selection from Across the Universe and enjoyed an "Ugly Christmas Sweater" themed meeting during the holidays.
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Gamma Upsilon held its first Kite and Key semi-formal dance in conjunction with Kappa Alpha Theta at the Vancouver Aquarium, where everyone enjoyed dancing with the belugas and admiring the sea lions. The chapter proved to be outstanding in athletics, finishing off the term in second place in the all-sorority division. Its basketball team came in first in the league. Other highlights included victory in the Great Trek, involvement in a number of UBC Legacy Game events such as broomball, day of the long boat, winter fest, and more. Members also excelled in academics, with many members receiving GPA scores well above the all-sorority averages.  
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The chapter consistently placed well in the Panhellenic Awards for scholarship, encouraged because of a Kappa Mentor program pairing older girls with newer members in the same field of study and with the Smart Cookie Program and The No-"Skippy" Jar.  
  
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One can see than that the increased involvement in campus activities during the late 1940s and early 1950s led to a university rather than a college focus by Women’s College students. These attitudes of concern, combined with the facts of integration of the campuses, more women living off campus, more night classes and no central meeting place, provided a challenge to Kappa to spur interest and sustain morale. Both the sorority and fraternity systems were challenged to continue to adapt and offer new ways to provide the much needed warmth and friendship on the campus of Duke University.
 
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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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'''Philanthropy:'''
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Gamma Upsilon annually raised more than $2,000 annually during its philanthropy week. Proceeds went to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Events included Gamma Upsilon’s annual Desserts for a Cure, an all-you-can-eat dessert buffet with a minimum $5 donation. During the week, the chapter sold pink ribbons, had a pink raffle (with donated prizes from sponsors such as Starbucks) and had a 50/50 raffle during Desserts for a Cure.
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Other chapter philanthropic activities included helping at a soup kitchen downtown weekly and volunteering weekly as reading buddies with children at an elementary school. At the end of March, the chapter hosted a Greek vs. Greek event where the chapter pairs up with other sororities and fraternities to play a week-and-a-half-long game of tag.
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The philanthropy chairmen did a great job organizing events, and encouraging girls to participate in other philanthropy events throughout the Greek system. Some events that Gamma Upsilon participated in included Run for the Cure, Halloween for Hunger, and weekly visits to the Soup Kitchen and Reading Buddies at U-Hill Elementary School. Philanthropy week is always a success, with much money raised through ribbon sales and the renowned Desserts for the Cure. The enthusiasm for philanthropy was recognized throughout the Greek system, as Kappas were the winners of fraternity Sigma Chi’s annual “Derby Days” and sorority Alpha Phi’s “Alphatraz” philanthropy events. As a result of their hard work, the members of Gamma Upsilon placed third in the Ann McMutcheon Memorial Philanthropy Cup.
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'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''
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2010 Convention, Gamma Upsilon received Honorable Mention Awards for its New Member Program, Recruitment, and Chapter Management.
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==Highlights of 2011==
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Gamma Upsilon had a great 2011. Sisterhood blossomed during Recruitment through the forming and strengthening of new and unexpected friendships. Founders Day this year the chapter decided to try something new and hosted a brunch. It was a wonderful morning of interaction between alumna members, actives and new members.
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The University introduced a new grading system in 2011 which allowed students to take classes outside their major on a pass/fail format.
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The annual philanthropy Desserts for a Cure was a huge success in 2011 with the highest attendance in the chapter history.
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==Highlights of 2012==
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The year 2012 has been a successful and memorable year for the Gamma Upsilon chapter at UBC. We were delighted to receive multiple awards at Convention, such as runner up for our excellence in Standards; runner up for the Philanthropy Award, runner up for Reading is Fundamental, as well as receiving the Legacy Award.
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Our Philanthropy Week was a great success thanks to the hard work and commitment of the women in our chapter. Our annual Desserts-For-A-Cure was extremely popular, featuring all-you-can-eat desserts for a $5 donation to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. In addition, we raised money by selling candy and flower grams which were distributed in time for Valentine's Day. It was wonderful to experience such support from fellow Greek members and it allowed to raise around $1,500 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. On a weekly basis Gamma Upsilon members volunteer at First Baptist Church, where we participate in soup kitchen. In addition, we work with the local elementary school and have created the reading buddy program, where we assist young children with their literacy development.
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Within the chapter, our Standards Committee encourages spirit and morale whilst educating the chapter on Kappa values. The committee always maintains high excellence, which was recognized at Convention. We achieved our recruitment goals this year, initiating 29 New Members, many of whom now hold positions on Chapter Council and are showing exceptional involvement in the chapter. This years Founders Day was a fantastic event that displayed Kappa's passion and interest in learning more about our history and maintaining ties with the Vancouver Alumni. We experienced great support from many older alumni as they shared their experiences and stories to inspire the active members of Kappa.
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One challenge that we faced this past year was the vandalism of our Chapter Room. It took tremendous teamwork and cooperation to put the room back together in a timely and cost efficient manner. Alumni and active members were extremely generous in donating time and effort to restore the chapter and create an even more beautiful space. While this was an unfortunate incident, it highlighted the commitment we have to the chapter and each other.
  
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==Highlights of the 1980s:==
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One of our main goals has been to increase the use of social media to promote Kappa on campus. Our PR chairman has been actively using Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to highlight the involvement of Kappa within the Greek and UBC community. Overall, 2012 was a positive year for Gamma Upsilon as we continued to grow and improve our chapter in all areas.   
  
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From chapter’s History Report:
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One of the largest changes happening on the UBC campus is the construction of our new Student Union Building, due to be completed in 2014. It is intended to be a gathering place where students can interact in order to expand and strengthen our student community. The project is an estimated 103 million dollars and is aiming to receive LEED platinum+, the highest green building rating in North America. Not only is UBC inventive in developing new real estate but we are also leading the $11 million construction of Canada’s largest radio telescope – the first research telescope to be built in the country in more than 30 years. One of UBC’s creative students has produced a film titled When I Walk and it is to be featured in the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. In this film, the director Jason DaSilva portrays his personal experiences living with Multiple Sclerosis and the grueling journey this disease took him on.
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In 1989, Delta Beta won Greek Week.  
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The overall nature of our chapter is one of true sisterhood, respect and enthusiasm for Kappa Kappa Gamma. This year we have seen a visible increase in attendance to meetings and strengthened enthusiasm for philanthropy and sisterhood events. Chapter Council has done an amazing job of coming up with innovative ideas on how to further improve aspects of the chapter, such as chapter history and our public image.
  
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'''Housing:'''
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==Highlights of 2013==
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The year 2013 has been one of the most exciting and influential years for the Gamma Upsilon chapter at UBC. The year started off with a bang with our Philanthropy week and Kappa Kappa Gamma’s annual Desserts for a Cure. We were able to create friendly competition at our hot cocoa stand for people to increase their donations by creating Greek and non-Greek donation jars, which proved to be a great success.
  
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In addition to these events, we continue to practice our weekly philanthropies. On Wednesdays we serve food in the soup kitchen at First Baptist Church and on Fridays we work to develop children’s literacy with our reading buddy program at University Hill Elementary School. Our Chapters success continued into March as we made it a priority to participate in other Greek philanthropy events after the victory of our own. We were very proud to win Diamond ball, a baseball tournament put on by Alpha Delta Pi that raises money for the Ronald McDonald House. In addition, we also came in third place with Phi Gamma Delta during Greek week.
  
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In September, UBC Sororities completed the largest recruitment in Canada, which was a considerable achievement not only for Panhellenic, but for the Gamma Upsilon chapter as well. We initiated 26 new members in November and they have been enthusiastic about becoming involved. Currently 7 of the newly initiated members hold positions on Chapter Council. We honored the founding of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the our founders day brunch, where one active member, who has now gone on to become our President, and two alumnae spoke about the effect that Kappa Kappa Gamma has had on their lives.
  
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'''Philanthropy:''' 
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An important priority for the Gamma Upsilon chapter this fall semester was increasing academic achievement. Although it has always been a major priority for the chapter, we came to the realization that we could be doing more to support and encourage our sisters in achieving academic success. The Academic Council was formed in order to assist girls who may be struggling. This council has been crucial in the improvement of academics because it allows for more individual time to be allocated to sisters who need it instead of having just the Vice President Academic Excellence dealing with issues. As incentive to aim high, cookies are distributed weekly to girls who have achieved 80% or higher on an exam or an assignment. Through the implementation of the council and academic incentives we saw the overall chapter average rise just over 3% from the Spring 2013 to the Fall 2013 semester. We hope to continue our success in both the academic and philanthropic arena’s as we continue into the New Year.
  
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In 1989, Delta Beta sponsored CHANCE “Battle of the Bands.”
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The University of British Columbia continues to be an innovative campus that is focused equally on the well being of its students as well as the well being of the Earth and environment. In the spring of 2013 UBC announced that the creation of a smart-grid energy storage system that integrates one megawatt hour of stored energy enough to power an average home for 1,000 hours into a power grid that supports three major campus facilities. In September, The Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) and UBC was awarded LEED Platinum certification, the highest designation in green building performance from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system. UBC has also made a considerable effort in bettering the lives of its student as well as the environment. The UBC bookstore reduced the cost of course packs, which allowed students to save a average of 33% on their course materials.  
  
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The fall semester was a stressful and frightening time on the UBC campus. At the end of September and throughout October there was a string of 6 sexual assaults that occurred on the UBC campus. These events were extremely concerning for our Chapter and the UBC population as a whole. However, in this time of fear the Chapter became closer in attempts to protect one another at all costs. Our Risk Management chairman gave multiple presentations on how we can protect ourselves in times where we find ourselves alone in the evening. She also gave out whistles and contact cards with UBC Securities information. Sisters that lived on campus offered to walk girls home should they ever find themselves alone. It was in this time of stress and uncertainty that brought our chapter closer together and gave us a true understanding of sisterhood. The campus has sense returned to the safe learning environment it always has been, but the increased support for one another within the chapter has remained.
  
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==Highlights of 2014==
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The year 2014 has been a very successful and exciting year for the Gamma Upsilon chapter at UBC. The year started off well with philanthropy week in which we raised money and support through our candy grams and hot chocolate booths in the SUB. Again we found success in instilling some friendly competition with the Greek and non-Greek donation jars. In addition to these events, we continue to practice our weekly philanthropies of Tuesday night soup kitchen at First Baptist Church and Friday afternoon reading buddies at University Hill Elementary School. Our Chapters success continued into March where we ended the month off by introducing our new main philanthropy event Kappa Kourtside featuring Kappa Kappa Gamma’s annual Desserts for a Cure, which proved to be a success. Many teams came out to support our philanthropy and we raised $1600. Our chapter also took part in many Greek philanthropy events such as Diamond ball, put on my Alpha Delta Pi raising money for the Ronald McDonald House. In addition our chapter also attended and volunteered for other charities such as F Cancer (started by one of our very own Yael Cohen) and Women for Women in Afghanistan. To continue our philanthropic year we raised $2025 at the CIBC run for a cure this fall and $1300 at our November Desserts for a Cure. In January we also put on a fantastic rendition of the Lion King for Songfest, hosted by Order of Omega, which included almost every member of our chapter. We initiated 34 enthusiastic new members in November, with seven currently holding Chapter Council positions. This years Founder Day was an amazing event, hosted at Dockside Restaurant in Granville Island. Girls had the chance to connect with Vancouver alumni and learn about our history as well as form connections through the dream wall.
  
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'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''
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An important priority for the Gamma Upsilon chapter this fall semester was increasing chapter involvement and achievements in the Greek community. This has always been a goal of ours but we wanted to emphasize it this year as many girls graduated resulting in a smaller sorority with many new members. We were able to do this by encouraging participation in all Greek events. We had girls volunteer to make teams for almost every sorority and fraternities philanthropy event, such as DG’s anchor splash. Our chapter also had many successful rec sports teams throughout the year, including: two volleyball teams, a soccer team and a dodge ball team last term. We also won the UBC rec softball tournament at the beginning of this year. On top of this participation and success in sports, we had three girls take home top Panhellenic awards. Katie Sherlock won Top Panhellenic Athlete, Amanda Woodland won Top Panhellenic Scholar, and Abby Perehudoff won Top Individual Philanthropist. As well, multiple girls also won accreditation certificate awards. The Academic Council has encouraged academic success in the chapter, as well as incentives such as smart cookies, and library raids. Kappa Kash also encourages girls to participate in our many philanthropic opportunities. Overall morale and sisterhood has been increased and that’s what encourages girls to participate more. We truly hope to continue this successful involvement and overall achievements into the New Year. 
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The University of British Columbia is a large dynamic campus located in the heart of Vancouver’s Pacific Spirit Park; with over 60,000 students the campus is always changing. UBC offers both a diverse academic and athletic program. In the past year the University’s athletic program has come under review. Some of UBC’s athletic programs, like it’s Swimming, Field Hockey, Volleyball, Rowing, and Soccer teams, are held along side some of the best in Canada and North America. Unfortunately programs like its Football, Skiing, and Softball’s continued inability to prove successful has brought attention to the structure of UBC’s athletic program. In 2013 The University announced a review of the athletic program’s structure, promising a more focused and successful program; changing certain team’s privileges from ‘varsity’ to club status, the first steps of which to be put into affect at the beginning of the 2014/2015 academic year. Prior to talks of Athletic reformation the UBC student population has been relatively indifferent with regards to support for it’s varsity programs. The recent attention drawn to the athletic program has caused an influx of school spirit. The Times Higher Education World University Ranking ranked UBC 23rd in the world, and 2nd in Canada. The 2013/2014 average admittance GPA was 89.5%, an increase of .02% from the previous year. The University continues to commit itself to not only educating students to the highest degree, but doing so in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way. The University leads the way with sustainable buildings, having built fourteen buildings that adhere to the highest sustainable standards, and is currently in the process of completing five more. The University’s embrace for innovative policies and building begin in what has been publicly recognized by many as "North America's Greenest Building” and one of the greenest buildings in the world.
  
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The fall semester at UBC was exciting and ground breaking. Our Chapter saw one of the busiest rush periods ever. Not only is the campus’ Greek life thriving, but extra curricular involvement at UBC outside of the Greek life is at an all time high. With UBC Sororities at the forefront of involvement of the Alma Mater Society’s 370 recognized clubs, it is a wonderful time to be in the Greek system. Kappa Kappa Gamma hosts the most diverse group of members of any Greek organization at UBC. With members from various parts of the world such as the US, Great Britain, and Thailand, our members are very well rounded. The bonds of sisterhood created prove to be stronger than ever as sisters frequently make plans to visit our sisters from abroad.
  
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Our chapter holds meetings  in our Chapter room located in the Panhellenic House. The Chapter room is rented and has a comfy classroom setup.  We do not have housing at the Gamma Upsilon Chapter in UBC.
  
  
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==Highlights of the 1990s:==
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==Highlights of 2015==
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2015 has been a very exciting year, very focused on making changes to better our chapter as well as forming stronger bonds within our sisterhood. In March we welcomed six new and amazing girls through our COB recruitment. To start off March we had the annual Parent Tea in the chapter room, which was a great way to meet some parents and in turn let them have a glimpse into what Kappa means to each member. At our Panhellenic awards ceremony at the end of March we had five girls receive academic accreditation, our chapter was accredited for sports, philanthropy, and leadership and activities, our very own Katie Sherlock was accredited for a top athlete, two of our members were accredited with leadership and top philanthropists, and finally another two of our members were accredited with the all greek women of the year award.
  
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Delta Beta tied for first place in the 1990 Greek Week.  Pledge Initiation was held at the University of North Carolina (UNC).  Fraternity Education was the chapter goal. A standards workshop was held in the fall semester. The chapter went to Wrightsville Beach with the new initiates. Delta Beta attended a Founder’s Day Banquet at UNC. Delta Beta held a scholarship banquet to celebrate individual achievement and improving to fourth place in scholarship among all sororities on campus.  Delta Beta conducted an informal chapter evaluation and two mandatory all-member rush retreats.  Delta Beta placed fourth in Sigma Chi’s Derby Days.
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We also had a beautiful formal at the Arbutus Club at the end of March, which was a fun way to close up the year for our sisterhood. Kappa Kourtside in the second week of April brought out a huge crowd right before exams. And we were able to raise $4891. We also were able to raise $1089 through our Kappa Kandy Grams, and $1745 at our annual Desserts for a Cure. By the end of the term we also had eleven girls with an over 80 average. We are so proud of them and their accomplishments, and hope to inspire the rest of the chapter to keep up this push towards academics!
  
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Delta Beta won two honorable mentions at the 1991 Province Meeting for scholarship and philanthropy. Delta Beta held a two- day officer training workshop.  Initiation was held at UNC.   The chapter goal was using committees effectively.  Events included: a council retreat, chapter beach trip to Wrightsville Beach with the new initiates, an Alcohol and Substance Abuse program, Founder’s Day Banquet at UNC, a Scholarship Banquet, and a stress management program. Delta Beta placed third in Sigma Chi’s Derby Days.  Delta Beta was noted in the Keyhole for its scholarship.  
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At the start of September we attended our retreat at our very own Kristin Short’s house in Shuswap Lake, where we had the opportunity to bond with our sisters at a beautiful location for three days. At retreat we rehearsed all things recruitment, which was very helpful for our newest pledge class. As well, we decorated our new floral letters, and had multiple photo shoots to share on social media as well as for our recruitment video. It was the highlight of the year, and everyone had so much fun.  
  
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In 1994, the chapter competed with other Greek organizations and won a Pictionary contest for charity. Delta Beta tried to increase interaction with the Duke and Durham community through their AIDS fund raiser in which various retailers helped sell t-shirts. The chapter goal was to increase sister participation through all-sister activities.  Delta Beta held a scholarship banquet each semester to recognize sisters for their academic achievement and in the fall named a sister-of-the-week at each meeting to highlight a sister’s recent accomplishments.  Delta Beta held a ritual workshop each semester.
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Coming into the school year our chapter was extremely busy with planning and preparing for recruitment. We also revamped our website, adding photos from retreat and stepped up our presence and activity on social media. Our house chairman took to decorating our chapter room with some homey pieces, such as polaroid pictures, lights, flowers, pillows and a couple ottomans. Recruitment was a busy time for public relations and our activity on social media. It really paid off however as our new members were able to follow posts during that time and so it was quite effective.  
  
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Delta Beta had three members of Phi Beta Kappa, two members on the volleyball team, two members on the golf team, and one member on the track team. Several Kappa relatives of pledges were able to attend their initiation this year, including one new member’s grandmother. Social events included Kite and Key, Psychedelic 60’s, and Holiday Formal.  In October, Delta Beta hosted a table to sell pink ribbons and provide information about self-breast exams in honor of National Self Breast Exam Awareness Month.
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Recruitment was the most successful its been in years, we were all so pumped and welcome in 34 new and amazing members. We have carried this excitement throughout the term. We raised $427.70 during our philanthropy weeks cocoa for a cure in the UBC Nest, and $6380 from our participating team in the annual CIBC Run for a Cure. In the first week of November our chapter submitted a video for Gamma Phi Betas philanthropy event, The Gammies. We didn’t win, but our own sister Rebcca Moug took home best actress!
  
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Delta Beta’s chapter goal in 1995 was increased sister attendance and ritual awareness.   Delta Beta strengthened the role of Standards in upholding lateness and attendance policies.  
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I-week and initiation took place in the second week of November, and it ran smoothly as well as fun. We even got to have a sisterhood event at Spin Society, where a Kappa alumni generously offered her time to hold. At the end of November we will be hosting what should be an amazing semi formal at the Traditional Chinese Gardens, which our new members are very excited for.  
  
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Delta Beta held a Valentine’s Day semi-formal in 1997. A representative from the Career Development Center came to speak to the chapter.  Two Delta Betas gave a talk about depression and seeking help for this illness.  Delta Beta held an “April Fool’s” function at the Durham Ballpark. Other social events included spring formal, “Psych- 60’s”, a Barn Party, Kite and Key, and winter formal. A representative from the Healthy Devil spoke to the chapter about health resources on campus. A Delta Beta was a member of the cheerleading squad and two Delta Betas were members of student government.  
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Following this on November 22nd we are having someone from headquarters hold a ritual workshop for our chapter. Throughout the year our chapter has taken part in a number of philanthropy events within the Greek community. To list a few, the chapter took part in Sigma Chi’s Derby Days in support of the Shinerama UBC campaign raising money for Cystic Fibrosis research, and AOPi’s Score Out Arthritis which is a indoor soccer tournament. This coming year we are planning on fully using the GIN system for a more concise and official way to keep track with events for the month and year.  
  
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In 1998, the chapter raised $4000 for the Children’s Miracle Network through Kappa Kaddies, a charity golf tournament. Social events included Valentine’s semi-formal, spring formal, a Barn Party, “Pysch-60’s”, Kite and Key (with the sisters of Kappa Alpha Theta), and winter formal. One Delta Beta was a star member of the women’s basketball team, who competed in the NCAA finals.  Delta Beta also had one member of Phi Beta Kappa, one member of the cheerleading squad, and the star of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.
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This fall our campus finally opened its long anticipated new student union building, the Nest. This has been a seven year process, but has been well worth the wait. It is a beautiful LEED platinum certified building (highest green building rating in North America), and has room for the huge growth in students at UBC. It is located right next to the old SUB, and maintains its hub of activity offering a place for students to shop, study, eat and socialize. The building itself is five stories and 250,000 square feet (50% larger than the old SUB), and cost $107 million. The NEST contains eight AMS run food and drink eateries, nine AMS services, as well as a three-storey rock climbing wall. Not only is the building itself sustainable – solar powered cooling, radian hearing/cooling of floors, solar water heaters, cerified wood products, in vessel compositing, storm water management/retention, roof top garden, water efficient landscaping using grey water, but their food is as well – 100% ocean wise certified, local produce, dry food purchased from local companies, and all coffees are certified organic, shade grown, and fair trade.
 
   
 
   
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'''Philanthropy:'''
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This year our overall chapters nature has been focused on sisterhood. We started out the year as one of the smallest sororities on campus, but through teamwork we have grown to almost the same size as everyone else. This year as been extremely busy, and we have faced times of difficulty, but we have all really stuck together and helped each other. We have held multiple sisterhood events this year, and chapter council members took to using their committees for help a lot more. As well our chapter has shown a lot of initiative to help each other, and spend time with each other. On top of fun sisterhood events we have also had many study nights, with amazing turn outs. Its so special to see our sisters encouraging and helping each other push for better academics, which has been a struggle for us in the past. Within the first two months of school our chapter had hosted three study nights, one was also with Delta Gamma. Not only have our members pushed to attend all of our own meetings and events but our participation within the Greek community has also increased substantially.
  
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1990: YMCA Day Care Center and Durham Battered Women’s Shelter
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What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?
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1991: YMCA Day Care Center;
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Reading is fundamental, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, First Baptist Church soup kitchen
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1994: Easter egg hunt with children, Breast Cancer Awareness Day, Dance to Fight AIDS fundraiser, Walktoberfest;
 
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1995:  Dance to Fight AIDS, Easter egg hunt, bake sale fundraiser;
 
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1997: Volunteering at EK POWE elementary, volunteering at the Methodist Retirement Home;
 
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1998:  Kappa Kaddies, a charity golf tournament
 
  
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'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''
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Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
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Reading is fundamental is the national Kappa Kappa Gamma philanthropy. 
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Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation is our local chapter philanthropy which was started due to an alumni. We hold this philanthropy very close to all our hearts, and one of our alumni, Yael Cohen, actually started the philanthropy Fuck Cancer.
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First Baptist Church – weekly volunteering at soup kitchen
  
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==Highlights of 2016==   
  
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As a whole chapter, we were able to accomplish the Anna Kianna Panhellenic Award and Ann McCucheon Philanthropy Award, as well as two individual awards, Top Panhellenic Scholar and Top Individual Philanthropist, at this past Panhellenic Spring Awards. Many have also won individual awards and scholarships such as Just Desserts (recognizes members of UBC community with outstanding contribution), Dean’s Honour List (for those with grades within the top 10%), Major Entrance Scholarship, Chancellor’s Scholar Award, Outstanding International Scholarship and initiation to Gamma Sigma Alpha (for members of the Greek system with +77% average).  Our members were able to get involved with other UBC organizations such as the Alma Mater
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Society, various faculties and different clubs as executive members or as volunteers; Delegate, Promotional Team, RC and VP Recruitment for Panhellenic, Vice President for POITS, Dean’s Student Advisory Council, House President of Salish House of Totem Park Residence, General Volunteer for UBC Hospital, InterClub Executive at Blood for Life, VP Student Life at Arts Undergraduate Society, VP UBC Thunderbird Dance Team and Volunteer Avenue Coordinator of AMS to name just a few. 
  
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Members have also volunteered with organizations outside the UBC community: BC Women and Children’s Hospital, VGH Renal Dialysis Unit, Strathcona Clinic, Kiwanis Club, Women for Women, Junior Achievement, BC SPCA and Burnaby Hospital of Mental Health. 
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Describe the recent changes on your campus and describe the overall nature of your chapter.  On campus, there is a newly open first year residence, Orchard Commons, which has greatly improved housing and expanded capacity for first years to be guaranteed housing. A lot of our new members have the privilege of living in this new building. 
  
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==Highlights of 2000-2010:==
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Our chapter's nature in 2016 has once again been one of loyalty, community and sisterhood. We have gained 35 wonderful new members who have each been an extraordinary addition to our chapter. Many of the new members have taken positions on Chapter Council as well as been appointed significant leadership roles assisting some of the Chapter Council Executives. In addition, two of our members have been chosen for executive positions on Panhellenic Council. We are all very proud of these girls and especially excited for our chapter to have great representation on Panhel's board.   
 
   
 
   
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In 2005, Delta Beta hosted the Nu East Province Meeting in Durham, NC. Also, Delta Beta had a very strong representation in Duke's Pan-Hellenic Council as its members served as both the President and the VP of Recruitment. As a chapter, its commitment to academic excellence was recognized by the Pan-Hellenic Council with the Outstanding Scholarship Award and a Delta Beta was honored as Duke Greek Woman of the Year.  Three Delta Betas were inducted in to the Order of the Omega, the Greek Honor Society that recognizes exceptional leadership, scholarship and service.   
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Chapter Philanthropy:
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What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community? 
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-Reading is Fundamental (international)
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-Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation (international)  
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-The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (national)
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-Soup Kitchen Tuesdays at First Baptist Church, Reading Buddy Fridays at University Hill Elementary (local)
  
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In addition to its strong sisterhood, Kappas at Duke are devoted to academic excellence and selfless service. Delta Beta has maintained one of the highest GPAs within the Greek Community and has become an essential part of the Duke and Durham communities. With 142 members, Delta Beta is also one of the largest chapters on campus.
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Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
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The members of our chapter hold the causes of both our national and local philanthropies dear to our hearts. Like most people, we have been affected one way or another by breast cancer, which is why we find it important to raise awareness and funds to support the research and survivors of this disease. As for our two local philanthropies, Soup Kitchen Tuesdays and Reading Buddy Fridays, our chapter wanted a way to give back to our community not just through organizing internal events, but also by participating in charitable activities every week. Reading Buddy Fridays is a program that also helps us show our support towards the Reading is Fundamental organization consistently throughout the year.  
  
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In 2005, Delta Beta’s chapter council vowed to work toward perfecting the devotion of its members to their commitments and responsibilities as Greek women. Delta Beta aimed to continue to increase ritual awareness and appreciation in order to strengthen our ties with the history of Kappa.  In terms of responsibility to the tradition of Greek life, Delta Beta planned to work to maintain our high level of Pan-Hellenic involvement on campus.  All of these goals were enthusiastically met last year.  Delta Beta’s Marshall introduced a new ritual program that made learning about our ritual and history fun and interesting.  Delta Beta had record turn out to these "ritual retreats" which led to our most successful initiation to date.  A Delta Beta served Duke and the Greek community as the President of Duke's Pan-Hellenic Council.  With one of its own sisters as the head of the Duke Greek community, Delta Beta chapter was more involved in both school and Greek activities than ever.   
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Chapter Facility:
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In what kind of a facility does your chapter meet? Please attach a clear photo of where you typically hold chapter meetings – whether in a classroom, chapter house or elsewhere.   
  
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In 2006, Delta Beta worked really hard to maintain our involvement in the Panhellenic life. A Delta Beta was elected  VP of Recruitment, and we have continued to invoke a Panhellenic spirit in all the events that we have held this year.  Kappa was recognized again this year for our outstanding scholarship, and even had 4 members inducted into Order of the Omega, the Greek Honor Society.  Furthermore, one of our members helped to start an organization in Africa this year, working for women's rights to equal education.
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With the exception of few formal meetings, most of our chapter meetings were previously held in the chapter room in the Panhellenic house. However, starting this October, we have been meeting in a class room in the IONA building on campus, as it provides more space for all of the members.
  
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Kappas at Duke show a strong sense of sisterhood coupled with a devotion to academic success and a desire to give back to the community.  Delta Beta is a very diverse chapter, always seeking to incorporate new ideas into the task at hand.  In addition, Kappas at Duke are committed to supporting all forms of Greek life on campus. 
 
  
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This year Delta Beta worked really hard to reorganize the use of each of its committees.  It sought to have more efficient committee meetings, using the talents of the many diverse girls in its chapter.  Delta Beta’s VPO did a great job this year of invoking the use of these committees.  In addition, Delta Beta wanted to improve our risk management program.  After many new policies, it has finally cemented a program that is safe, efficient, and strong.  With the strong leadership of its President, Delta Beta has worked to bring all of the pledge classes together in the bonds of sisterhood.  This has been achieved through sisterhood dinners and committee outings.
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==Highlights of 2017==
  
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Delta Belta was at or above the the all-sorority GPA during 2009. One Delta Beta was honored with a invitation to join Phi Beta Kappa. Six members were reported in the Spring 2009 issue of The Key as having a 4.0 GPA.  
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In January, the Gamma Upsilon chapter set out to strive towards a year of building a stronger sisterhood through strengthening the bond between sisters, and overall solidifying our community involvement and empowerment. We plan on improving our sisterhood by creating and planning g sisterhood events throughout each month to encourage sister-bonding and active participation within the chapter. We welcomed 2 new members in our January COB, who became a part of the 2016 pledge class. Throughout January-April, the Chapter focused on our sisterhood through attending sisterhood events and ensuring our sisters maintained academic excellence, great presence at Greek events and philanthropies, and good relations and communication with each other in the chapter.  
  
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In 2005, Delta Beta implemented a new strategy of presenting something interesting from our archives at each formal meeting. The chapter really enjoyed these presentations, which included photo albums, scrapbooks, old bylaws, chapter minutes and standing rules, and chapter composites from years past.
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For the January-April semester, Gamma Upsilon chapter had the highest academic average of any sorority chapter at UBC this past semester with a 74.48%. At the Panhellenic Spring Awards, our chapter received two individual awards for Top Philanthropy, received by Farrah Bui-Turcotte, who is extremely involved with philanthropies and volunteering; Along with Top Leadership, received by Elise Mance, who maintained a double presidency being president of Kappa and president of the AUS (Arts Undergraduate Society). Two of our sisters were recently initiated into Gamma Sigma Alpha, which is a Greek organization for Greek members with averages of above 76%. We have a sister who was granted a UBC Excellence Scholarship for being within the top 10% in her faculty, undergraduate year, and program. We have sisters who are on the Deans Honour Roll, and who have been granted BC Achievement Scholarship awards, the District Authority Scholarship award, and the Maili Wong Award in Finance, to name a few.  
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67th Biennial Convention: 2006-2008 Winners: Gracious Living, Unhoused Chapter
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Five of our Chapter Council officers were able to attend the Kappa Leadership Conference where they learned skills to implement within our chapter and within council so that the officers are able to be greater leaders, and a newest member of PC16 attended the Kappa Leadership Academy. In September, we welcomed 40 new members into our Chapter, 38 of which were part of Formal Recruitment and 2 of which we welcomed through COB. For Formal Recruitment, we received a 97.5% retention rate after tours, and became the top recruiting sorority of 2017. Our President implemented ‘President’s Key’, which is a member spotlight for two girls who have gone above and beyond in the Chapter and who will be presented with this award at Chapter meeting and will be talked about in a little blurb highlighting the things they are doing for the Chapter, in which they will also receive a little care package. She also implemented ‘Accountabili-KEYS’, which is to maintain commitment and presence at other Greek philanthropies, where girls are in groups of 3, and 1/3 girls must attend and participate in each event.
  
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Our Registrar implemented ‘Owl Bet’cha Didn’t Know’, which is a monthly newsletter presented at Chapter meeting, where information taken from the Chapter History Nuggets are translated into a cute newsletter format highlighting certain historical or ongoing events, and also includes fun facts, and a sister shout out. The goal of this newsletter is to maintain awareness of Kappa history in a fun format. Furthermore, our sister Kennedy Gagnon, just recently became the president of UBC sororities, and will lead our community for the upcoming year.
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In the spring, a new aquatic centre opened up for students and faculty members of UBC and the community. There has also been ongoing construction as a new bus-loop is being built alongside another new residence for students.
  
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Overall, the Gamma Upsilon chapter has implemented monthly sisterhood events that have increased both active participation in the chapter, alongside establishing greater closeness among our sisters. We find that recruitment and initiation are always special for members, as these events remind us why we hold Kappa so close to our hearts, and it shows us the unification and the support systems amongst members. This past year, Gamma Upsilon has accomplished our goals and have done so with great pride, and we feel that our Chapter will continue to improve throughout the 2017-2018 year.
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'''Chapter Philanthropy''':
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Soup Kitchen at the First Baptist Church (Local), every Tuesday night with Phi Delta Theta.
  
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==Highlights of 2011-2019:==
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Reading Buddies at University Hill Elementary (Local), every Friday afternoon with Beta Theta Pi.
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==Highlights of 2012==
 
  
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The Delta Beta chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma thrived this year in academics, sisterhood, and philanthropy.  This year we recorded the highest involvement in chapter events and meetings in recent history, and this commitment to the chapter and its women is evident in our outstanding class of new members.  This dedication was also critical to the success of our local philanthropy event this fall: the fourth annual "5K for Camp K," or Camp Kaleidoscope-- a residential camp for terminally ill children.  The women of Delta Beta recruited Duke students to participate in the race and support the philanthropy; as a result, the chapter raised $9,000 for Camp Kaleidoscope.  Those funds--more than the chapter has ever raised--will send 25 children to camp this summer.  The chapter was also highly involved in the national Kappa philanthropy of Reading Is Fundamental, and we had nearly all of our members volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club of Durham to support the organization.  Kappas at Duke also volunteer in organizations such as Best Buddies, Camp Kesem (a camp for children with cancer in their families), and Duke Engage programs (international programs with a variety of service goals).
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Reading is Fundamental (International)
  
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In addition to our philanthropic success, our chapter hosted weekly meetings in the house for the women of Delta Beta ("Kappa Keypsakes") to discuss personal experiences and struggles and further develop the support system within the chapter.  During a chapter meeting this fall, our Vice President of Standards also led an open discussion about the alcohol culture at Duke and how to uphold our values and commitments in spite of social pressure.  The new Kappa house on Duke's campus has been a wonderful opportunity for the sisters of Delta Beta to become an even more close-knit community.  Beyond internal chapter activities, a member of Delta Beta--Hannah Hayward--actually served as the Panhellenic Vice President of Recruitment, where she represented Kappa with leadership and grace.  Finally, Delta Beta recognized the 81st anniversary of Founder's Day by celebrating both old and new traditions with alumni and active members.
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The Canadian Brest Cancer Foundation (National)
  
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In terms of challenges, our chapter faced a new struggle this year related to the new Kappa house; because the apartments have two single bedrooms and one double bedroom, our Standards Committee mediated several disagreements among roommates.  The situations arose largely among sisters who either lived in a double and would have preferred a single or had living styles that were incompatible with those of their roommates.  Standards sorted out these issues between roommates by arranging mutual agreements that allowed the members to compromise.  Another issue that Delta Beta faces nearly every year is chapter attendance.  While attendance has improved, some members (primarily seniors) missed more chapters than was acceptable.  Council took a two-pronged approach to remedy this issue: first, the Standards Committee met with any women with incomplete attendance and sorted out the challenges they were facing.  Second, the sisters began recognizing one member each chapter who had accomplished something that week by surprising her with a small gift, such as flowers or chocolates.  The positive energy this new tradition fosters has encouraged members to attend chapter whenever they can.
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Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation (International)  
  
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Regarding campus changes, 2012 was the first year since the 1950s that sororities had housing on Duke's campus. Duke granted each of the nine sororities their own house this year; the houses are all located together on Duke's Central Campus, and comprise a number of apartments located together in the same building.  A combination of approximately forty sophomore and juniors lived in the Kappa house at 1915 Erwin Road. The building consisted of three bedroom, four bed apartments for the Kappas, in addition to an apartment with a Central Campus RA. Living together has helped even stronger bonds to emerge among the chapter and the individual pledge classes; additionally, living in close proximity to the other sororities has produced a more cohesive and supportive Panhellenic community.
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Reading is Fundamental is the international organization that all Kappa chapters support, therefore we show support by our weekly local philanthropy at Reading Buddies. We also choose to support the First Baptist Church weekly because it enables members to get out weekly to give back to our community. Our Chapter supports the Canadian Brest Cancer Foundation (CBBF) because as a large group of women, we have all been or known somebody who has been affected by breast cancer, and cancer in general. We choose to support this organization because the money we raised goes towards finding a cure, and supports and brings awareness to each woman affected by breast cancer in their courageous battles in fighting cancer.  
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Most of chapter meetings are held within our Chapter room, as it was renovated and painted throughout the summer. We find that our Chapter room provides us with enough room and enables us to maintain focus throughout our meetings. We also tend to hold sisterhood events immediately after Chapter meetings every couple of weeks, so it is easy for girls to participate and attend these events as they are in our Chapter room. There are certain occasions we hold our meetings in classrooms across campus, and this is generally for Formal Meetings as this allows more space to perform ritual.
  
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Within the chapter, the Delta Beta Council underwent a number of changes during 2012, largely involving the new house.  House Chair became a newly significant position on Council responsible for ensuring that the house met the needs of its residents and fostered sisterhood among the Kappas living there. Council also had to determine which members of the Executive Board would be required to live in the house for the coming years, ultimately settling on the President, the House Chair, the New Member Chair, and the Vice President of Standards.  Finally, Council decided this year to add Recruitment Assistant as another elected position for future years.
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==Highlights of 2018s:==
  
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==Highlights of 2013==
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This year the chapter has seen growth in our sisterhood, increased engagement in our philanthropy events, and has initiated an incredible new member class.  In January 2018 we successfully transitioned a brand new chapter council. Our VPOrganization arranged our Leadership Consultant visit who was able to further aid in transitions. The 2018 Chapter Council is responsible for implementing the Owl, Keys, and Fleur-de-lis groups to increase accountability for internal and external philanthropic events.  The Academic Council maintained communication with members to ensure they were meeting their academic goals that our VPAcademic Excellence had encouraged us to set for ourselves.  The standards committee worked closely with VPStandards to organize and host a variety of sisterhood events that we put on throughout the year.  Some members belong to the Gamma Sigma Alpha  fraternity which is a Greek organization that celebrates scholarly achievement by taking members with an academic average above 76%.  Many of the women in our chapter hold volunteer positions on campus with organizations like Best Buddies and are also involved with the Alma Mater Society of UBC and other academic pursuits.  During our January - April semester we were able to celebrate our senior members with a Panhellenic Senior Send Off and our Sapphire Ball was organized by our Events Chair  a beautiful formal event for us.  Our PR Chair did an incredible job in highlighting our chapter values on social media by focusing on our sisterhood, self love, and mental health awareness.
  
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The Delta Beta chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma thrived this year in academics, sisterhood, and philanthropy.  At the Kappa Kappa Gamma Province Meeting, we received awards for Outstanding Advisory Board, Outstanding Philanthropy, and Honorable mention for Risk Management. At the Duke Greek Awards, Kappa Kappa Gamma received the Gold Chapter (Duke Greek Community Standard) award, and one of our sophomore members, Lauren Alef, received the Panhellenic Empowering Women Scholarship. Along with the awards we also received an outstanding class of new members. The success of the chapter was due to the dedication of its women to their sorority and their sisters.  
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During the summer our Recruitment Chair started work on creating a strong recruitment.  Due to the hard work she and her committee put in we welcomed 30 beautiful new members in September. Our President attended the Leadership Conference in June where she shared leadership skills, ideas, and stories to strengthen our sisterhood. Our Philanthropy assistant attended the Kappa Leadership Academy.
  
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This year was an enormously successful year for Delta Beta’s philanthropic efforts. As a chapter, we worked to continue our existing chapter traditions and to focus on supporting other sororities and our own sisters with their particular service projects and interests.  In the Spring of 2013, the Delta Beta chapter held our annual Reading is Key event at the John Avery Boys and Girls Club to support Reading is Fundamental. Sisters worked hard to either donate money or books during our book drive leading up to the event in order to ensure that each student went home with a new book to read. The afternoon at the Boys and Girls club included reading and book-centered activities to engage the children while promoting youth literacy. This event was fun for our sisters, supported Kappa’s national philanthropy, and also allowed sisters to engage with the larger Durham community.  Our chapter continued our support of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation through our annual Finals Care Packages.  This was a great way to support the Foundation and was an opportunity to educate our chapter and our sisters’ families regarding the mission and goals of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation.  
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Our Risk Chairman along with our Education Chairman organized many education meetings for us that pertained to mental and physical health as well as self care.  Our Marshal arranged a lovely initiation for everyone in November and saw 30 women initiated into Kappa Kappa Gamma.
  
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This fall, we held our 6th Annual 5K for Camp Kaleidoscope and raised just under $10,000! This is the most money our chapter has ever raised for Camp Kaleidoscope, which is an enormous accomplishment for our chapter!  The event was also a great way for younger members of the chapter to become familiar with annual chapter events and fundraisers and to promote sisterhood around a common goal. In addition to our annual events, individual sisters also shared their own interests with the chapter and encouraged attendance and participation in events like Duke Dance Marathon or the Special Olympics.  These are just a few examples of the many diverse service activities Delta Beta Kappas have participated in during the 2013 calendar year.  Overall, the chapter has a strong commitment to service both inside and outside of Kappa Kappa Gamma. All of our efforts, both with Kappa and individually, have supported and demonstrated this value.
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We have continued the tradition of supporting the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation through our bake sale event Desserts for a Cure where the proceeds all go to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. Our Philanthropy Chair also attended our weekly philanthropic events such as our Tuesday night Soup Kitchen with Phi Delta Theta and Reading Buddies on Friday afternoons with Beta Theta Pi.  These volunteer events give our women a chance to give back to the community that fits with their schedules.  Our chapter showed support for Reading is Fundamental through a book drive and barbecue called Kappa Kookout and through our continued involvement in Reading Buddies. Our chapter takes great pride in helping the communities of the Vancouver area.
  
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In addition to our philanthropic success, our chapter continued the hosting of weekly meetings in the house for the women of Delta Beta ("Kappa Keypsakes") to discuss personal experiences and struggles and further develop the support system within the chapter.  Further, during a chapter meeting this fall, our Vice President of Standards also led an open discussion about sexual pressure at Duke, in relationships, ect. and how to uphold our values and commitments in spite of social pressure.  Finally, Delta Beta recognized the 82nd anniversary of Founder's Day by celebrating both old and new traditions with alumni and active members.  
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Our chapter room is where we host our meetings, along with an occasional meeting in the Woodward Building on campus to hold elections and educational meetings.  Our chapter room was renovated in the summer to update the decor.  Our chapter room is one of 8 rooms within the Panhellenic House building that hosts all of the UBC sorority chapters.
  
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In the beginning of the year, Delta Beta laid out goals for the year including working on leadership styles to work together in the most efficient way possible, working better with advisers and understanding how they can help individual officer responsibilities as the leaders of the chapter, and using the committees more in order to increase chapter member involvement via specific tasks and projects. The main theme of these goals was to increase chapter unity and individual involvement. A challenge Delta Beta faced in order to successfully achieve all these goals was chapter attendance.  While attendance has improved, some members missed more chapters than was acceptable.  In order to remedy this issue, the Standards Committee continued to meet with any women with incomplete attendance to sort out any challenges they were facing and express how going to chapter meetings is something special. In order to make chapter meetings more meaningful, the sisters continued recognizing one member each chapter who had accomplished something that week by surprising her with a small gift, such as flowers or chocolates.  This has created a positive and supportive environment that the sisters look forward to being a part of weekly.
 
  
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Duke added a new sorority  to its campus—Gamma Phi Beta, creating a total of ten Panhellenic sororities. The addition of this new sorority provides a great opportunity for unaffiliated juniors and seniors, as well as freshmen and sophomores, to become part of the Greek community.
 
  
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Delta Beta Kappas made a point to support Duke Panhellenic’s goal of increasing Greek unity between different chapters on campus. As such, several of our members attended Kappa Alpha Theta’s event to support Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and Tri Delta’s event to support St. Jude’s Hospital, among other on-campus events. This increased unity not only amongst our own members but between members of other sororities, also.
 
  
  
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==Highlights of 2014==
 
  
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The Delta Beta chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma thrived this year in academics, sisterhood, and philanthropy. This year, seven of our members participated in Duke University’s Greek Emerging Leaders Program. The members included Rachel Louie, Hala Daou, Brett Finkelstein, Ally Byer, Alexandra Bratton, Caitlin Penny, and Nicolette Sorenson. Along with strengthening our relationships with other Greek organizations on campus, the chapter also joined together to further strengthen the bond amongst our sisters. The leaders of the Sisterhood Committee dedicated time to strengthening sisterhood bonds in a fun and exciting way. In the beginning of the fall semester, the chapter had a kick-off event at the home of the Sisterhood Committee Chairs, Izzy Clayer and Lexy Steinhilber. After classes on Friday afternoon, sisters were invited to gather at the home to share summer stories, new semester goals, and enjoy delicious drinks and treats together. The committee has also hosted a number of small meet and greet events at on-campus eateries. This has been a great way for sisters to catch up with one another in an informal setting. Finally, the Sisterhood Committee hosted a Halloween pumpkin carving event where Sisterhood organized a Halloween themed get together. All the sisters ate, carved pumpkins, and enjoyed one another’s company. The Sisterhood Committee has had a lot of fun promoting our sisters’ extracurricular activities this past year and continues to encourage our chapter to support our sisters in their many different endeavors. Further, our chapter also received an incredible class of new members. The chapter is very proud thanks to the dedication of its women to the sorority and its sisters.
 
  
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This past year was extremely exciting for Delta Beta’s philanthropy initiatives. To begin with, in the fall, we held our 7th Annual 5K Race for Camp Kaleidoscope  (“Camp K”). Camp K is an organization run out of the Duke hospital that provides a true summer camp experience for pediatric patients treated there.  Camp K serves children treated at the Duke hospital battle chronic or life threatening illness, and gives them the opportunity to attend summer camp under the supervision that they need. This year we actually raised the most funds in our chapter’s history, as we surpassed the previous year’s goal by 75% and raised over $15,000.00. Additionally, Delta Beta continued existing chapter traditions as we hosted our annual Reading is Key event at the John Avery Boys and Girls Club in Durham to support Reading is Fundamental. We held this event in the spring as the whole chapter got together and spent a few hours reading to the students at the local Boys and Girls Club while interacting with creative stations based on the book. We also hosted a book donation so that each student went home with a brand new book. Our chapter continued our support of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation by hosting the first annual Kappa Kappauchino event during finals week. We sold coffee and donuts outside the library and will donate 100% of the proceeds to the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. In addition to our annual events, individual sisters participate in philanthropy initiatives and community service on behalf of Delta Beta, including planning Special Olympics at Duke and volunteering in orphanages in Durham. Overall, the chapter has a strong commitment to service both inside and outside of Kappa Kappa Gamma.
 
  
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In addition to our philanthropic success, our chapter continued the hosting of weekly meetings in the house for the women of Delta Beta (“Kappa Keypsakes”) to discuss personal experiences and struggles in order to further develop the support system with in the chapter. This is the second year of Kappa Keypsakes. Further, during a chapter meeting this fall, our Vice President of Standards also led an open discussion about disordered eating on Duke’s campus. Sisters volunteered to share personal stories about their own struggles with eating disorders and the conversation concluded with ways in which we can all be more supportive of each other in order to reach our full well being. Finally, Delta Beta recognized the 83rd anniversary of Founder’s Day by celebrating both old and new traditions with alumni and active members.
 
  
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In the beginning of the year, Delta Beta laid out goals for the 2014-2015 calendar year. The goals included increasing the efficiency and enthusiasm of weekly chapter meetings, fostering the desire to spend time with sisters, improve chapter attendance, and the Executive Council really strived to be good mentors for all their Kappa Kappa Gamma sisters. In order to reach these goals, the sisters of our chapter upheld characteristics of respect, accountability, support, and collaboration to inspire our chapter’s growth. As with last year, a challenge to meet these goals was chapter attendance. To increase chapter attendance our chapter continued to make chapters more meaningful in various ways. This included weekly recognition of one member who had accomplished something that week and guest speakers. As previously discussed, the efforts set forth by the Sisterhood Committee also greatly helped to increase chapter attendance and foster the sense of sisterhood needed to accomplish our chapter goals.
 
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As the on-campus apartment housing for the Delta Beta chapter is relatively new, there has been many progressive changes throughout this past year. Most notably, our chapter has been working with Duke Housing to plan sisterhood events such as a house-wide manicure/pedicure outing and a sorority-wide Thanksgiving dinner in the common room, to name a few. Additionally, with the help of our wonderful president, Katie Chaplin, our chapter added a brand new Kappa themed bench outside of the house that we're very excited about. In this spirit of making the house a more comfortable and inviting space, we are also currently organizing a gift registry for the common room to be held in the next couple months. While the Kappa house has seen a lot of promising changes since we were first given the space, we have been struggling to meet a new class-based living requirement imposed by Duke that calls for 30% of the house to be filled with upperclassmen. As we have traditionally filled the space with the new sophomore pledge class as a way for them to bond, this has been a new challenge for the housing committee and sorority. In the next year, we hope to restructure the class dynamics of the house while continuously making improvements such as the ones previously mentioned to make the space a more enjoyable place for everyone.
 
  
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Chapter meetings are held weekly in a university lecture hall. In the fall of 2012, Duke  University created designating housing for all sororities on campus for the first time in the university's history. The 2015 Pledge Class was the first pledge class to all live with each other in the "Kappa House". The Kappa House is university owned housing on Duke's Central Campus. The Kappa House is a large multi-unit apartment building with one main common room and 10 four bedroom apartments. We have one of the largest apartment buildings on campus which allows a total of 40 sisters to live in the house.
 
  
  
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==Highlights of 2015==
 
  
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We have many bright and talented sisters in Duke University’s Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter. For this spring semester we achieved a cumulative and average GPA of 3.625. We received recognition as a Gold Chapter within Greek Community Standards at Duke. Our former President Katie Chaplin won the Greek PanHellenic President’s Choice Award this past year. We ran multiple philanthropy events on campus to raise money for Camp Kaleidoscope, a local camp that allows terminally ill children at the Duke Hospital to go to camp for a week worry free. We also donated and read books with a local elementary school with Kappa’s national philanthropy Reading is Fundamental. One of our sisters, Ali Cox, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and is teaching English abroad in Madrid this year. Another sister, Dominique Beaudry, was awarded as a Truman Scholar. And many of our sisters went on to take jobs and complete internships at amazing places such as, Google, Facebook, the Boston Consulting Group, IBM Watson, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Teach for America, the U.S. Consulate in Nigeria, and the Federal Government. Further we have some amazing student athletes in our mix. This past semester, Mary Elizabeth Bender, Cassie Pecht, and Christina Gibbons made it to the National Championship for Division I Women’s Soccer and came in second place. Further, Jordan Tucker of the Women’s Volleyball team was named ACC Player of the Week. We successfully completed another Kappa Konfidential as a chapter, discussing an important issue we saw our girls facing on campus. And as a chapter we strived to get more members involved with the chapter, outpacing that goal and leading as an Executive Board and senior class, showing our commitment and how important Kappa events have been to us.
 
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One of the biggest changes that our chapter had to deal with this semester was Duke’s changes to the housing rules on campus, which directly impacted the Kappa Kappa Gamma house. Duke implemented a new rule that a certain number of upper classmen must live in the house going forward, when it has been a traditional right of passage for sophomore Kappas to live in the house together and for seniors to live off campus. Our Executive Board, and particularly our House Chair and President worked tirelessly to create a better working system that would not significantly impact Duke Kappas traditions. We have resolved most of the issue, by working with housing at Duke to allow executive positions to live in the house in place of upper classmen and working with Kappa incoming upperclassmen to figure out what would entice them to live in the house as a senior. Our chapter is filled with girls who are loyal, fun, and incredibly intelligent. They are motivated and driven and genuinely care about other girls in the sorority. Thus we have a strong sisterhood within Duke, but also which follows us once we leave the school.
 
  
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Chapter Philanthropy:
 
  
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What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?
 
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Reading is Fundamental, Camp Kaleidoscope, and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation
 
  
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Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
 
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Our chapter chooses to support Reading is Fundamental because this is the chosen philanthropy for Kappa nationally. And we chose to support Camp Kaleidoscope because it is a local initiative that allows us to help send terminally ill children to camp. We also chose this philanthropy because many of our sisters at Duke participate in Camp Chasm, which is a partner camp and philanthropy.
 
  
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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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(Excerpts from chapter history reports.) 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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'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''
 
'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''
  
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==Highlights of 2023s:==
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Throughout the year, our chapter has experienced remarkable participation in both sisterhood and greek-life events. Our events chair has devoted significant effort to create exceptional bonding activities, including a memorable chapter-wide Canucks hockey game night. Additionally, our Director of Academic Excellence has been instrumental in fostering support and cohesion among our sisters through bi-weekly study rooms.
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In February, our President, Vice-President Membership, and Vice-President External Affairs attended the Kappa Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas. During the conference, our members had the opportunity to learn more about Kappa’s history and connect with sisters from all over the world.
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We are thrilled to have reintroduced Kamp Kappa, our spring philanthropy event in support of Jack.org (mental health initiatives) and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. In November of last year, we proudly raised $2913 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation through Deserts for a Cure.
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Our chapter has recently launched ‘Kappa Talks,’ a program inspired by Ted Talks. This initiative aims to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within our sisterhood by encouraging girls to share topics that they are passionate about.
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Our members are leaders in various clubs on campus, including The Women’s Network, Campus Canines, UBC Pre-Law Association, The Calendar, and the AMS, among others. We have introduced Kappa Kash, a unique way to recognize and celebrate the involvement of our members in our chapter. We continue to recognize achievement through the Smart Cookies Program, KKGreat News and the No-“Skippy” Jar on a weekly basis.
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Our Public Relations Chair has demonstrated an exceptional level of commitment to promoting our chapter on social media. As a result, we have amassed a following of over 3,500 on Instagram and received over 200,000 views on Tik Tok.
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In January, we welcomed eight exceptional new members into our chapter through our Spring COB. Last fall, we welcomed 25 beautiful new members.
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We regularly hold meetings at the Woodward Building on campus, with the exception of Formal Meetings and New Member Meetings, which are held in the Chapter Room. Our gorgeous chapter room recently had a kitchen renovation and ceiling reconstruction.
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'''Philanthropy:'''
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Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation (International) 
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The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (National)
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Jack.org (National)
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Reading Buddies at University Hill Elementary (Local), every Friday afternoon.
  
  
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'''Note to Chapter Registrar:'''  
 
'''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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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!
 
Your efforts will ensure a complete and accurate history of your chapter for future generations to enjoy!

Revision as of 05:19, 6 March 2023

 

Gamma Upsilon
ΓY
Gamma Upsilon.jpeg
FoundedMay 11, 1929 (1929-05-11) (96 years ago)
CollegeUniversity of British Columbia
LocationVancouver, BC
HomepageGamma Upsilon Homepage
Media related to Gamma Upsilon Chapter


University of British Columbia established in 1912, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada


Gamma Upsilon founded May 11, 1929 – 15 charter members


1,378 initiates (as of June 2018)


Charter Members:

Doris Isabel Crompton, Isobel Gertrude Douglass, Jean Margaret Dowler, Hilary Rowena Bainbridge Helliwell, Elizabeth Deinstadt Killam, Cecilia Millicent Maria Agnes Garesche Lauder, Mary Kathleen Lyle Mathers, Louise Dorothy McDonald, Dorothy Craig McKay, Katherine Hay Farris Robson, Kathleen Purvis Solloway, Helen Margaret C. Sutherland, Mary Hamilton Watts, Alice Margaret Geddes White.


Fraternity Council Members:


Gillian Marshall, Laura Seyler, Mia Flett, Julia Rastad, Trishana Tuyet-Pham, Rachel Beck, Yaz Tremblay, Madelaine Hargrave.


Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:


Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:

Dorothy Taylor, 1954, journalist, author; (Katherine ) Avis Pumphrey, 1964, Social Service pioneer



The Early Years

“We, at the University of British Columbia, are proud and happy to be part of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity. We are not so well known as some of the American chapters, but we have been going strong since 1929.” So writes the research historian for Gamma Upsilon Chapter.

The University of British Columbia opened in September, 1915, “cradled in wartime,” with few buildings and very little equipment. The relationship of the faculty and students contributed in no small measure to the development of the university on the edge of the Empire in Vancouver, Canada. The faculty helped formulate student policies and stood loyally by student government through all its vicissitudes.

The part which seven women students had in the evolution of student government led, through this by-path, to the founding of Delta Phi, a local sorority, in the spring of 1919. Its purpose was “to bind together in friendship, a group of graduates and undergraduates of the university in a closer way than may be accomplished in the alumni association.”

The year following the founding of Delta Phi two more sororities appeared on the campus. Two years later, at the call of the Delta Phi president, representatives of the three sororities organized the Inter-Sorority Board. This step led to official recognition of sororities by Student Council, and later by the University Senate. From that time on more groups appeared and became increasingly interested in linking themselves with international fraternities and sororities. A summary of Delta Phi meetings for a number of years might have been, “To be or not to be, that is the question.”

The year 1925 was an important one in the history of the university. It was then that the big switch-over was made to the permanent site at Point Grey.

Delta Phi became Gamma Upsilon Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma May 11, 1929, after the long debate over the question of affiliation ended. The chapter was installed by Georgia Hayden Lloyd-Jones, Wisconsin, and Beta Pi Chapter, University of Washington. Actives and alumnae were initiated together in an impressive ceremony.

Gamma Upsilon, following the tradition established by the local sorority, continued to take a leading role in university life, as well as carrying on projects away from the campus.


World War II Years

During World War II, the girls took part in money-raising events for the Canadian Red Cross. Mary Frances Trumbull (Tuck), Panhellenic president, was “convenor” or chairman of the 1945 Red Cross Ball, which netted $4,000. Members of Gamma Upsilon made up 20 percent of the university’s Red Cross Corps. They also paid regular visits to military hospitals and provided Christmas gifts and music for pensioners in an old people’s home.

One of these wartime members was Audrey Reifel, who demonstrated outstanding leadership and gave unselfishly to Gamma Upsilon until her sudden death. In 1950, the chapter established the Reifel Award, to be presented to an active making outstanding contributions to the well-being of the chapter. The Reifel family generously donated to the chapter three paintings by two of Canada’s foremost artists, in memory of their daughter.

The Kappas have always been involved in many activities. Two members were championship tennis players in the 1930s. Another received one of the most prestigious University of British Columbia athletic awards for two consecutive years.

Although a woman becoming a minister is not unusual today, the chapter is especially proud of a member who was one of the best known ministers in Vancouver. She brought up three children before she entered this profession.

Katherine Avis Pumphrey, a social worker, received the 1964 Kappa Alumnae Achievement Award, and a 50-year pin.


Housing

Until 1952, except for a brief period in the late 1920s when an unsuccessful attempt was made to maintain a house, the Kappas on the University of British Columbia campus had been meeting in private homes. In that year, a cooperative effort on the part of nine sororities and their alumnae built a Panhellenic House which continues today as the campus center for the women’s fraternities.

Among the most popular campus activities are Mardi Gras and Songfest. Mardi Gras formerly combined carnival, pep meets and raffle. It generated wide excitement and involvement. Ending three gala days was a costume ball with a floor show. Today Mardi Gras is a campus game night, and all proceeds, up to $10,000 a year, are given to charity. Songfest seems to grow every year, with sororities and fraternities competing in song and dance for the prized Songfest Cup. Although Kappas have not been successful in winning this cup, we have great fun presenting our show.

Recruitment was hosted for the first time in the brand new Panhellenic House, a project for Panhellenic and the Vancouver Alumnae Association. Alumnae donated both their time and funds towards the construction of the facility. Located on campus, Panhellenic House is home to 64 women students in “quads” located on the top three floors. Gamma Upsilon occupies an entire quad, known as Kappa Quad. The facility is shared with group, including Kappa Alpha Theta and Gamma Phi Beta. Panhellenic House has eight chapter rooms, and Kappa was assigned one of the largest ones at the front of the building. Loyal alumnae raised funds to provide the Kappa chapter room with tasteful interior decoration, and the chapter was pleased to have a place to finally call “home.”

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.


Highlights of the 1980s-1990s

From 1985 to 1995, UBC was ranked as one of the top 50 universities in the world. This brought increased enrollment and expansion to the campus. UBC purchased Pacific Spirit Park during the expansion phase as part of the UBC Endowment Lands. Due to the increase in the university, Gamma Upsilon was also able to expand. The downside to expansion was the crowding of the Panhellenic House (built in 1958). In an effort to find a solution, Kappa’s actively helped in the planning of the Forever Friends Campaign in 1994. This campaign helped to raise more than $4,000,000 to put towards a new Panhellenic House to help overcome the constraints of limited space.

In 1985, Dr. David W. Strangway was named University President. Computerized telephone registration was introduced in 1988. This new registration method put an end to students having to physically walk across campus from department to department to register for classes.

UBC celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1990 with a series of special events, which included the largest open house in the university’s history. U.S. President, Bill Clinton visited UBC in 1993 which drew publicity to the campus and Professor Michael Smith received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his pioneering work in the development of “site directed mutagenesis”.



Highlights of 2000-2010

One of the chapter’s greatest challenges was welcoming large classes of new members into the chapter. With so many new members coming, it was necessary to assure that everyone was given the opportunity to get to know each other well. This challenge was met by holding many sisterhood events, such as spa nights and picture frame decorating. This way, new members and active members alike were able to bond and feel comfortable with their new sisters.

Another challenge was getting everyone involved. The way that the chapter overcame this challenge was to introduce “Kappa Kore Groups.” Each member of the chapter was assigned to one of the Kore Groups, and each group was assigned to another fraternity and sorority in the Greek system. Members were expected to attend the events of their respective fraternities and sororities, and were given extra Kore Group points for attending events outside of their assigned group. This was a fun way to get everyone involved, and to stir up a little competition!

Throughout this decade, UBC continued to be an active campus. Focus remained on promoting a sustainable lifestyle on and off campus. Excitement for the Winter Olympic Games in 2010 was apparent on campus. Movies and television shows were filmed around the campus. Throughout the years, the chapter also participated in numerous league sports and other sporting events, including Storm the Wall, winning Water Wars, and coming in third in Day of the Longboat.

Gamma Upsilon also continued its tradition of Reading Buddies with a third grade class at University Hill Elementary school every Friday and won a number of awards from Panhellenic including third place Philanthropy Award, third place Sports Award, and third place Top All Around Sorority. Six members were also recognized for achieving outstanding academic averages and five were recognized for achieving an outstanding number of sports points. Charlotte Paterson was honored with winning the Panhellenic Top Individual Athlete Award and Magee Walker won the Panhellenic All-Around Woman Award.

The members participated in a number of other Greek events during Greek Week and held its annual Sapphire Ball at the Four Seasons Resort and Spa in Whistler, BC. Gamma Upsilon also held an annual Parent/Alumni Tea. During the summer, members stayed in contact with each other and some attended a "Kamp Kappa" camping trip near a lake in B.C. Several members also attended Kappa Convention, where the chapter received recognition with Honorable Mentions in New Member Program, Recruitment, and Chapter Management.

The school year begins annually with a chapter recruitment retreat in August, leading up to successful recruitment result. New members were presented at the Pride of Panhellenic luncheon. Bid Day celebration was themed the "Miss Kappa Pageant" during which each Key Sister was revealed by the "judges". Gamma Upsilon celebrated the founding of Kappa with events featuring many of its own alumnae. The social committee organized a great Date Dash surprise event prior to Inspiration Week and Initiation, at which the Leadership Consultant assisted. The chapter conducted its annual Kappa Book Drive and celebrated the chapter’s 80th birthday with a special event. The chapter also participated in and won Order of Omega's Songfest competition with a selection from Across the Universe and enjoyed an "Ugly Christmas Sweater" themed meeting during the holidays.

Gamma Upsilon held its first Kite and Key semi-formal dance in conjunction with Kappa Alpha Theta at the Vancouver Aquarium, where everyone enjoyed dancing with the belugas and admiring the sea lions. The chapter proved to be outstanding in athletics, finishing off the term in second place in the all-sorority division. Its basketball team came in first in the league. Other highlights included victory in the Great Trek, involvement in a number of UBC Legacy Game events such as broomball, day of the long boat, winter fest, and more. Members also excelled in academics, with many members receiving GPA scores well above the all-sorority averages.

The chapter consistently placed well in the Panhellenic Awards for scholarship, encouraged because of a Kappa Mentor program pairing older girls with newer members in the same field of study and with the Smart Cookie Program and The No-"Skippy" Jar.


Philanthropy:

Gamma Upsilon annually raised more than $2,000 annually during its philanthropy week. Proceeds went to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Events included Gamma Upsilon’s annual Desserts for a Cure, an all-you-can-eat dessert buffet with a minimum $5 donation. During the week, the chapter sold pink ribbons, had a pink raffle (with donated prizes from sponsors such as Starbucks) and had a 50/50 raffle during Desserts for a Cure.

Other chapter philanthropic activities included helping at a soup kitchen downtown weekly and volunteering weekly as reading buddies with children at an elementary school. At the end of March, the chapter hosted a Greek vs. Greek event where the chapter pairs up with other sororities and fraternities to play a week-and-a-half-long game of tag.

The philanthropy chairmen did a great job organizing events, and encouraging girls to participate in other philanthropy events throughout the Greek system. Some events that Gamma Upsilon participated in included Run for the Cure, Halloween for Hunger, and weekly visits to the Soup Kitchen and Reading Buddies at U-Hill Elementary School. Philanthropy week is always a success, with much money raised through ribbon sales and the renowned Desserts for the Cure. The enthusiasm for philanthropy was recognized throughout the Greek system, as Kappas were the winners of fraternity Sigma Chi’s annual “Derby Days” and sorority Alpha Phi’s “Alphatraz” philanthropy events. As a result of their hard work, the members of Gamma Upsilon placed third in the Ann McMutcheon Memorial Philanthropy Cup.


Chapter Convention Awards:

2010 Convention, Gamma Upsilon received Honorable Mention Awards for its New Member Program, Recruitment, and Chapter Management.


Highlights of 2011

Gamma Upsilon had a great 2011. Sisterhood blossomed during Recruitment through the forming and strengthening of new and unexpected friendships. Founders Day this year the chapter decided to try something new and hosted a brunch. It was a wonderful morning of interaction between alumna members, actives and new members.

The University introduced a new grading system in 2011 which allowed students to take classes outside their major on a pass/fail format.

The annual philanthropy Desserts for a Cure was a huge success in 2011 with the highest attendance in the chapter history.

Highlights of 2012

The year 2012 has been a successful and memorable year for the Gamma Upsilon chapter at UBC. We were delighted to receive multiple awards at Convention, such as runner up for our excellence in Standards; runner up for the Philanthropy Award, runner up for Reading is Fundamental, as well as receiving the Legacy Award.

Our Philanthropy Week was a great success thanks to the hard work and commitment of the women in our chapter. Our annual Desserts-For-A-Cure was extremely popular, featuring all-you-can-eat desserts for a $5 donation to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. In addition, we raised money by selling candy and flower grams which were distributed in time for Valentine's Day. It was wonderful to experience such support from fellow Greek members and it allowed to raise around $1,500 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. On a weekly basis Gamma Upsilon members volunteer at First Baptist Church, where we participate in soup kitchen. In addition, we work with the local elementary school and have created the reading buddy program, where we assist young children with their literacy development.

Within the chapter, our Standards Committee encourages spirit and morale whilst educating the chapter on Kappa values. The committee always maintains high excellence, which was recognized at Convention. We achieved our recruitment goals this year, initiating 29 New Members, many of whom now hold positions on Chapter Council and are showing exceptional involvement in the chapter. This years Founders Day was a fantastic event that displayed Kappa's passion and interest in learning more about our history and maintaining ties with the Vancouver Alumni. We experienced great support from many older alumni as they shared their experiences and stories to inspire the active members of Kappa.

One challenge that we faced this past year was the vandalism of our Chapter Room. It took tremendous teamwork and cooperation to put the room back together in a timely and cost efficient manner. Alumni and active members were extremely generous in donating time and effort to restore the chapter and create an even more beautiful space. While this was an unfortunate incident, it highlighted the commitment we have to the chapter and each other.

One of our main goals has been to increase the use of social media to promote Kappa on campus. Our PR chairman has been actively using Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to highlight the involvement of Kappa within the Greek and UBC community. Overall, 2012 was a positive year for Gamma Upsilon as we continued to grow and improve our chapter in all areas.

One of the largest changes happening on the UBC campus is the construction of our new Student Union Building, due to be completed in 2014. It is intended to be a gathering place where students can interact in order to expand and strengthen our student community. The project is an estimated 103 million dollars and is aiming to receive LEED platinum+, the highest green building rating in North America. Not only is UBC inventive in developing new real estate but we are also leading the $11 million construction of Canada’s largest radio telescope – the first research telescope to be built in the country in more than 30 years. One of UBC’s creative students has produced a film titled When I Walk and it is to be featured in the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. In this film, the director Jason DaSilva portrays his personal experiences living with Multiple Sclerosis and the grueling journey this disease took him on.

The overall nature of our chapter is one of true sisterhood, respect and enthusiasm for Kappa Kappa Gamma. This year we have seen a visible increase in attendance to meetings and strengthened enthusiasm for philanthropy and sisterhood events. Chapter Council has done an amazing job of coming up with innovative ideas on how to further improve aspects of the chapter, such as chapter history and our public image.

Highlights of 2013

The year 2013 has been one of the most exciting and influential years for the Gamma Upsilon chapter at UBC. The year started off with a bang with our Philanthropy week and Kappa Kappa Gamma’s annual Desserts for a Cure. We were able to create friendly competition at our hot cocoa stand for people to increase their donations by creating Greek and non-Greek donation jars, which proved to be a great success.

In addition to these events, we continue to practice our weekly philanthropies. On Wednesdays we serve food in the soup kitchen at First Baptist Church and on Fridays we work to develop children’s literacy with our reading buddy program at University Hill Elementary School. Our Chapters success continued into March as we made it a priority to participate in other Greek philanthropy events after the victory of our own. We were very proud to win Diamond ball, a baseball tournament put on by Alpha Delta Pi that raises money for the Ronald McDonald House. In addition, we also came in third place with Phi Gamma Delta during Greek week.

In September, UBC Sororities completed the largest recruitment in Canada, which was a considerable achievement not only for Panhellenic, but for the Gamma Upsilon chapter as well. We initiated 26 new members in November and they have been enthusiastic about becoming involved. Currently 7 of the newly initiated members hold positions on Chapter Council. We honored the founding of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the our founders day brunch, where one active member, who has now gone on to become our President, and two alumnae spoke about the effect that Kappa Kappa Gamma has had on their lives.

An important priority for the Gamma Upsilon chapter this fall semester was increasing academic achievement. Although it has always been a major priority for the chapter, we came to the realization that we could be doing more to support and encourage our sisters in achieving academic success. The Academic Council was formed in order to assist girls who may be struggling. This council has been crucial in the improvement of academics because it allows for more individual time to be allocated to sisters who need it instead of having just the Vice President Academic Excellence dealing with issues. As incentive to aim high, cookies are distributed weekly to girls who have achieved 80% or higher on an exam or an assignment. Through the implementation of the council and academic incentives we saw the overall chapter average rise just over 3% from the Spring 2013 to the Fall 2013 semester. We hope to continue our success in both the academic and philanthropic arena’s as we continue into the New Year.

The University of British Columbia continues to be an innovative campus that is focused equally on the well being of its students as well as the well being of the Earth and environment. In the spring of 2013 UBC announced that the creation of a smart-grid energy storage system that integrates one megawatt hour of stored energy enough to power an average home for 1,000 hours into a power grid that supports three major campus facilities. In September, The Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) and UBC was awarded LEED Platinum certification, the highest designation in green building performance from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system. UBC has also made a considerable effort in bettering the lives of its student as well as the environment. The UBC bookstore reduced the cost of course packs, which allowed students to save a average of 33% on their course materials.

The fall semester was a stressful and frightening time on the UBC campus. At the end of September and throughout October there was a string of 6 sexual assaults that occurred on the UBC campus. These events were extremely concerning for our Chapter and the UBC population as a whole. However, in this time of fear the Chapter became closer in attempts to protect one another at all costs. Our Risk Management chairman gave multiple presentations on how we can protect ourselves in times where we find ourselves alone in the evening. She also gave out whistles and contact cards with UBC Securities information. Sisters that lived on campus offered to walk girls home should they ever find themselves alone. It was in this time of stress and uncertainty that brought our chapter closer together and gave us a true understanding of sisterhood. The campus has sense returned to the safe learning environment it always has been, but the increased support for one another within the chapter has remained.

Highlights of 2014

The year 2014 has been a very successful and exciting year for the Gamma Upsilon chapter at UBC. The year started off well with philanthropy week in which we raised money and support through our candy grams and hot chocolate booths in the SUB. Again we found success in instilling some friendly competition with the Greek and non-Greek donation jars. In addition to these events, we continue to practice our weekly philanthropies of Tuesday night soup kitchen at First Baptist Church and Friday afternoon reading buddies at University Hill Elementary School. Our Chapters success continued into March where we ended the month off by introducing our new main philanthropy event Kappa Kourtside featuring Kappa Kappa Gamma’s annual Desserts for a Cure, which proved to be a success. Many teams came out to support our philanthropy and we raised $1600. Our chapter also took part in many Greek philanthropy events such as Diamond ball, put on my Alpha Delta Pi raising money for the Ronald McDonald House. In addition our chapter also attended and volunteered for other charities such as F Cancer (started by one of our very own Yael Cohen) and Women for Women in Afghanistan. To continue our philanthropic year we raised $2025 at the CIBC run for a cure this fall and $1300 at our November Desserts for a Cure. In January we also put on a fantastic rendition of the Lion King for Songfest, hosted by Order of Omega, which included almost every member of our chapter. We initiated 34 enthusiastic new members in November, with seven currently holding Chapter Council positions. This years Founder Day was an amazing event, hosted at Dockside Restaurant in Granville Island. Girls had the chance to connect with Vancouver alumni and learn about our history as well as form connections through the dream wall.

An important priority for the Gamma Upsilon chapter this fall semester was increasing chapter involvement and achievements in the Greek community. This has always been a goal of ours but we wanted to emphasize it this year as many girls graduated resulting in a smaller sorority with many new members. We were able to do this by encouraging participation in all Greek events. We had girls volunteer to make teams for almost every sorority and fraternities philanthropy event, such as DG’s anchor splash. Our chapter also had many successful rec sports teams throughout the year, including: two volleyball teams, a soccer team and a dodge ball team last term. We also won the UBC rec softball tournament at the beginning of this year. On top of this participation and success in sports, we had three girls take home top Panhellenic awards. Katie Sherlock won Top Panhellenic Athlete, Amanda Woodland won Top Panhellenic Scholar, and Abby Perehudoff won Top Individual Philanthropist. As well, multiple girls also won accreditation certificate awards. The Academic Council has encouraged academic success in the chapter, as well as incentives such as smart cookies, and library raids. Kappa Kash also encourages girls to participate in our many philanthropic opportunities. Overall morale and sisterhood has been increased and that’s what encourages girls to participate more. We truly hope to continue this successful involvement and overall achievements into the New Year.

The University of British Columbia is a large dynamic campus located in the heart of Vancouver’s Pacific Spirit Park; with over 60,000 students the campus is always changing. UBC offers both a diverse academic and athletic program. In the past year the University’s athletic program has come under review. Some of UBC’s athletic programs, like it’s Swimming, Field Hockey, Volleyball, Rowing, and Soccer teams, are held along side some of the best in Canada and North America. Unfortunately programs like its Football, Skiing, and Softball’s continued inability to prove successful has brought attention to the structure of UBC’s athletic program. In 2013 The University announced a review of the athletic program’s structure, promising a more focused and successful program; changing certain team’s privileges from ‘varsity’ to club status, the first steps of which to be put into affect at the beginning of the 2014/2015 academic year. Prior to talks of Athletic reformation the UBC student population has been relatively indifferent with regards to support for it’s varsity programs. The recent attention drawn to the athletic program has caused an influx of school spirit. The Times Higher Education World University Ranking ranked UBC 23rd in the world, and 2nd in Canada. The 2013/2014 average admittance GPA was 89.5%, an increase of .02% from the previous year. The University continues to commit itself to not only educating students to the highest degree, but doing so in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way. The University leads the way with sustainable buildings, having built fourteen buildings that adhere to the highest sustainable standards, and is currently in the process of completing five more. The University’s embrace for innovative policies and building begin in what has been publicly recognized by many as "North America's Greenest Building” and one of the greenest buildings in the world.

The fall semester at UBC was exciting and ground breaking. Our Chapter saw one of the busiest rush periods ever. Not only is the campus’ Greek life thriving, but extra curricular involvement at UBC outside of the Greek life is at an all time high. With UBC Sororities at the forefront of involvement of the Alma Mater Society’s 370 recognized clubs, it is a wonderful time to be in the Greek system. Kappa Kappa Gamma hosts the most diverse group of members of any Greek organization at UBC. With members from various parts of the world such as the US, Great Britain, and Thailand, our members are very well rounded. The bonds of sisterhood created prove to be stronger than ever as sisters frequently make plans to visit our sisters from abroad.

Our chapter holds meetings in our Chapter room located in the Panhellenic House. The Chapter room is rented and has a comfy classroom setup. We do not have housing at the Gamma Upsilon Chapter in UBC.


Highlights of 2015

2015 has been a very exciting year, very focused on making changes to better our chapter as well as forming stronger bonds within our sisterhood. In March we welcomed six new and amazing girls through our COB recruitment. To start off March we had the annual Parent Tea in the chapter room, which was a great way to meet some parents and in turn let them have a glimpse into what Kappa means to each member. At our Panhellenic awards ceremony at the end of March we had five girls receive academic accreditation, our chapter was accredited for sports, philanthropy, and leadership and activities, our very own Katie Sherlock was accredited for a top athlete, two of our members were accredited with leadership and top philanthropists, and finally another two of our members were accredited with the all greek women of the year award.

We also had a beautiful formal at the Arbutus Club at the end of March, which was a fun way to close up the year for our sisterhood. Kappa Kourtside in the second week of April brought out a huge crowd right before exams. And we were able to raise $4891. We also were able to raise $1089 through our Kappa Kandy Grams, and $1745 at our annual Desserts for a Cure. By the end of the term we also had eleven girls with an over 80 average. We are so proud of them and their accomplishments, and hope to inspire the rest of the chapter to keep up this push towards academics!

At the start of September we attended our retreat at our very own Kristin Short’s house in Shuswap Lake, where we had the opportunity to bond with our sisters at a beautiful location for three days. At retreat we rehearsed all things recruitment, which was very helpful for our newest pledge class. As well, we decorated our new floral letters, and had multiple photo shoots to share on social media as well as for our recruitment video. It was the highlight of the year, and everyone had so much fun.

Coming into the school year our chapter was extremely busy with planning and preparing for recruitment. We also revamped our website, adding photos from retreat and stepped up our presence and activity on social media. Our house chairman took to decorating our chapter room with some homey pieces, such as polaroid pictures, lights, flowers, pillows and a couple ottomans. Recruitment was a busy time for public relations and our activity on social media. It really paid off however as our new members were able to follow posts during that time and so it was quite effective.

Recruitment was the most successful its been in years, we were all so pumped and welcome in 34 new and amazing members. We have carried this excitement throughout the term. We raised $427.70 during our philanthropy weeks cocoa for a cure in the UBC Nest, and $6380 from our participating team in the annual CIBC Run for a Cure. In the first week of November our chapter submitted a video for Gamma Phi Betas philanthropy event, The Gammies. We didn’t win, but our own sister Rebcca Moug took home best actress!

I-week and initiation took place in the second week of November, and it ran smoothly as well as fun. We even got to have a sisterhood event at Spin Society, where a Kappa alumni generously offered her time to hold. At the end of November we will be hosting what should be an amazing semi formal at the Traditional Chinese Gardens, which our new members are very excited for.

Following this on November 22nd we are having someone from headquarters hold a ritual workshop for our chapter. Throughout the year our chapter has taken part in a number of philanthropy events within the Greek community. To list a few, the chapter took part in Sigma Chi’s Derby Days in support of the Shinerama UBC campaign raising money for Cystic Fibrosis research, and AOPi’s Score Out Arthritis which is a indoor soccer tournament. This coming year we are planning on fully using the GIN system for a more concise and official way to keep track with events for the month and year.

This fall our campus finally opened its long anticipated new student union building, the Nest. This has been a seven year process, but has been well worth the wait. It is a beautiful LEED platinum certified building (highest green building rating in North America), and has room for the huge growth in students at UBC. It is located right next to the old SUB, and maintains its hub of activity offering a place for students to shop, study, eat and socialize. The building itself is five stories and 250,000 square feet (50% larger than the old SUB), and cost $107 million. The NEST contains eight AMS run food and drink eateries, nine AMS services, as well as a three-storey rock climbing wall. Not only is the building itself sustainable – solar powered cooling, radian hearing/cooling of floors, solar water heaters, cerified wood products, in vessel compositing, storm water management/retention, roof top garden, water efficient landscaping using grey water, but their food is as well – 100% ocean wise certified, local produce, dry food purchased from local companies, and all coffees are certified organic, shade grown, and fair trade.

This year our overall chapters nature has been focused on sisterhood. We started out the year as one of the smallest sororities on campus, but through teamwork we have grown to almost the same size as everyone else. This year as been extremely busy, and we have faced times of difficulty, but we have all really stuck together and helped each other. We have held multiple sisterhood events this year, and chapter council members took to using their committees for help a lot more. As well our chapter has shown a lot of initiative to help each other, and spend time with each other. On top of fun sisterhood events we have also had many study nights, with amazing turn outs. Its so special to see our sisters encouraging and helping each other push for better academics, which has been a struggle for us in the past. Within the first two months of school our chapter had hosted three study nights, one was also with Delta Gamma. Not only have our members pushed to attend all of our own meetings and events but our participation within the Greek community has also increased substantially.

What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community? Reading is fundamental, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, First Baptist Church soup kitchen

Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support? Reading is fundamental is the national Kappa Kappa Gamma philanthropy. Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation is our local chapter philanthropy which was started due to an alumni. We hold this philanthropy very close to all our hearts, and one of our alumni, Yael Cohen, actually started the philanthropy Fuck Cancer. First Baptist Church – weekly volunteering at soup kitchen

Highlights of 2016

As a whole chapter, we were able to accomplish the Anna Kianna Panhellenic Award and Ann McCucheon Philanthropy Award, as well as two individual awards, Top Panhellenic Scholar and Top Individual Philanthropist, at this past Panhellenic Spring Awards. Many have also won individual awards and scholarships such as Just Desserts (recognizes members of UBC community with outstanding contribution), Dean’s Honour List (for those with grades within the top 10%), Major Entrance Scholarship, Chancellor’s Scholar Award, Outstanding International Scholarship and initiation to Gamma Sigma Alpha (for members of the Greek system with +77% average). Our members were able to get involved with other UBC organizations such as the Alma Mater Society, various faculties and different clubs as executive members or as volunteers; Delegate, Promotional Team, RC and VP Recruitment for Panhellenic, Vice President for POITS, Dean’s Student Advisory Council, House President of Salish House of Totem Park Residence, General Volunteer for UBC Hospital, InterClub Executive at Blood for Life, VP Student Life at Arts Undergraduate Society, VP UBC Thunderbird Dance Team and Volunteer Avenue Coordinator of AMS to name just a few.

Members have also volunteered with organizations outside the UBC community: BC Women and Children’s Hospital, VGH Renal Dialysis Unit, Strathcona Clinic, Kiwanis Club, Women for Women, Junior Achievement, BC SPCA and Burnaby Hospital of Mental Health.

Describe the recent changes on your campus and describe the overall nature of your chapter. On campus, there is a newly open first year residence, Orchard Commons, which has greatly improved housing and expanded capacity for first years to be guaranteed housing. A lot of our new members have the privilege of living in this new building.

Our chapter's nature in 2016 has once again been one of loyalty, community and sisterhood. We have gained 35 wonderful new members who have each been an extraordinary addition to our chapter. Many of the new members have taken positions on Chapter Council as well as been appointed significant leadership roles assisting some of the Chapter Council Executives. In addition, two of our members have been chosen for executive positions on Panhellenic Council. We are all very proud of these girls and especially excited for our chapter to have great representation on Panhel's board.

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

-Reading is Fundamental (international) -Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation (international) -The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (national) -Soup Kitchen Tuesdays at First Baptist Church, Reading Buddy Fridays at University Hill Elementary (local)

Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support? The members of our chapter hold the causes of both our national and local philanthropies dear to our hearts. Like most people, we have been affected one way or another by breast cancer, which is why we find it important to raise awareness and funds to support the research and survivors of this disease. As for our two local philanthropies, Soup Kitchen Tuesdays and Reading Buddy Fridays, our chapter wanted a way to give back to our community not just through organizing internal events, but also by participating in charitable activities every week. Reading Buddy Fridays is a program that also helps us show our support towards the Reading is Fundamental organization consistently throughout the year.

Chapter Facility: In what kind of a facility does your chapter meet? Please attach a clear photo of where you typically hold chapter meetings – whether in a classroom, chapter house or elsewhere.

With the exception of few formal meetings, most of our chapter meetings were previously held in the chapter room in the Panhellenic house. However, starting this October, we have been meeting in a class room in the IONA building on campus, as it provides more space for all of the members.


Highlights of 2017

In January, the Gamma Upsilon chapter set out to strive towards a year of building a stronger sisterhood through strengthening the bond between sisters, and overall solidifying our community involvement and empowerment. We plan on improving our sisterhood by creating and planning g sisterhood events throughout each month to encourage sister-bonding and active participation within the chapter. We welcomed 2 new members in our January COB, who became a part of the 2016 pledge class. Throughout January-April, the Chapter focused on our sisterhood through attending sisterhood events and ensuring our sisters maintained academic excellence, great presence at Greek events and philanthropies, and good relations and communication with each other in the chapter.

For the January-April semester, Gamma Upsilon chapter had the highest academic average of any sorority chapter at UBC this past semester with a 74.48%. At the Panhellenic Spring Awards, our chapter received two individual awards for Top Philanthropy, received by Farrah Bui-Turcotte, who is extremely involved with philanthropies and volunteering; Along with Top Leadership, received by Elise Mance, who maintained a double presidency being president of Kappa and president of the AUS (Arts Undergraduate Society). Two of our sisters were recently initiated into Gamma Sigma Alpha, which is a Greek organization for Greek members with averages of above 76%. We have a sister who was granted a UBC Excellence Scholarship for being within the top 10% in her faculty, undergraduate year, and program. We have sisters who are on the Deans Honour Roll, and who have been granted BC Achievement Scholarship awards, the District Authority Scholarship award, and the Maili Wong Award in Finance, to name a few.

Five of our Chapter Council officers were able to attend the Kappa Leadership Conference where they learned skills to implement within our chapter and within council so that the officers are able to be greater leaders, and a newest member of PC16 attended the Kappa Leadership Academy. In September, we welcomed 40 new members into our Chapter, 38 of which were part of Formal Recruitment and 2 of which we welcomed through COB. For Formal Recruitment, we received a 97.5% retention rate after tours, and became the top recruiting sorority of 2017. Our President implemented ‘President’s Key’, which is a member spotlight for two girls who have gone above and beyond in the Chapter and who will be presented with this award at Chapter meeting and will be talked about in a little blurb highlighting the things they are doing for the Chapter, in which they will also receive a little care package. She also implemented ‘Accountabili-KEYS’, which is to maintain commitment and presence at other Greek philanthropies, where girls are in groups of 3, and 1/3 girls must attend and participate in each event.

Our Registrar implemented ‘Owl Bet’cha Didn’t Know’, which is a monthly newsletter presented at Chapter meeting, where information taken from the Chapter History Nuggets are translated into a cute newsletter format highlighting certain historical or ongoing events, and also includes fun facts, and a sister shout out. The goal of this newsletter is to maintain awareness of Kappa history in a fun format. Furthermore, our sister Kennedy Gagnon, just recently became the president of UBC sororities, and will lead our community for the upcoming year.

In the spring, a new aquatic centre opened up for students and faculty members of UBC and the community. There has also been ongoing construction as a new bus-loop is being built alongside another new residence for students.

Overall, the Gamma Upsilon chapter has implemented monthly sisterhood events that have increased both active participation in the chapter, alongside establishing greater closeness among our sisters. We find that recruitment and initiation are always special for members, as these events remind us why we hold Kappa so close to our hearts, and it shows us the unification and the support systems amongst members. This past year, Gamma Upsilon has accomplished our goals and have done so with great pride, and we feel that our Chapter will continue to improve throughout the 2017-2018 year.


Chapter Philanthropy:

Soup Kitchen at the First Baptist Church (Local), every Tuesday night with Phi Delta Theta.

Reading Buddies at University Hill Elementary (Local), every Friday afternoon with Beta Theta Pi.

Reading is Fundamental (International)

The Canadian Brest Cancer Foundation (National)

Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation (International)


Reading is Fundamental is the international organization that all Kappa chapters support, therefore we show support by our weekly local philanthropy at Reading Buddies. We also choose to support the First Baptist Church weekly because it enables members to get out weekly to give back to our community. Our Chapter supports the Canadian Brest Cancer Foundation (CBBF) because as a large group of women, we have all been or known somebody who has been affected by breast cancer, and cancer in general. We choose to support this organization because the money we raised goes towards finding a cure, and supports and brings awareness to each woman affected by breast cancer in their courageous battles in fighting cancer.

Most of chapter meetings are held within our Chapter room, as it was renovated and painted throughout the summer. We find that our Chapter room provides us with enough room and enables us to maintain focus throughout our meetings. We also tend to hold sisterhood events immediately after Chapter meetings every couple of weeks, so it is easy for girls to participate and attend these events as they are in our Chapter room. There are certain occasions we hold our meetings in classrooms across campus, and this is generally for Formal Meetings as this allows more space to perform ritual.

    

Highlights of 2018s:

This year the chapter has seen growth in our sisterhood, increased engagement in our philanthropy events, and has initiated an incredible new member class. In January 2018 we successfully transitioned a brand new chapter council. Our VPOrganization arranged our Leadership Consultant visit who was able to further aid in transitions. The 2018 Chapter Council is responsible for implementing the Owl, Keys, and Fleur-de-lis groups to increase accountability for internal and external philanthropic events. The Academic Council maintained communication with members to ensure they were meeting their academic goals that our VPAcademic Excellence had encouraged us to set for ourselves. The standards committee worked closely with VPStandards to organize and host a variety of sisterhood events that we put on throughout the year. Some members belong to the Gamma Sigma Alpha fraternity which is a Greek organization that celebrates scholarly achievement by taking members with an academic average above 76%. Many of the women in our chapter hold volunteer positions on campus with organizations like Best Buddies and are also involved with the Alma Mater Society of UBC and other academic pursuits. During our January - April semester we were able to celebrate our senior members with a Panhellenic Senior Send Off and our Sapphire Ball was organized by our Events Chair a beautiful formal event for us. Our PR Chair did an incredible job in highlighting our chapter values on social media by focusing on our sisterhood, self love, and mental health awareness.

During the summer our Recruitment Chair started work on creating a strong recruitment. Due to the hard work she and her committee put in we welcomed 30 beautiful new members in September. Our President attended the Leadership Conference in June where she shared leadership skills, ideas, and stories to strengthen our sisterhood. Our Philanthropy assistant attended the Kappa Leadership Academy.

Our Risk Chairman along with our Education Chairman organized many education meetings for us that pertained to mental and physical health as well as self care. Our Marshal arranged a lovely initiation for everyone in November and saw 30 women initiated into Kappa Kappa Gamma.

We have continued the tradition of supporting the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation through our bake sale event Desserts for a Cure where the proceeds all go to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. Our Philanthropy Chair also attended our weekly philanthropic events such as our Tuesday night Soup Kitchen with Phi Delta Theta and Reading Buddies on Friday afternoons with Beta Theta Pi. These volunteer events give our women a chance to give back to the community that fits with their schedules. Our chapter showed support for Reading is Fundamental through a book drive and barbecue called Kappa Kookout and through our continued involvement in Reading Buddies. Our chapter takes great pride in helping the communities of the Vancouver area.

Our chapter room is where we host our meetings, along with an occasional meeting in the Woodward Building on campus to hold elections and educational meetings. Our chapter room was renovated in the summer to update the decor. Our chapter room is one of 8 rooms within the Panhellenic House building that hosts all of the UBC sorority chapters.









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:


Philanthropy:


Chapter Convention Awards:


Highlights of 2023s:

Throughout the year, our chapter has experienced remarkable participation in both sisterhood and greek-life events. Our events chair has devoted significant effort to create exceptional bonding activities, including a memorable chapter-wide Canucks hockey game night. Additionally, our Director of Academic Excellence has been instrumental in fostering support and cohesion among our sisters through bi-weekly study rooms.

In February, our President, Vice-President Membership, and Vice-President External Affairs attended the Kappa Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas. During the conference, our members had the opportunity to learn more about Kappa’s history and connect with sisters from all over the world.

We are thrilled to have reintroduced Kamp Kappa, our spring philanthropy event in support of Jack.org (mental health initiatives) and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. In November of last year, we proudly raised $2913 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation through Deserts for a Cure. Our chapter has recently launched ‘Kappa Talks,’ a program inspired by Ted Talks. This initiative aims to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within our sisterhood by encouraging girls to share topics that they are passionate about.

Our members are leaders in various clubs on campus, including The Women’s Network, Campus Canines, UBC Pre-Law Association, The Calendar, and the AMS, among others. We have introduced Kappa Kash, a unique way to recognize and celebrate the involvement of our members in our chapter. We continue to recognize achievement through the Smart Cookies Program, KKGreat News and the No-“Skippy” Jar on a weekly basis.

Our Public Relations Chair has demonstrated an exceptional level of commitment to promoting our chapter on social media. As a result, we have amassed a following of over 3,500 on Instagram and received over 200,000 views on Tik Tok.

In January, we welcomed eight exceptional new members into our chapter through our Spring COB. Last fall, we welcomed 25 beautiful new members. We regularly hold meetings at the Woodward Building on campus, with the exception of Formal Meetings and New Member Meetings, which are held in the Chapter Room. Our gorgeous chapter room recently had a kitchen renovation and ceiling reconstruction.


Philanthropy:

Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation (International)

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (National)

Jack.org (National)

Reading Buddies at University Hill Elementary (Local), every Friday afternoon.


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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