| Zeta Rho | |
|---|---|
| ZP | |
 | |
| Founded | March 19, 1988 |
| College | Colgate University |
| Location | Hamilton, NY |
| Homepage | Zeta Rho Homepage |
| Media related to Zeta Rho Chapter | |
Zeta Rho, Colgate
Founded March 19, 1988
Colgate established in 1817
80 charter members
1,564 initiates (as of June 2018)
Some of Zeta Rho’s Outstanding Members: (If you have chapter alumna who have received recognition in any of these three categories, please list them with the date(s) of recognition.)
Fraternity Officers:
Fraternity Loyalty Award:
Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:
Convention Awards:
6/30/00 Panhellenic Honorable Mention
6/30/02 Recruitment Honorable Mention
6/30/08 Recruitment Honorable Mention
Contents
History and Establishment
Colgate University (from the Summer 1988 issue of The Key)
Colgate University was established in 1817 as the Baptist Education Society of New York. In 1846 it changed its name to Madison University after New York chartered the institution to confer degrees. In 1890 the school was renamed as Colgate in recognition of the 70 years of support and service by members of the Colgate family. The school became co-ed in 1970. The campus is set upon 1,400 acres which rise from the village to a forested hill. At the time Zeta Rho was founded, enrollment was approximately 2,600 students, 60% of whom were Greek.
Founded March 19, 1988 as the Fraternity absorbed the members of a local sorority, Delta Sigma Upsilon. Active members from Beta Tau, Delta Delta, Psi, Beta Beta, Delta Alpha and Zeta Beta served as big sisters for the charter class. 3 alumnae of the local were also initiated into KKG during the Installation service held at the Baptist church and presided over by Fraternity President Marian Williams. The festivities continued with a celebration luncheon and a banquet that evening held at the Hall of Presidents. The evening banquet was attended by the Dean of the College and the Assistant Dean of Students and included honoring 3 women with their 50 year pins. Formal pledging was held in the afternoon for the 39 women recruited in February after the colonization service.
Establishment and Installation
Eighty women were pledged to Zeta Rho colony at Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, on November 15, 1987. These women were members of the local Delta Sigma Upsilon, formed on the campus in 1980. The chapter consultant was Lisa Higham, Missouri, and the coordinator for chapter development was Mary Clarke, Colorado College. Kappa’s 117th chapter was installed the weekend of March 18-19, 1988. Marin Laidlow LeFevre, Syracuse, was the local installation chairman. Active members serving as big sisters came from Cornell, St. Lawrence, Syracuse, McGill, Penn State and Lafayette.
Highlights of the 1990's
The Zeta Rho chapter goal in 1990 was unity, including 75% participation or more at all Kappa functions. Another challenge facing the chapter this year was the report from the Colgate Board of Trustees’ Special Committee on Residential Life, which forced the Greek-letter system to review their attitudes towards Greek Life and value to Colgate. Among other things, the Committee proposed that going forward, rush would take place only during a rushee’s sophomore year, and that the pledging period would be eliminated completely. Despite confusion about future rush and pledge period rules, the chapter still went forward with planning for formal rush in March 1991. During 1990, 38 sisters were initiated in the spring, and another 3 sisters were initiated in November 1990 (athlete hold overs from spring 1990 initiation).
Zeta Rho was proud that 6 of 14 members of the Colgate Panhellenic Council in 1990 were Kappas! The chapter was still unhoused, but looking for options with space large enough for chapter meetings and rush events.
Over 100 people attending Zeta Rho’s pizza party with Big Brother/Big Sister in October 1990. The next month, the chapter helped with a local Habitat for Humanity project.
Zeta Rho was well represented in campus sports with members on the Soccer, Volleyball, Basketball, Tennis, Squash and Crew teams. Additionally, the Kappa team won the intramural flag football championship! Rush was successfully held in the spring and (for the first time) the fall semesters in 1994. The fall rush was the first sophomore rush at Colgate, a result of the Special Committee on Residential Life report from earlier in the decade.
The chapter continued to support Big Brother/Big sister in 1994 with a Thanksgiving Day Party for children from the local community. Other philanthropy events this year included painting a Welcome Center in Hamilton, participating in a Rock-a-thon for charity, and helping Special Olympics.
Zeta Rho hosted the Alpha Province meeting in Schenectady, NY, in spring 1995, where they won an award for Overall Achievement. Also, that spring, the chapter was recognized by Colgate for having the highest campus GPA for 5 consecutive semesters and having the highest sorority GPA.
The chapter was still working to improve unity in 1995, which they felt was a challenge in part because they were unhoused. To address this, dinners and other activities were organized to initiate friendships between new members and sisters who were overseas during rush. Also, sisters participated in intramural sports together.
Other challenges facing the chapter included the university initiative that, within 1-2 years, only 250 Colgate students would live off campus. As the majority of Zeta Rho sisters lived off campus, and because the chapter was unhoused, the hunt was on for a campus home for the chapter. Additionally, as many as half of the sisters in the chapter were studying abroad each semester, making chapter unity, recruitment and slating difficult. Zeta Rho was hostess for Alpha Province meeting in 1995 and received the award for Most Improved Chapter
The chapter initiated 38 members in 1996, making quota. As in previous years, Zeta Rho continued to be involved in campus athletics year round. Kappa was represented on the 1996 Colgate Crew, Soccer, Tennis, Field Hockey, Swimming and Cross Country teams.
In the spring of 1996, the chapter organized a “Shut-Up-A-Thon” to benefit the Make a Wish Foundation. For one day Kappas “shut up” to make the wishes of terminally ill children come true. In the fall, the chapter held its first Spaghetti Dinner for Charity, and continued its tradition of participating in Sidekicks Thanksgiving Day, the Turkey Drive, and Christmas gift boxes for families in the local community of Hamilton. Year round, the chapter donates to the Hamilton Food Cupboard.
Fifty sisters received the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence in the spring of 1996, along with many other honors, awards and society inductions.
This year Zeta Rho again honored one sister with the Marian LeFevre Key, which is presented each year in honor of the chapter’s long time, and tirelessly devoted, advisor. And at the 1996 Convention, the chapter received an Honorable Mention for Membership.
Highlights of the 2000's
This is the sixteenth year that the Zeta Rho chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma has been at Colgate(2004). In the tradition of fraternity, Kappa sisters at Colgate have contributed to the intellectual excellence of the university, while also continuing to hold a strong positive presence in all areas of the college and the surrounding community of Hamilton, NY.
This year, philanthropy was the Chapter Goal on which all sisters voted to concentrate. Our new members played a pivotal role in putting together a charity banquet that supported the Roswell Park Cancer Research Center in Buffalo, NY, and learned the Kappa values of helping others and working together. Each sister in the entire chapter was assigned to a Kore Group to serve different philanthropies in order to increase overall participation as well as frequency of activities. We also adopted reading at the bookstore to support our national philanthropy of Reading is Fundamental. Last spring, the Zeta Rho chapter co-sponsored a spaghetti dinner with Kappa Alpha Theta in which we raised money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer Research. Every Friday afternoon, a group of Kappas meet with elderly women at Madison Lane Nursing Community. In the warm fall months, we held a charity car wash with Beta Theta Pi to raise money for Reading is Fundamental. One of members helped to organize a holiday house lighting contest that we ultimately won in partnership again with the fraternity Beta Theta Pi, and were able to pledge five-hundred dollars to donate to a charity of our choice. We participated in the Cabin Fever Festival with children in the community by sponsoring a snow sculpture contest. We were part of the American Heart Association Run/Walk, raising over $1000 for the cause. In conjunction with the Run/Walk, we did the Pennies for Patients fundraiser and collected spare change from campus residence halls. We were a component of the Saturday Morning Bookstore Program in which we read stories and interact with children in the community. At the Colgate Konosioni auction, Kappa offered babysitting services to help raise funds for the event. We sold Mothers' Day cards to support Community Action, which helps impoverished people in Upstate New York to financially and emotionally reorganize their lives. Kappa participated and showed support of a united Greek system and the Panhellenic spirit at the Panhellenic Megamixer in both the spring and fall.
We put together a scholarship dinner for a Kappa Kappa Gamma members who had made Dean’s List the preceding fall in which all of the participating girls chose to invite a professor to attend .The senior brunch was held at the Colgate Inn, where Juniors and Sophomores came together to recognize and celebrate the Seniors' contributions and successes as members of our chapter. A slideshow was shown and a song that younger sister made up was song was sung.
This year, we were awarded the Greek Letter Chapter Awards for: Outstanding Chapter Officer, Outstanding Risk Management, and Outstanding Participation in Up Til’ Dawn.
One of the main challenges that our chapter faced this year was to improve the way in which all Greek organizations were perceived on campus and throughout the community at large. To help with this, we have endeavored to increase our own philanthropy projects in addition to working alongside other community groups in a joint effort. By making our positive presence known on campus and in the town of Hamilton, we hope that others will be able to recognize what it truly means to be a Kappa.
Another challenge that we faced was fitting Kappa’s original six week New Member program into Colgate’s four week requirement, yet both older sisters and the new members agree that our new format worked efficiently and enjoyably. We had some difficulty getting more participation in philanthropic events, and to help this we made it mandatory for girls to go to at least 3 events during the Spring Semester and assigned Kore groups in the Fall Semester. We also needed to do away with old terminology that we have become accustomed to, such as “mother, daughter” and adopt the “Key Sis” phrase and “family” groups. We had always kept our Mom/Key Sis a secret until the last week, but since a Key Sis is needed as a mentor to new members during the New Member Period, we checked with headquarters about when the last day was that we could reveal the Key Sisters. They told that us as long as it was before the NM pinning, that it would acceptable, so we were able to keep the Key Sis revelation like tradition and also do the pinning in time so the Key Sis could serve as a mentor for the remainder of the period.
A final notable challenge was that NPC regulations forced us to cut more girls during the beginning rounds of recruitment, which was quite new for us. All members, however, stayed extra-long hours in order to meticulously decide which young women we asked to come back.
2005 is the seventeenth year that Zeta Rho chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma has been at Coglate. In the tradition of the fraternity, one of our chapter goals was to improve our sisters' commitment to academics. We sought to improve our overall GPA as a fraternity. We were extremely succesful, and jumped from lowest cumulative GPA out of the four campus sororities to the highest this past semester.
We also voted on philanthropy as another area to concentrate on as a chapter. Our sisters participated in a plethora of different community service activities over the past year. This year we have dedicated our efforts to a new philanthropy project called Kappa Birthday Klub, brought to our sorority by a sister who participated in a similar project at her high school. We used the fall semester of 2005 to fundraise, and then in each month of the 2006 calender year, Kappa will sponser a birthday party for local foster children of Madison County. In order to fundraise we set-up collection cans in downtown Hamilton, we held a clothing re-sale, and bake sales. We raised a total of $1,700 and look forward to being able to help foster children celebrate their birthdays. This project is very exciting, as it provides an immediate way for our sorority to connect with the surrounding community in a meaningful way.
Each Friday afternoon Kappas visited elderly women at Madison Lane, a retirement community in Hamilton. Activities with the residents included sharing family pictures, arts and crafts, movies and bingo. Also, the Friday before both Valentine’s and Easter, we made cards to give to University Hospital Pediatrics in Syracuse and Memorial Hospital of Hamilton, respectively. Our chapter donated a gourmet dinner for ten people to the campus Konosioni Auction. In the spring, we held a charity car wash with Beta Theta Pi to raise money for Reading is Fundamental. Kappas also donated 130 hours to help with the Tsunami Relief at the Colgate Cares Tsunami Relief Benefit. Our chapter helped to set-up, serve, and clean up at the end of the event. On April 6th, 2005 Zeta Rho co-sponsored a spaghetti dinner with Kappa Alpha Theta to raise money for the Susan G. Komen foundation. We donated $1,000 from the dinner. We also participated in Pennies for Patients. Kappas walked door-to-door asking Colgate students to donate their spare change. In addition to 82 hours donated by Kappas for the American Heart Association Run/Walk, we collected $720 for the cause. We wrote and sent a package of lettters to a Kappa soldier in Iraq. We also sold candy grams for Valentines Day entitled Kappa Kisses. As a chapter, we donated 50 hours and raised $460 for Roswell Park Cancer Institute of Buffalo. Also to raise money for the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Kappa junior Katie Powell organized the Roswell Park Cancer Benefit, which featured Kappa junior Kaylan Orkis as the keynote speaker. Through this banquet, we raised $1,000 for the institute.
The two main goals we set for our chapter were to improve academics and strengthen ritual. One way we worked to improve academics was to start a list of majors and minors to use as a tool for peer mentoring within the chapter. For example, a sophomore art history major could easily find an older sister to help with her coursework if this type of list was available. The VP-of Academic Excellence will also be organizing frequent study breaks with food to encourage sisters to complete their work at the library. As a chapter, we greatly improved our academics and jumped from the lowest cumulative GPA of the four campus sororities to the highest this past semester. Members of Zeta Rho also cited ritual as an area that could use improvement. Though we still need to continue work in this area, the Marshall plans to hold more formal chapters as a way to practice songs, responses etc., as well as practice sessions at the end of weekly chapter to get everyone as whole more familiar with Kappa songs and traditions.
Zeta Rho chapter accomplished many things in 2006. Philanthropy events were especially important to us this year, as we tried many new activities as well as already established events. Many of our events and fund raising are to benefit one of our fairly new ventures, the Kappa Birthday Klub. We raised money for a semester, and then in the spring threw a birthday party every month for the local foster children of Madison County. This is a favorite event among the sisters of Zeta Rho as it is enjoyed by everyone. We feel that we get more out of the experience as well as give back more to our community when we are personally involved with using the money we raised as opposed to sending off a check, which we also do through various other fundraising ventures. To raise the money for Kappa Birthday Klub, we arranged several events. One of those is a clothing re-sale, where the sisters bring in slightly used clothes and then sell them to the Colgate community. Those left over are donated to the Salvation Army. We also had several bake sales, as well as a sale of Kappa Kisses (Valentine's Day candy grams). We raised almost $2000 for Kappa Birthday Klub, and the birthday parties were a huge success.
Every Friday several Kappas go to a nursing home nearby called Madison Lane and spend time with the residents. Activities include sharing family pictures, arts and crafts, watching movies, and bingo. In April of 2006, Zeta Rho sponsored a dinner with Kappa Alpha Theta sorority to raise money for the Susan G. Komen foundation, and we donated over $1,000 from the dinner. That spring we also held a car wash with Beta Theta Pi fraternity to benefit Reading is Fundamental, which was extremely successful.
We wanted to work on several things in 2006, including more communication and partnership between the sororities on the Colgate campus. As there are only four, it was not an insurmountable task, but nonetheless one that required effort. We sponsored a dinner with Kappa Alpha Theta for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation, and we had many events that involved sisters from all sororities. We also made sure to emphasize to our new members the importance of inter-sorority communication and support.
We also wanted to continue strengthening our use and understanding of ritual this year. We held formal chapters more often so as to make sure all of the sisters were well versed in Kappa songs and tradition. Zeta Rho had many accomplishments in 2008. One of our main goals was to continue to increase our partnership with the other fraternities and sororities. Last spring, the Greek chapters joined together in a campus wide event called "Greek Week". The participants included the chapters of: Beta Theta Pi, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Upsilon, Gamma Phi Beta, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Kappa Tau, Sigma Chi, and Theta Chi. The week long festivity brought together the chapters to gain support and awareness for Greek Life. We joined together with a few fraternities to sponsor barbecues and powderpuff football games to continue awareness on campus and in the community. This past fall, the chapters came together again under the guidance of Panhellenic to sponsor a kid’s carnival. The event was opened to professor’s children to come and enjoy refreshments along with great games run by the Greek fraternities and sororities.
Our newer event, the Kappa Birthday Klub, was once again a success. We raised money by the annual Kappa clothing sale. Members are eager to bring in new or slightly used clothing that they do not wear anymore to be sold to the student body to fundraise for the birthday klub. The Kappa Kisses valentine candy sale was a success again. Bags of candy were sold in the coop around the holiday. About $400 was raised and helped purchase the supplies needed for the Kappa Birthday Klub. We continued our involvement with Madison Home Lanes, the local retirement center. Each week, different members would volunteer their time to go visit the residents. Our chapter also participated in a sorority softball game competing with Delta Delta Delta and Gamma Phi Beta to fundraise for Panhellenic.
This past fall was a very exciting time for our chapter. The new member class brought our Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter 56 new sisters. This large number required much planning during our new member period to ensure the transition into our chapter was both a positive and smooth one for all. Extra time was spent organizing activities that would allow the upperclassmen to bond with the new members. The new members showed a large amount of enthusiasm and were eager to get involved. Extra effort was made to make sure that each sister who wanted to could have a position, be part of a committee, or lead an event.
In 2009, Colgate University continues to be a small campus of 2800 students in the quaint town of Hamilton of upstate New York. It has a fairly homogenous student body which has been voted to be one of the fittest in the nation. Princeton Review has voted this small campus on a hill the prettiest in the United States. Greek life makes up a significant portion of the Colgate community, with 33% of the total student body participating in it; and 45% of sophomores, juniors, and seniors taking part.
Our chapter is filled with a plethora of different girls who are very involved on campus. Some are members of Division 1 Varsity Sports, others are part of acapella groups on campus, while still others are part of the COVE, the Center for Outreach, Volunteerism, and Education. Kappa's at Colgate excel in academics while still finding time for volunteer work and social opportunities.
Our biggest challenge this year was getting acquainted with our newly purchased house, located at the edge of campus. The financial decisions that came with this purchase were a hurdle that the chapter overcame successfully. Room selection, carpools, and a meal plan are all things that have been worked out with the addition of the Kappa Kappa Gamma house on the Colgate campus. Another challenge that Zeta Rho faced this year was New Member Recruitment because of shifting dynamics on campus. With one less sorority participating in recruitment in the fall, Kappa had to account for this when considering the girls who rushed. They were definitely successful, with 100% of the girls asked back to the house returning every night of rush.
Highlights of 2012
The 2012 calendar year was an exciting and successful time for the Zeta Rho chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at Colgate University. In the Spring, Zeta Rho participated and hosted a variety of philanthropic events, including the annual Birthday Club Party, a birthday party held for all local Hamilton area foster children. Around Valentine’s Day, we bonded during a sisterhood event of cookie decorating, and continued our philanthropic efforts with our annual fundraiser of Kappa Kisses, in which we delivered valentines of Hershey's kisses and raised money for our Birthday Club Party. In collaboration with local retailer Steph Boutique, we facilitated a shopping event for chapter members in which proceeds went to children’s literacy foundation, Reading is Fundamental. Our annual recruitment open house in the Spring proved to be a success, as the Fall was marked by the initiation of 65 bright new members, followed by a new chapter tradition of celebratory brunch at the Colgate Inn. Zeta Rho thrived in the Fall with these new members, co-hosting the successful Colleges Against Cancer Concert event with the Iota chapter of Theta Chi.
Individual Kappa members’ involvement on campus continued to be impressive, represented by Varsity Field Hockey players and four Konosioni Honor Society members, peer-selected for outstanding leadership and service to the community. Beyond this, Zeta Rho member Charlotte Myers was the head of the Colgate Activities Board, and Dana Paolucci and Kelly Curtis directed the successful and entertaining Fall Cabaret, a student-run musical performance. Finally, a proud and exciting moment in the past year for Zeta Rho occurred in the Fall with the elections of Kappa members Amara Wilson as Panhellenic President, and Tira Hastings as Vice President of Panhellenic Recruitment! We are looking forward to the continued growth and strength of Zeta Rho in the 2013 calendar year!
2012 marked a significant change on campus, specifically in relation to Greek life. The 1991 All-Bid Rule was abolished this last fall right before we began recruitment. This rule previously required that all women eligible and interested in Greek Life who fully participated in Recruitment must be extended a bid from one of the chapters on campus. Due to the rule being gone, we were able to more carefully match girls that would be the perfect fit for our sorority, and our pledge class was smaller than in previous years. No girls that participated in recruitment were randomly placed in any organizations as had been done before with the 1991 All-Bid Rule. Beyond this, Colgate welcomed new Dean of the Faculty, Douglas Hicks, and Dean of the College, Suzy Nelson, in the past year.
Highlights of 2013
The 2013 calendar year was an exciting time for the Zeta Rho chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at Colgate University. We won Most Improved Chapter at the Alpha/Rho Province Meeting in Hartford, Connecticut. We also were able to present Lucia Blackmore of the Gamma Omega chapter with her 75-year membership pin. Zeta Rho really worked on encouraging sisters to explore academic pursuits in many ways. Throughout the year, ten of our sisters were in the prestigious peer-selected Konosioni Senior Honor Society.
To promote academics, we offered weekly prizes for sisters who preformed exceptionally well on academic tasks. Academic presentations were also held to highlight different places on campus that provide academic assistance, such as the Writing Center, and the Career Services Center. A book club was also started, which we are very excited about, and will meet starting in 2014. Zeta Rho also held the bi-annual Professors Tea, where each sister invites her favorite professors to our house for baked goods in order to interact with professors in a non-classroom setting. Zeta Rho also maintained leadership positions within the Colgate Panhellenic Council, continuing the Kappa tradition of leadership.
Special educational programming events included a self-defense seminar to show us defensive tactics in case we ever find ourselves in a bad situation. We also had an LGBTQ Safe Zone Training session to create a supportive atmosphere for LGBTQ students by facilitating open discussions concerning gender and sexuality. Training for Intervention Procedure (TIPS training) was also held, which gives sisters the necessary training and confidence needed to recognize potential alcohol-related issues, and how to successfully intervene to prevent tragedies. Zeta Rho celebrated Founder’s Day on October 13th with dinner and Fraternity History trivia. Our chapter also kept with tradition and held a Graduation Brunch for all Zeta Rho sisters and their families during Graduation weekend. We celebrated our 25th Anniversary by combining the event with our Senior-Send-Off BBQ to celebrate our 25th year on campus while also presenting gifts to seniors.
Zeta Rho was extremely active with philanthropic involvement in the past calendar year. We held an annual Valentine’s Day card-making event for children at St. Judes Children’s Hospital, and ended up raising $1,600. We also sold Kappa Kisses again to benefit our annual Kappa Birthday Club. The Kappa Birthday Club is a party for foster children in the Hamilton area, and 15 children and their families were able to attend in 2013. Another event held to benefit the Hamilton Community was bringing DJ Jesse Marco to campus to raise money for the Hamilton Food Cupboard; we raised over $1,500.
Zeta Rho also kept with the tradition of supporting various groups promoting reading. A fundraiser at a local boutique donated a portion of profits to Reading is Fundamental (RIF). Two book drives were held through the Building Bridges foundation and also through Head Start, which provided books to over 50 underprivileged students in the Hamilton Community. For the Greek Life Day of Service, Zeta Rho volunteered at the local public library.
Other events included teaming up with two fraternities and the club, Colleges Against Cancer to hold a “Kick Cancer” kickball tournament. We also co-sponsored two events: a bone marrow drive on campus, and a PTSD awareness week with Semper Fi organization. In support of the Colgate Sustainability Arbor Day Initiative, we helped to plant trees on the Colgate Ski Hill. A 5K run was held to raise money for a cure for Alopecia Areata. Overall, the 2013 calendar year was extremely eventful for Zeta Rho, and we are so excited for 2014, and all that we hope to accomplish!
In the 2013 calendar year, Zeta Rho members have remained extremely involved all over campus. We have sisters who are Senators in the Student Government Association, play on varsity and club sports teams, and serve as Presidents or Vice Presidents for many clubs on campus whether the focus is philanthropy, leadership, performing arts, or recreation. Recruitment numbers continue to rise, and we are all hoping that the campus will be open to expansion very soon!
Highlights of 2014
The 2014 calendar year was a rewarding year for the Zeta Rho chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at Colgate University. In February we sold annual Kappa kisses to raise money for the Birthday Klub event, a party for children in Madison County who are either in foster care or are underprivileged. In March, Kappa Co-sponsored Relay for Life to raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society. Kappa also sponsored a 5K for Alopecia. We held a fundraiser at Steph boutique for Reading is Fundamental, a nonprofit focused on improving literacy among children all over the country. In April, Kappa hosted the Kappa Birthday Klub. In April, Kappa also hosted the Professor’s Tea, which brought professors of all disciplines to the house. This event allowed Kappas to converse with their professors while enjoying some food and tea. Zeta Rho won second place of all Kappa Kappa Gamma national chapters for commitment to study hours, which we were very proud of. Additionally, at the Colgate Greek Life Awards Kappa won Chapter of the Year.
Fall recruitment kicked off the new academic year. Zeta Rho welcomed 66 well-rounded, intelligent and involved new members to its chapter. A great deal of hard work, patience and commitment to success caused this process to run smoothly and efficiently. Sisters worked together tirelessly to hand pick the girls who would be the best fit for Zeta Rho.
Zeta Rho’s fall and winter were packed with philanthropic events. In September we co-sponsored the Make a Wish 5K with Beta Theta Pi to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation. We raised $4,980 for the cause. In late October, Zeta Rho donated a copy of the book Bunny Cakes to every student in two local Head Start classrooms in honor of Read for the Record. The Kappa Kickball tournament for Breast Cancer Awareness took place on November 7th and was a great success, despite the snow! This tournament to “Kick Cancer” has historically received great support from the Zeta Rho chapter. The Rose McGill holiday sharing event took place in December, which got many involved. Zeta Rho also began optional but suggested “Safe Zone” training programs to inform Kappas about what to do in difficult and questionable situations involving drugs and alcohol. This program consisted of two sessions to choose from.
Dedication to academics is incredibly important to Zeta Rho. To offer incentives for good grades and support and appreciation for hard work, we continued the tradition of publicly recognizing individuals during chapter by calling their names and presenting them with a small gift. We also made sure that members were kept up to date with the academic opportunities on campus to assist students, especially because a few Kappas are tutors among various disciplines and some even work in the Writing Center and Career Services Center. The book club was kicked off during this year as well. All in all it remains that Zeta Rho continues to excel in academia.
Zeta Rho has recently experienced many new changes in leadership of the university as well as changes in chapter leadership. Colgate University’s 16th president has just announced that he will not seek renewal of his contract at the end of the year. Zeta Rho also said goodbye to Fouad Saleet as the Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. Additionally, Zeta Rho has added three new advisors for the risk, house, and VPAE positions.
Highlights of 2015
The 2015 calendar year was a memorable one for the Zeta Rho chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at Colgate University. We held Kappa Kisses in February to raise money for Birthday Klub, where we throw a party for underprivileged children and children in foster care in Madison County. In the spring, we sponsored a 5K for Alopecia in order to raise money for a cause that is deeply important to Zeta Rho, since one of our sisters was diagnosed with alopecia her freshman year at Colgate. We also hosted Professor’s Tea, which brought all of our favorite faculty members to the house. Lastly, our President, Vice President of the Organization, and our Recruitment Chairman all attended the Province Meeting in Hartford, Connecticut. They had the opportunity to connect with Kappas from many other universities, as well as dedicated alumnae. Upon graduation, we learned that our former chapter President, Katharine Latta, was selected as a Leadership Consultant. We are so proud of her!
Fall recruitment brought in 65 intelligent, caring, and involved new women to our chapter. A great deal of organization, patience, and commitment allowed recruitment to be successful. We owe it all to our one recruitment chair, who took on the responsibility that was previously delegated among four women. We also very much enjoyed a visit from our LC, Hailey, who ensured that the four days ran smoothly. All the sister of Zeta Rho had smiles on their faces throughout recruitment and we loved showing our sisterhood to potential new members. After bid day, events such as apple picking allowed the new and old sisters to really get to know each other.
Zeta Rho’s fall has been packed. We kicked off our first ever September semi-formal called Kappa Keys to take advantage of the beautiful summer weather. We had Professor’s Tea again and enjoyed hanging with our professors outside of the classroom setting. We celebrated Founder’s Day in October, and were reminded of the strong women who founded our incredible organization. We also hosted our Advisory Board for a weekend and a Kappa Trainer to learn more about Risk Management.
In terms of Philanthropy, we are proud to announce that we received the award for the best philanthropic collaboration for our fundraising efforts for the Make a Wish foundation. We collaborated with Beta Theta Pi, and are honored and excited to have received this award given by Colgate University. In October we held the annual Kappa Kickball event to raise money for Colleges Against Cancer. We also partnered with local clothing store Steph and local restaurant N13 to raise money for Reading is Fundamental. Since the holiday season is just around the corner, we just sent a holiday package to a Kappa alumnae in need through the Rose McGill Holiday Program. Lastly, Delta Delta Delta held a gala to raise money for lymphoma, as a sister of the chapter was recently diagnosed. Zeta Rho as well as other chapters on campus chose to help with the event and are excited by the Greek community coming together for a member of its own.
This has been a packed year for our chapter and we are looking forward to see what 2016 has in store!
2015 has been eventful for Colgate. The administration has been very much in a period of transition, with our former President Jeff Herbst stepping down. For the academic year, an interim president has been leading the administration. Zeta Rho is very much looking forward to the presidency of Brian Casey, who will move to Hamilton and begin his presidency in July. Mr. Casey comes from DePauw University and a few members of our chapter have had the opportunity to meet him. We believe he will be an incredibly positive presence on campus. Part of the reason we are looking forward to Mr. Casey’s arrival is due to the tension on campus between Greek Organizations and the administration. It feels as though the current Colgate administration does not value Greek Life as part of the Colgate community. However, Mr. Casey is a strong proponent of Greek Life on campus and we are hoping that our Zeta Rho will be more embraced during Mr. Casey’s presidency.
Recently, the sexual climate on campus has been the focus of discussion. In November, students expressed their frustration with the administration’s lack of transparency regarding the discussion of sexual violence on campus. Student outrage was a result of the administration’s release of data that indicated an alarming number of cases of sexual violence taking place on campus. Students responded to this alarming data by organizing a protest and a forum in which personal stories were shared. Also, a mission statement with a list of grievances was sent to the administration. We are proud to say that sisters of Zeta Rho were not only at the protest and forum, but were actively sharing their stories and opinions. Although this issue is one that has plagued our campus, the sisters of Zeta Rho have been instrumental in increasing awareness and showing solidarity.
Chapter Philanthropy:
What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?
Zeta Rho has traditionally been very involved with Reading is Fundamental, the Rose McGill Holiday Sharing Program, the American Cancer Society, and the Alopecia Areata Foundation.
Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
We chose to support Reading is Fundamental because it is the Fraternity’s selected philanthropy. We believe the cause is a worthwhile one, as it helps promote literacy for underprivileged children. The women of Zeta Rho are fortunate enough to receive a world-class education, and believe it is important to promote education among children. Rose McGill is also a Fraternity selected philanthropy, and we have chosen to support this cause because it directly impacts Kappa alumnae in need. The American Cancer Society has been important to our chapter, as cancer has touched the lives of many of our sisters. Lastly, the Alopecia Areata Foundation is close to our hearts. One of our sisters has this condition and she has been incredible about raising awareness. We are impressed with her strength and feel that this cause is special to Zeta Rho.
Highlights of 2016
Zeta Rho had a wonderful year. We had successful philanthropy events (Kappa Kisses and Kappa Kickball) and raised money for various organizations such as: KKG Foundation, Reading is Fundamental, and Hamilton Public Library. We had members participate in amazing summer internships like working with "The Today Show." We had members attend Kappa Convention in San Diego and they had a great time. We co-sponsored a charity event (Cinderella 's Closet) with Gamma Phi Beta. We had 6 Kappa women achieve 4.0s in the fall semester. We also had a member participate in the NYC Marathon! All in all, we had a great year.
Colgate is trying to make campus more inclusive. In keeping with Colgate's goal we are helping aid Colgate. We participate in school wide panels to promote Greek Life. As a chapter we make sure the girls within the chapter feel included with every event that we participate in. Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, Reading is Fundamental, Hamilton Public Library.
Highlights of 2017
in 2017 Zeta Rho had a wonderful year. We had successful philanthropy events (Kappa Kisses and Kappa Kickball) and raised money for various organizations such as: KKG Foundation, Reading is Fundamental, and Hamilton Public Library. We co-sponsored the Men's Soccer Down Syndrome Awareness game and participated in the half-time shoot out.We had members participate in amazing summer internships like working at Warner Bros., Alpha Sights, and non-profits. We had members attend Kappa Leadership Conference in Pittsburgh and we had one member attend a Leadership Academy in Ohio. We had 3 Kappa women achieve 4.0s in the spring semester.We also had members member participate in the NYC Marathon! To top it all off we had great visits from all the LCs that came and from Beth Black. All in all, we had a great year!
We participate in school wide panels to promote Greek Life. As a chapter we make sure the girls within the chapter feel included with every event that we participate in. With the recent sexual assault cases coming to light Kappa Kappa Gamma has been making sure that our sisters feel safe and comfortable on campus. Colgate's Student Government Association (SGA) is working on creating changes to the campus and we have active members in Kappa who sit on SGA to make sure our voices are being heard at those close door meetings.
Highlights of 2018
This past calendar year has been very eventful for Colgate's Zeta Rho Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. The VP of Academic Excellence awarded 8 sisters 4.0 awards last Spring to reward their hard work and dedication the previous Fall Semester. We are still working with our administration to release the GPA's from the Spring Semester so those women will also be rewarded for their high achievement. Last spring we sent about 16 sisters abroad, and this semester an outstanding 31! Each semester, the VP of Academic Excellence also plans an event called Professor's Tea, where we invite Professors to learn more about the women in our organization; this semester we joined forces with the other Sororities on campus and hosted an joint event. Last semester we had the incredible opportunity as a chapter to assist with Binghamton's initiation and chapter installation, it was a truly rewarding experience. Our calendar year has also been filled with numerous Philanthropy events such as, Kappa Kisses (where we sell chocolate kisses), Birthday Klub (that we host for children in the surrounding community), Parent's Night Out (where we volunteer to babysit Professors' children), and Kappa Kickball. Last semester we were challenged to develop a more robust Risk Plan following our University Action Status. Through the continuous help and support of our Kappa Advisors, we are in very good standing with the administration and better prepared in the future with our newly develop Risk Plan. We have recently elected a new Chapter Council and are excited to help them transition into their new roles! One of our chapter goals over this past year have been to foster a stronger relationship with Colgate's Administration; in an effort to accomplish this we have invited several Deans, and the University President, to dinner with the chapter council in order to foster a strong relationship. Another one of our goals, is to promote and increase the number of Sisterhood events to build an even stronger sense of belonging amongst sisters. This is just a snapshot of what the year of Zeta Rho has looked like over the past year.
Highlights of 2019
2019 has been a very successful year for the Zeta Rho chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma.
One of our main philanthropy events, Kappa Kisses, was hosted in February of 2019, in which we sell chocolate kisses and people can anonymously send chocolate kisses to someone else.
Our calendar was full of fun events that our chapter sponsors, such as Birthday Klub, where we open our house to local children for fun and games, and Kappa Kickball, in which teams from groups across campus will sign up to be a part of our kickball tournament. In both the fall and the spring, we hosted Professor's Tea, as a way to foster a strong relationship between the Zeta Rho chapter and our campus' professors, organized by our VP of Academic Excellence.
We had 18 members with 4.0 GPAs during the spring semester of 2019, all of which were recognized for their hard work and dedication. In addition, we won the Broad Street Challenge for the second year in a row, in which we have the most members of the President's Club out of the Greek life organizations on campus. Our philanthropy has raised a significant amount of money over the past year for Reading is Fundamental, and we are very excited to continue this trend.
In the past year, Colgate's new dean of students, Dean Flores Mills, has made a significant effort reaching out to greek houses on campus. We welcomed her into our home to bridge the gap between the Colgate administration and greek life. In addition, our Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Fraternity and Sorority Advising, Tristan Hilpert, resigned from his position this past fall. Our chapter has been adjusting to this change, since we've had to connect with different parts of the staff within the Colgate administration.
We celebrated Founders Day by opening up our chapter's archives for people to look through and understand our history through a slideshow. In addition, we had lots of blue snacks and candy to celebrate Kappa Kappa Gamma's colors.
Highlights of 2020
The chapter is very proud of how it adapted to the pandemic in 2020, even as it still made great strides together. For the entire semester most of the sisters were on campus at Colgate; however, we never could meet all together. We led everything virtually for the most part, including a virtual recruitment process and initiation. Our recruitment process gave us a pledge class we love and our initiation was with around 200 people, including advisers and alumnae on Zoom.
Following Covid-19 guidelines we had pumpkin carving and tye dying on Kappa’s front lawn in shifts. We focused on Kappa’s ritual and shared that via Zoom in and outside of chapter. A large focus of the semester was on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and to stay politically aware and conscious as a chapter. We also participated in sustainability events on Colgate’s campus.
We celebrated Kappa’s sesquicentennial by live-streaming the celebration virtually and ordering in food; our celebration followed Colgate Covid-19 restrictions. We also reviewed more of Kappa’s history around this time, so we were aware of what we were celebrating and the importance of Kappa to all of us. Some chapter members shared virtually what Kappa meant to them.
We also focused on academics as we do every semester even though school was somewhat remote, and weekly acknowledged our sister’s academic achievements weekly to add a sense of motivation. We highlight on the Medusa Movement that took place at Colgate as well as sexual violence.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion played a large role in this semester for our chapter. Although we met virtually, we were all very conscious of the social movements going on around us and wanted to acknowledge that as much as possible to improve our chapter. We added a DEI officer, Caroline Haigood. We also met with other Greek chapter at Colgate to learn more about DEI and had a few meetings with just our chapter to talk about ways to stay aware and improve the chapter. These discussions were mainly led by Caroline and our sisters. They were very open discussions with a lot of participation from the sisters. I think it was a great way to make more people aware and conscious of their actions.