374
edits
Changes
→Highlights of 2014
Kappa Chapter holds its meetings in our house which we have owned since the late 1880s. The Kappa Chapter house was given to Kappa Chapter by Hillsdale College in the late 1880s. At that time there were two women's fraternities on campus, KKG and Pi Beta Phi, because Kappa was the original greek house on campus, we were given first choice of the two homes. The stately white house with blue shutters on the corner of Hillsdale and College streets has been home to the chapter ever since. After an addition to the house in the 1980s, the Kappa Chapter house holds 30 sisters and 40 sisters enjoy eating their meals there. Prior to the college purchasing the house, Kappa Chapter met in the home of college President Mauck and then in East Hall. The big white house on the corner was purchased by the college and adored by Kappas ever since.
==Highlights of 2015==
2015 was a wonderful year at Kappa Chapter at Hillsdale College. 2015 saw the women of Kappa Chapter grow in deeper sisterhood, achieve high academics, and continue to be women of admired character as role models on campus.
In January of 2015, Kappa Chapter was focused on recruitment and welcoming home 15 new sisters. One of our photos from recruitment featuring sisters and the front of our beautiful home was featured on Headquarters’ website. At the end of January, two of our members competed in an on-campus cooking competition called “Chopped”, which was live-streamed on YouTube. Many alumni enjoyed watching from afar! Big-Little reveal caused much excitement in February 2015. Soon after, our new members and event chairman hosted our semi-annual date party. Spring 2015’s theme was “Kappa Kappa Galaxy”.
At the end of February, our philanthropy chair hosted “Kappa Kupcake Wars” in the Grewcock Student Union, and it was a huge hit! Many students participated and came to vote. Our public relations chair invited professor’s students to our home for an Easter egg hunt with cookie decorating. Local girl scouts attended and got to meet our lovely sisters. In April, our 15 new members became initiated members during a week of reflection, tradition, ritual, and sisterhood bonding.
Eight sisters and two advisors traveled in April to our Province Meetings in Schaumburg, IL. They enjoyed getting to meet chapter council members from other chapters, sharing ideas, and seeing how Kappa Chapter was excelling in every field! Soon after their return, around six alumni came to Hillsdale College to celebrate their 50-65 year reunions. The registrar held a small open house for them with scones and tea. The alumni went on house tours to see our 1980 house additions, found their composites, and told stories to actives. As they departed, they were given irises and an acknowledgement card. They told us that our house looked and operated in the same way it had since they had graduated!
At the end of April, our membership chairman hosted an event entitled, “Play Ball with a Kappa” and many attended. Formal Recruitment followed shortly after and was “Kate Spade” themed. It was held in Ohio at a country club. We said farewell to our large senior class during senior week with formal dinners and dedications. There were 36 graduates.
On June 9, 2015 Kappa Chapter celebrated its 134th birthday! During the summer, the registrar challenged members to see how many alumni they could contact in their area. Many received letters from alumni and had correspondence. The letters and stories were shared the Fall semester during meetings.
Upon arrival back at school, Fall recruitment began. Due to new Panhellenic Council’s regulations, we were only allowed to pick up 3 new members. We were successful. Fall Informal Recruitment has now been removed permanently from Hillsdale College, much to the chagrin of our chapter. We were fortunate to have a very influential leadership consultant assist us for one week in October. The fall 2015 new member class and the event chairman hosted our semi-annual date party, themed “Netflix and Kappa Chix”. The chapter celebrated founder’s day with an advisor’s tour of the local cemetery, placing irises on the graves of founders and past advisors, and a beautiful dinner and dedication for our advisors. Chapter archives were also on display the whole week for actives to view.
In the first week of October, our chapter and event chairman, who is also head of “Students Against Cancer”, participated in the “Relay for Life”. Our house won Derby Days for the fifth year in a row, raising over $5,000 for the Sigma Chi’s philanthropy, “Wounded Warriors”. Homecoming week was a blast – watching sisters participate in Mock Rock dances and participating in the parade.
At the end of November, we initiated our 3 newest actives, and there was a coating of beautiful snow to ring in the celebration the next morning! In the first week of December, our event chairman hosted our Informal at the Searle Center on campus right after the building’s opening. The Informal theme was “Kappas at the Plaza”. Christmas decorations and horse drawn carriages were seen that night. Finally, the sisters studied hard for finals and our philanthropy chair hosted our final event of the year – “Kappa Chill Out” on Reading Day. Kappas sat in the union selling cookies, popcorn, and coffee to raise money for Reading is Fundamental and collect books for local organizations.
2015 ended with the induction of the new chapter council. It was another successful and memorable year at 221 Hillsdale Street! We look forward to more memories in 2016.
Panhellenic Council changed rules regarding freshman, and our college’s informal recruitment has been changed. Our Chapter is devoted to high academic success, adherence to tradition and ritual, involvement in the community, and growing friendship among our sisterhood.
Chapter Philanthropy:
What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?
We have visited the elderly at Drew’s Place, helped with a food pantry, King’s Cupboard. We corresponded with students in the local Hillsdale Community School District. We raised money for Capa, a child-abuse prevention awareness center in Hillsdale. We also donated funds to the local hospice centers. There were books and funds raised for Reading is Fundamental, as well.
Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
We believe in helping those in our community, and these organizations were chosen by active members. Our members had personal connections to these organizations and had volunteered their own time outside of Kappa.