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→The Early Years (Excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity: 1870-1976)
==The Early Years (Excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity: 1870-1976)==
Webster would have us believe that a sorority is, "A club of girls or women, as in a college." To the Gamma Xi Kappas at the University of California at Los Angeles, this definition lacks much. It tells nothing about the human qualities that had made Kappa so special to so many women.
To the founding sister it was seeing the chapter's beginnings back in 1925. Originally, she had been a member of a local group, Phi Delta Pi, established in 1918, but on February 14, 1925, received the news that Kappa Kappa Gamma had accepted the petition of the local group. Phi Delta Pi had just concluded a most successful rushing season, and was entertaining the prospective pledges with a formal dinner at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The president, Betty Park (Drake) announced, after all the toasts were over, that she had been given a wonderful valentine that afternoon from Kappa. Gamma Xi was installed as Kappa's newest chapter on May 8 by Georgia Hayden Lloyd Jones, Eta-Wisconsin, then Fraternity director of provinces, and Pi Chapter, assisted by Beta Eta.
Gamma Xi became the first chapter in the history of the Fraternity to attend as hostess chapter its initial convention at Mills College in Oakland the summer of 1926.
The chapter's first major problem was finding adequate housing. In 1929, when UCLA moved to its present site, the fledgling sisters left the rented house on the original downtown campus. With the permanent location established for the university, the Kappas entered into a round of fund-raising projects, enlisted help from alumnae, and the Mothers Club to garner the necessary funds for a chapter house. With a loan from the Endowment Fund to supplement the money already raised, ground was broken in June of that year.
A Kappa alumna from those days remembers, "We were so fortunate to purchase perhaps the most ideal corner site on Sorority Row. It was decided that our beautiful new home would be Mediterranean in style to blend with the new UCLA buildings. What fun we had establishing and developing new traditions. Among the most enduring have been pledge presents, Dad's Dinner, and a breakfast to honor graduating sisters. We established a fine tradition of academic excellence. First on the Row."
"The mood of Gamma Xi changed as our men left for Europe and Asia in the 1940s," reflects another sister. "Our activities focused on the war effort. Along with the university, we revamped and accelerated our goals to adapt to war time conditions. Now, we emphasized our philanthropic aims. I remember that each member contributed in her own way- whether it was as chairman of a paper drive, or knitting, or packing Red Cross boxes. We blackened our windows, wrote 'V' letters and waited for the postman to bring us news of our men. The war seemed to foster even closer bonds of sisterhood."
''The Key'', February, 1942, stated that Roxanna Jackson, Delta Zeta- Colorado College, United Services Organization director at Long Beach, had sent word that the members of Gamma Xi had been "very generous and cooperative with the USO of Los Angeles and nearby military posts...Reports regarding the Sunday afternoon activities which have come back to me from individuals who have attended these parties have been very glowing..."
Gamma Xi's Jean Bartel (Hogue) became "Miss America, 1943." ''The Key'' recorded: "The 1943 winner had to be the kind of girl the American servicemen think of as the ideal young woman, with talent, intelligence, poise, personality, as well as beauty." ''PM'' magazine reported that: "...she really does look like the average American mother's idea of a perfect daughter. She doesn't smoke or drink, of course...during her first year at UCLA she joined Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and is very proud of golden key, fleur-de-lis, etc. In fact she is particularly eager not to do or say anything in her new role that would embarrass KKG." Miss Bartel sold two and one-half million dollars worth of war bonds on a tour of 33 key cities for the Third War Loan Drive that fall.
During what the historians called "the silent '50s," Gamma Xi was anything but quiet. A sister from those days ponders on their activities: "Our chapter was the most active ever/while I was at UCLA. We had good times! There was the annual Kappa-Fiji Formal, Kappa-Beta Formal, and each year we had two formal initiation dances. We continued a recent tradition of a University of Southern California and University of California at Los Angeles Kappa breakfast following the cross-town football game. We had fun helping our USC Kappa sisters with their newly founded chapter, Delta Theta. We were the busiest house on the Row. We were a house of boomers! Every school organization had at least one sister on its roster. We had the president of Red Cross Productions, editor or our school year book, Rally Committee chairman and so many more. We had the Homecoming Queen three years in a row, and we won first place in the Panhellenic Parade, staged before the USC-UCLA football game. Those years reflected the Greek supremacy on campus."
An excerpt from The Key, October, 1953, states: "Highlighting the year are the bi-annual scholarship banquets. A diamond Key rewards the highest average; a silver ashtray, the greatest improvement; and silver spoons are presented to all those making a minimum C+ average and improving averages of a .3 grade raise."
A Kappa sister of the 1960s has a far different view of what Gamma Xi means. "I remember my four years at UCLA as ones of retrenchment and revaluation of traditional values." The house reflected the world in miniature. Generally, there was little interest in the Greek on campus. "We never wore our keys to class. The Greek news section in the Daily Bruin withered and vanished."
Among the Kappas themselves, there was dissension. Rush meetings became mandatory. Those not attending the spring dance were fined five dollars. Dress standards were reviewed and changed, but not until many meetings were devoted to discussion.
A "no lock-out policy" was refused by the Mothers Club. Gradually, as the number of actives dwindled it became clear that the Gamma Xi's must insist that all members live in. The Greeks were losing out to UCLA's new coed dorms and apartment living. Many Kappa sisters were distressed to see other sororities close their doors. One charter after another was revoked.
UCLA was pared some of the more violent forms of anti-Establishment activities. A more recent alumna reflects, "Kappa has always shown an interest and concern for the welfare of others. It was through Kappa and Gamma Xi that I truly found a mode for service. I shall always be grateful to my Kappa training and proud to associate myself with Gamma Xi."
Fortunately, for this generation of Kappas, Gamma Xi traditions are alive and well. With a renewed interest in sororities, all the houses that weathered the lean years filled their quotas last rush. "We even had to have eight pledges room elsewhere. Unheard of!" the chapter president exclaimed.
The house still has the best location on Sorority Row. There are problems accommodating the members' cars and the beautiful house has been redecorated and modernized many times. In the almost fifty years that Gamma Xi has been at UCLA, the University has grown and prospered from a small enclave in the bean fields of Westwood Hills to a fine university. And with the university, Gamma Xi has prospered and grown, continuing its fine social, educational, and philanthropic traditions.
==Highlights of 2011==