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Beta Theta

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Highlights of the 1970s
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==Highlights of the 1970s== (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:''' While a students in the 1970s mostly wore straight leg Levi’s or bell-bottomed blue jeans to class, the women of Beta Theta chapter wore dresses to dinner two nights a week. It was a time when participation in the Greek system had declined in popularity, and chapter members rarely wore a Kappa T-shirt on camps, because professors were prone to discriminate against sorority and fraternity members. The houses were smaller and chapter members worked hard to prove themselves academically, on campus and in the community.
New members had to achieve a minimum 2.5 grade point average in their first semester in order to qualify for initiation, and Kappas participated in campus events like Homecoming, Sooner Scandals, the University Sing and intramurals. Kappas supported the Norman community with Head Start, and cheered on the Sooner football team, which was at its pinnacle during the mid 1970s, when Barry Switzer and his Wishbone offense winning two national championships back to back. Games were usually won in the first quarter, so Kappas would retreat early to the Kappa house to enjoy a post-game spread of delicious snacks, often with family and friends.
'''Philanthropy:'''==Highlights of the 1980s==
For the women of Beta Theta in the 1980s, the height of fashion meant Mopeds, madras, Cole Haan loafers, Laura Ashley, topsiders, big T-shirts or sweatshirts, and white Keds with bows in their hair. There were protests against the Shah of Iran in south oval, and members remember watching the first Space Shuttle Mission land from the television in the six-girl room.
Kappas were regularly first academically, and took on many leadership roles on campus, serving as Panhellenic presidents and cheerleaders, and one Kappa was even a Miss Oklahoma.
'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''The chapter purchased the annex (the little house right behind the chapter house) to accommodate overflow, and it became a home for seniors. All chapter members were expected to live in the house for three years, as a sophomore, junior and senior. There was one formal meal a month with the chapter’s house mom, where the chapter members could learn formal manners.
There were many events with fraternities, and Pinnings were celebrated a lot: if a fraternity brother was dating someone seriously, he would pin her with his fraternity pin, a candle would be lit, and then he would be thrown into the duck pond by his fraternity brothers. Another popular event was Fraternity Lil Sis – when a fraternity would pick girls to be their “Lil Sis’s”. They’d come to the Kappa house during formal dinner in coat and tie, give a chosen girl a rose, and then serenade them.
 
Football continued to be big on campus, as the university continued to be national champs, and Brian Bosworth was the big man on campus.
 
==Highlights of the 1990s==
 
In the 1990s, chapter members bobbed their hair, donned big hoop earrings and wore flowery skirts and dresses from Laura Ashley as they listened to Bon Jovi.
 
All the fraternities and sororities worked on becoming more diverse, a trend the chapter also followed. Kappas were awarded Outstanding Senior Women, and served as Panhellenic president.
 
==Highlights of the 2000s==
 
The members of Beta Theta chapter continued to be a strong and very active presence on campus and beyond during the 2000s. Recruitment ranged from 60 to 80 new members per year, and the chapter consistently ranked in the top half of that all sorority GPA.
The chapter led the Greek system in campus involvement. They participated in University Sing, regularly winning awards for their performance, competed in Sooner Scandals where they regularly won awards, and many chapter women served on Campus Activities Council Executive Committees.
 
Beta Theta actively supported philanthropies at other fraternity and sororities, and hosted two key philanthropy events each year. The Kappa Klassic annual golf tournament raised money for the JD McCarty Center in Norman, and the annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser raised money for the Rose McGill Fund. Beta Theta also rang bells for Salvation Army donation buckets at Christmas, volunteered at Oklahoma University gymnastics meets, and participated in blood drives and Big Event, a campus-wide community service project. Other highlights included building a Habitat for Humanity home for a Norman family, and reading bedtime stories to young children with developmental disabilities as part of the Fairy Tale Friends program at the JD McCarty Center.
 
There were several improvements to the house, which was always filled to the brim with Kappas. In 2007, alumnae donated a new building called Kappa Hall, which is used for chapter meetings, practice, banquets, and parents’ weekend, among other things. In 2008, new wood floors were laid in the upstairs hallway, the study room was completely redone, the dining room chairs reupholstered, and the walls repainted. In 2009, the house got a new heating and air conditioning system, a new sound system for recruitment, and a new ice cream machine. And in 2010, there were new wood floors.
 
Beta Theta hosted two events for alumnae and their children every year: a spring Easter egg hunt, and Halloween trick or treating at the Kappa House.
 
Chapter women were awarded Outstanding Sophomore, Big Woman on Campus and Homecoming Queen in 2004, and there was a homecoming queen finalist in 2005, 2006, and 2007. In 2007, there was also a runner up in the Lambda Chi Alpha rose pageant, and in 2008 a Miss Oklahoma University pageant runner up. There were also Lambda Chi Alpha rose pageant winners in 2008 and 2009.
 
==Highlights of 2011==
 
Kappa had another successful year in 2011.
 
Beta Theta chapter was runner-up for the President’s Trophy, the University of Oklahoma’s most prestigious award in the Greek community. We hosted five multicultural events, more than any other sorority or fraternity on campus. Some of these were mixers with the student organization Pan-Am.
 
We also had members involved in every single Campus Activities Council Executive Committee, a leadership organization in charge of almost all of the events on campus. We had Kappas participate by serving in CAC and volunteering at each event. The Vice President of UOSA (University of Oklahoma Student Association) and the CAC Homecoming Queen was Laura Bock, a junior Beta Theta member. Our chapter also won first in the homecoming float contest and third in homecoming overall. In another CAC event, Dance Marathon, which raised over $73,000 for Children’s Mercy Network, we won the highest attendance award.
 
In the area of philanthropy, we also hosted our first ever Reading Is Fundamental book assemblies in three Title 1 Elementary schools. Each student got to choose a book to take home. At the assemblies, Kappas acted out The True Story of the Three Little Pigs for the elementary school students and shared our favorite books. Held on the Kappa lawn, The Reading is Fundamental Book Bash, which features tacos and a DJ, was a huge success. Another philanthropy event was Kappa Kupcakes, where we sold tickets to people who could then enjoy cupcakes from bakeries across the Norman area. We had a DJ on the Kappa lawn, Christmas lights and over 2,000 cupcakes at the event, with 100% of the proceeds benefitted the Center for Children and Families in Norman. We raised $4,500, four times the amount we raised from our Spaghetti Dinner in 2010. As a house, we supported numerous Greek philanthropic events such as Chi Omega Cravings, Pi Phi Gives You Wings, Delta Delta Delta Pancake Breakfast, Theta Pancake Breakfast, Delta Gamma Anchorsplash, Fiji Olympics, Sigma Chi Derby Day, and Gamma Phi Chill CookOff.
 
Other important accomplishments of the Beta Theta chapter include placing first in intramurals and participating in both Sooner Scandals and University Sing. These two competitions involve musical productions put on by different pairs of Greek houses. Our chapter won numerous awards in both of these competitions such as Best Song and Best Beatles rendition.
 
The year 2011 brought 71 new Kappas into our chapter. This year’s pledge class received second in grades. As a sorority, we received third in grades overall. This is a wonderful accomplishment because our sorority is one of the few houses on campus that does not have a rigid study hour system requirement. We had a very successful and eventful year in 2011 and are looking forward to an even more prolific 2012.
==Highlights of the 1980s:==