Pi Deuteron

 

Pi Deuteron
ΠΔ
Founded	May 22, 1880 (1880-05-22)
College	University of California at Berkeley
Location	Berkeley, CA
Homepage	Pi Website
Media related to Pi Deuteron Chapter

Pi Deuteron Chapter, University of California at Berkeley Founded May 22, 1880; Closed Spring 1885 Reinstated as Pi Deuteron on August 5, 1897 University of California at Berkeley established in 1868, Berkeley, California 5 charter members 12 deuteron charter members 2,652 initiates (as of June 2015)

Pi Deuteron Alumnae:

Grand Chapter Officers:

Outstanding Pi Deuteron Alumnae

Fraternity Officers:

Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:

Alumna Achievement Award Recipients:

Additional Outstanding Pi Deuteron Alumnae

Maureen Orth Journalist, Vanity Fair correspondent (1993–present)

Helen Wills Roarke Professional tennis player, won the French Championships four times, the U.S. Championships seven times, and Wimbledon eight times

Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman Professional tennis player, won the U.S. Championships in 1909, 1910, 1911, and 1919

Historical excerpts:

Kappa Kappa Gamma was the first sorority founded at UC Berkeley - dating all the way back to 1880. Designed by Julia Morgan, the first licensed female architect in California, our chapter house was originally built for Chancellor Gayley before being renovated for its current use. Our home includes 126 actives in total whose interests extend to include such activities as PAD (a pre-law fraternity on campus), Berkeley Consulting (a prestigious consulting firm on campus), International non-profit work with the organization Invisible Children, and Cal athletics (Crew, Water Polo, and Lacrosse) along with everything in between. The diversity and dedication of our women are what make Kappa Kappa Gamma the incredible house that it is. Our chapter's mission statement incorporates the ideas of friendship, support, respect and understanding - traditions that have thrived for over the past century during our existence here at Cal, and which will continue to flourish with every new member that joins our fraternity.

The Early Years

The parent university of the California complex was chartered by the state March 23, 1868. In 1880, at the time of Pi’s founding, there were 213 men and 55 women student, and 36 on the faculty. The 1930 History of Kappa Kappa Gamma records that Pi was established by Grand Charter from Epsilon, May 22, 1880, and in the spring of 1885 it came to an end. Its five years of life were marked by faculty and administration opposition; some lack of chapter harmony; difficulty in finding members among the few women enrolled; and complete isolation from other members and chapters of the Fraternity, as well as Fraternity officers. Before the charter was given up, and “reluctantly accepted” by the Council, 24 members had been initiated. The chapter had been founded in an unorthodox fashion. Anna Long (Brehm) and Ella Bailey (Bruns), after a skim through of Baird’s Manual, applied to Kappa Alpha Theta for a charter which the Thetas refused to grant to a group with fewer than six members. The two girls acquired another foursome and then, after talking things over with some fraternity men, decided that a Kappa charter was what they wanted. The Theta charter was left in the express officer for two weeks before it was returned. Then they applied for a Kappa Charter. As if to contradict the impression that fraternity men had anything to do with their decision, Pi’s January, 1882, letter to The Key insisted, “We were aided by no counsels and urged forward by no promptings.” The letter reported proudly that on June 2, 1880, the key was worn for the first time in California; that two seniors had been graduated; and that the four remaining members found themselves facing “strong, steady, quiet opposition.” The Golden Key of January, 1884, carried the only other Pi letter. The chapter sent greetings to all other chapters and expressed “wishes she could know them better.” Better? Pi knew only Pi! The annual banquet had been held; Flora Beal had been chosen class essayist; and the first Pi wedding had been celebrated between Sarah Ellery and Fred Ostrander. Although the ingredients were always available, it was more than twelve years later that a second Pi was put on the Berkeley campus.

Pi Deuteron Chapter

Paradoxically the Kappa Alpha Theta charter, which had gathered dust in the express office in 1880 when “Old Pi” was founded, returned to the Berkeley campus and was put to use seven years before Pi Deuteron was installed. It was 1893 when a group decided to apply for a Kappa charter and was approved by Beta Eta at Stanford University as well as original Pi members, only to discover that another group already applied. The second group persisted in its efforts, however, because of its Kappa sponsorship. While they waited, the girls formed a local society, called “Sorosis,” under the patronage of the San Francisco Sorosis in 1894. Grand Council was not eager to grant the new charter, thinking of convention expenses connected with far away California, and the former prejudices on the campus. In 1895 Bertha Richmond (Chevalier), Φ—Boston, grand secretary, wrote: “I feel that the increase in numbers would not add materially if at all to the strength of the Fraternity…I think that the Fraternity cannot afford another chapter in the Far West.” Two years later, as grand president, she reversed herself with, “I think that our Fraternity is neither so large, nor so strong, that it could not be benefited by the addition of a new strong chapter.” The installation and initiation provided joyous ceremonies for members of the first Pi, for sponsoring actives from Stanford, and for the charter members who had made Sorosis strong. Music by Schumann backed up the service which was conducted by Annabel Collins (Coe), BZ—Iowa, grand treasurer. Visitors, having been feted and taken up Mt. Tamalpais, were still surprised by the zeal of the rushing season in Berkeley, without the benefit of Panhellenic contract. In October, 1897, The Key placed the good news of the reestablishment on its first page, and mentioned the University of California at Berkeley as “the greatest conservative college of the west.” In honesty, The Key mentioned that the nine college buildings on the beautiful site were “nothing of which to boast,” but then the author, Mary Bell (Morwood), went on to boast of the 35 marble and stone buildings near completion and of the philanthropic woman, Mrs. Phoebe Hearst, who had just been added to the Board of Regents, who had established so many scholarships, and “who is about to give a large proportion of her fortune to us.” Students used the ferry to come over from San Francisco; other students lived in boarding and fraternity houses. It was easy to place the men students in their class rank. Freshman carried new equipment; sophomores swung their canes; juniors wore battered white plug hats decorated with class and fraternity symbols; and the black silk hats of the seniors looked like “worn out accordions.” They were often handed down from one class to the next. Women’s dress was less distinctive. In the beginning they had worn their mortar boards after their freshman year, but in 1897 this was outmoded. Some social events also were considered old fashioned. At the senior ball, which was still popular, the girls dressed in calling costumes and hats and danced only with “a few favored friends.” YMCA and the YWCA (a Pi member was a founder) were strong on campus. There was still feeling about coeducation, but popular girls could receive a number of invitations to men’s fraternities on class day. White duck trousers and organdy dresses were everywhere and later there would be a general visit to Co-Ed Canyon for extemporaneous entertainment, then dinner and a glee club concert. Graduation was a let-down after the excitement of class day. There was a marked difference between Stanford and the University of California. One was built on science and the other on the classic tradition, where Latin and Greek were common prerequisites and examinations were becoming more and more rigid. The women of Berkeley had been wearing their hats and gloves to class for 25 years—“as if they were visitors.” The Stanford girls were much amused. The Berkely girls could relax only in the gymnasium or the ladies room. In spite of their conservatism the Kappas of Pi Deuteron held important positions on the campus. And they had a three story house, owned by the patroness, the mother of a member. The house was known for two outstanding features, named for Sorosis members who did not live to see Kappa’s reinstatement: the Alice Dewey Michaels Memorial Library and the Mabel Worthington Sullivan Memorial Art Collection. During their first term as a chapter a reception was given for Mrs. Hearst, and two members organized Prytanean, the women’s honor society.

A New Century ...

On April 18, 1906, at 5:13 a.m. the locks and life of college, chapter, and homes stopped short. San Franscisco was hit by an earthquake and fire. Students, released from classes, were active in relief work. This work continued into the summer, although the senior class came back for “quiet graduation exercises.” Many chapter members lived at home and only a few lived in the house on Fulton Street. There was one move after another during the early years. One year there were no seniors; factions developed; scholarship and participation went down, although there were always a few outstanding members. Pi was lucky, too, in Kappa visitor and affiliates, girls like Cleora Wheeler, X—Minnesota, who was “like a chapter sister,” and Almira Johnson (McNaboe), H—Wisconsin, who many years later became a Fraternity vice president. In 1912 a move was made to 2725 Channing Way, Pi’s own house at last. It was the beginning of a turn for the better. Now there was harmony, unity, and accomplishment. The 1920s were great years. The isolation of the early Pi was a thing of the past, distances were overcome. In 1925, 10 members went to Los Angeles to help install Gamma Xi. Fraternity officers came from Pi regularly; Elizabeth Gray Potter was editor of The Key 1906-1910. She was also the librarian at Mills College and author of two books on San Francisco. Eva Powell and Eleanor V.V. Bennet were grand presidents and there were many province officers. Irene Hazard Gerlinger became a regent of the University of Oregon (1914-1929) and the women’s building there was named in her honor. Two members of Pi Deuteron were known the world over, and both were in the same field. One was Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, born in 1887 of pioneer California stock. She was a national tennis champion, donor of the Wightman Cup and several times captain of the team, author, and Kappa Achievement Award winner in 1947. The other was the Kappa she coached so successfully, Helen Wills Moody, Roarke, who won Kappa’s Achievement Award in 1960. Together they won two Wightman Cup doubles matched, two U.S. championships, the tennis championship at Wimbledon, and an all-England championship at Wimbledon. Helen Wills won the American championship each year from 1923-29 except 1926 when she didn’t compete, and the Wimbledon title eight times. She wore white stockings in England because Queen Mary hated bare legs. Much to the pleasure of California Kappas, the 1926 Convention took place at Mills College in Oakland. Nearly 700 attended the convention and those arriving on the special train from Chicago were given baskets of fruit and flowers as the train passed through Sacramento. Pi’s Myrtle Sims Hamilton handled the funds so that well more than $600 was turned over to the Fraternity Endowment Fund at the end of convention. In 1925, at the time of the installation of Gamma Xi, there was an informal conference of the three California chapters, but the first real province convention was not until 1929 at Stanford. In 1929, the chapter house was remodeled and refurnished downstairs. IN 1949, the former home of Professor Galey on Piedmont Avenue became the chapter house. It was renovated and a two-story wing added. In 1958, the Chicago Tribune announced that as the result of a survey, the Berkeley campus was rated as one of the most distinguished in the nation. A report in The Key, Mid-Winter, 1960 stated, “The student at Berkely has an ever-expanding, almost unlimited field of endeavor.” Said Tracy Innes (Stephenson) and Louise Dunlap, Pi actives and authors of the article, “A new student can be overwhelmed by the size and beauty of campus…To be a student (here) is a wonderful privilege.” It was not possible to obtain any history of Pi Deuteron after 1960. A note from the chapter public relations chairman said that she had consulted her adviser “… and she said that, though we have checked before, there isn’t that much of which to speak…A newsletter is being planned to be sent to alumnae and parents,” she added. Pi Deuteron was installing chapter for Epsilon Omicron Chapter at the University of California at Davis in February, 1975.

The Kappa House ...

Pi was granted a charter in 1880 and closed by 1885.

Pi Deuteron was re-installed in 1897 and they had a three story house on Fulton Street that housed four members, owned by Mrs. Rising, the mother of members Alice Rising and Ruth Rising.

In the January 1898 issue of The Key, the corresponding wrote in her chapter letter “our chapter house is well established.

In 1912 a move was made to 2725 Channing Way, Pi’s own house at last.

In 1929, the chapter house was remodeled and refurnished downstairs.

In 1949, the former home of Professor Galey on Piedmont Avenue became the chapter house. It was renovated and a two-story wing added.

Jeanne Ley she said when she pledged as a freshman the house was on Channing then moved the following year to Piedmont. According to Jeanne, the house originally was a "lovely shingled and traditional Julia Morgan home", then they added the "hospital wing with that ugly grey floor, and sprayed cement over the beautiful shingles!"....evidently the remodel was not very popular. Until the remodel the girls all had meals at the I-House since there was no large kitchen or dining room. For the remodel the house was raised, the chapter room, dining room and kitchen added as the ground floor, and the entire structure moved forward on the lot to create the back courtyard. Jeanne said she remembers them doing all this from Christmas through the summer, and the girls moved back to Kappa in the fall!

The Later Years ...

Highlights of the 1970s:

Highlights of the 1980s:

The chapter succesfully upheld its founding principles during this ten year period. The members of Kappa Kappa Gamma were extremely busy with academics, sports, internships, and jobs, while at the same time made tiume for social activities including the annual ATO picnic and father daughter dance. During this time period many intelligent, dedicated, outgoing, amazing members encouraged one another and motivated each other to work towards the Fraternity's potential.

Much needed improvemnts to the house were made thanks to those who supported the Fire Sprinkler Campaign and to the careful management of our capital improvement's budget. These improvements included installation of fire-safe floors, bedrooms and halls were painted and recarpeted, the House Director's apartment was expanded and refurbished, and the attic storage space was rennovated to provide a better study space for the girls. We also succesfully satisfied each area in "The Challenge to Excellence" that was issued by the Regional Directors of Kappa to assist in smoothly operating each chapter.

Highlights of the 1990s:

San Francisco Bay area earthquake 1990 … chapter house not damaged but it was “mayhem in the chapter house with 60 girls screaming, things falling off shelves,” said the Philanthropy Chairman at the time. “There were minor bruises but no injuries. No one realized how serious it was until we later saw it on TV.” Spared from damage and injury, Pi Deuteron was eager to help with the relief. They gave $900 to the Red Cross, money they had been saving for an exercise bicycle, and collected clothing. A few members worked on Red Cross clean-up crews. They had already been organizing blood drives, so this was promoted to replenish blood supplies during the aftermath of the earthquake. (From The Key, 1990)

A New Millennium-- Highlights of 2000-2010:

Philanthropy: During the summer of 2009, one of our Kappa sisters was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. With the guidance of Jill, our chapter helped to organize the first annual "Jog for Jill" took place in Berkeley, CA during the spring of 2010. The event drew hundreds of people from various sororities, fraternities, and athletic teams from the campus.

Jill also was the inspiration for the "Just like Jill" campaign through the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation. Shortly after graduating, Jill passed away, but her legacy still lives on. The chapter continues to be involved in Bonnie J. Addario events, as well as "Jog for Jill." In fact, two of our Kappa sisters are members of the Jill's Legacy Board through the Bonnie J. Addario Foundation.

Highlights of 2011-2012:

(scholarship, group honors/awards, special events, philanthropy and service projects, etc.):

Our chapter won multiple awards at Pi Province this past year. We raised over 2,000 dollars for our national philanthropy Reading is Fundamental and continued to work with Emerson Elementary school kids on their reading skills once a week. A lot of our members also participated in other philanthropy events throughout the greek system including DG's basketball tournament, Pi Phi's arrowbands competition, and Sigma Chi's Derby Days. Some highlights of the year included Jog for Jill, Monmouth, Kappa Karoake, and initiation of 40 new members.

This past school year our chapter heavily focused on academics and in doing so we raised our overall GPA from a 3.32 to a 3.39. We acconplished this by requiring all members to log in 3 study hours per week.

Events on campus:

In 2011 UC Berkeley students participated in the "Occupy Cal" movement in order to protest the privatization of UC Berkeley. Even though this was supposed to be a peaceful protest, several students were arrested upon failing to comply with the university's policy on "no emcampment." There were several rallies and walkouts that occurred in response to this throughout the fall semester of 2011.

Highlights of 2013

Our Spring recipient of the Linda Morrison Award, Morgan Fabian recently passed on the honor to the new Fall recipient of the Linda Morrison Award, Madeline Storch. Two more sisters Charlie Reed, and Emily Swarts were also the recipients of the Tali James Scholarship. Additionally, Hannah Hess received the honorable Jill Costello award. Our chapter goals have been aimed towards creating a more effective system of governing the chapter. Some of these obstacles, such as missed deadlines, were minor and have been solved through the use of reminder posters every month of the activities, while major obstacles are being solved through new implementations. For example, we are encouraging more participation for Reading is Fundamental by having a Google doc sign up for those who can attend.

By means of philanthropy we had great attendance at Jog for Jill. The chapter had t-shirts and KKG ribbons made to show our support. Many of the attendees were our newest class of members from our successful recruitment. The Pi Deuteron Chapter was extremely proud and excited to welcome 31 beautiful girls into our fraternity. We also had a very successful year with our event Kappa Karaoke where we raised $5,000 for Reading is Fundamental. With regards to our PanHellenic Involvement, Kappa was involved in a House Decorating Competition for “Big Game Week” and placed. Our reward was to have our letters projected onto the Campanile for a whole night!

The Pi Deuteron Chapter also participated in Pi Provence this past year. Multiple members of the chapter spent the day learning about other Kappa chapters and recognizing outstanding awards for these chapters. The Pi Chapter was also recognized and received the AB Award at Provence.

Lastly our chapter has been focusing on our scholarship and academic success. Most noticeably we have Study Tables every Wednesday night in the Chapter Room in order to provide a safe, quiet environment conducive to studying. In Spring 2013, the Pi Deuteron Chapter maintained a 3.40 G.P.A compared to the PHC average of 3.37 and the All Greek Average of 3.27.

The most recent change on campus is the “Breathe” Initiative. The campus has officially become tobacco free environment. Construction on Lower Sproul has been occurring for the past semester. Due to the construction site, the student store has been relocated across the street on Bancroft in the meantime. As I mentioned previously, the nature of our chapter’s recent changes has been towards a more efficient and productive way of running the chapter as a whole. We have created solutions for the areas in which our chapter survey showed weaker links and we look forward to improving the chapter as much as we can.

Highlights of 2014

The year 2014 was full of events that allowed our chapter to grow individually, in the community, and philanthropically. At National Convention, we received an Honorary mention for Recruitment and for the Gracious Living Award. We had high attendance in our yearly fundraiser Jog for Jill. This event supports the Bonnie J. Andario Lung Foundation. It is an annual tradition that allows us to support our sister, Jill Costello, and show support for our community by raising money and participating in a 5k run across our campus. We also put on Kappa Karaoke, a singing event that attracts performers like the Berkeley Men's Octet and raises money for Reading is Fundamental. We also put on a joint BBQ with Sigma Chi, again with the goal of raising money for Reading is Fundamental.

Along with these events, we visited Emerson Elementary School twice a week to read to a first grade class. Furthermore, we held a very successful book drive to donate new reading materials to this elementary school. Inside our chapter, we had four goals to strengthen our development. They include developing professional and academic skills, encouraging personal responsibility to the chapter, utilizing committee meetings more effectively, and understanding our chapter's role in the larger community. Overall, understanding our chapter's need for improvement and recognizing our accomplishments has made the year productive and eventful.

Our campus is currently undergoing renovations on Lower Sproul Plaza, the central part of our university. Our new bookstore and student centers are expected to be completed in Fall 2015. Along with this, our Panhellenic Council has been emphasizing the education of members about issues concerning the Greek System as a whole. These include safety, health, assault, and alcohol consumption awareness. The overall nature of our chapter reflects the diversity and involvement of each member of the house. We have members on the Cal Dance and Cheer teams, Panhellenic council, student athletes, members of the honors fraternity Honor of Omega, participants in the internship program Cal in the Capital, officers in service organizations such as Global Brigades, and more. The variety of activities we are involved in allow our chapter to foster relationships internally and among our campus.

We hold our meetings in our chapter owned house near the UC Berkeley campus. The house that our chapter owns today provides room and board for approximately 69 members each semester. Prior to our current house on 2328 Piedmont Avenue, we owned one other house.

Highlights of 2015

The year 2015 has been an exciting addition to the Pi Deuteron chapter. From the events we participated in to the new members we received, our chapter continues to flourish. Many traditions in our chapter, like presenting the Jill Costello Award and Linda Morrison Award to exceptional members, were continued along with our annual philanthropic endeavors and campus involvements. Our chapter council worked toward accomplishing goals and improving the chapter as a whole.

This past year we have been working on five goals as a chapter council. Our first focus was to make standards more welcoming and have more of a positive presence. To do this, we made the standards room a more welcoming environment, we had standards do a programming to go over procedure, and they worked to be more transparent throughout the semester. The next obstacle we wanted to tackle was the lack of emphasis on ritual in the house. We had monthly ritual reviews, started meetings with an inspirational quote or a piece of Kappa history, and held special ritual reviews for the newest initiated pledge class. Our third goal was to make pre-recruitment work week more effective and enjoyable. We decided to hold two pre-recruitment meetings during the Spring to learn the recruitment songs, we created MVPs of the day and gave out prizes to those who were positive and working hard during work week and we decided not to move on to another song or dance until we knew the one we were previously working on. Next, we wanted to work on getting the house more involved on campus. We started spotlighting a member of the house each week for their accomplishments and involvement, we listed the philanthropies other houses were hosting a month in advance and created a list of what different clubs girls in the house are involved in. Finally, we decided we wanted to work as a chapter council to lead by example and be effective and efficient. To do this, we worked on communicating everything we were working on during Chapter Council meetings, we encouraged the house to be more involved and worked hard to help one another whenever we could.

Finally, our chapter continued our varied member’s involvements through campus led groups and events. These include clubs like ONE for social justice, Active for Alzheimer’s, Order of Omega, and Berkeley Consulting. Our involvement extends through the athletic department with members on the dance, cheer, crew, sand volleyball, and other sports teams. Additionally, our chapter wide GPA average continues to rise each semester, showing our dedication to academics. With such a rich and all-encompassing group of members, our chapter never has a lack of philanthropic, academic or extracurricular commitments.

The construction of the Lower Sproul area has been completed and now houses the Student Union Complex, a lively, 24/7 student center. Students are now able to engage in social and academic activities in a vibrant and safe area at all hours of the day. In regards to our chapter, our PanHellenic Council continues to highlight the importance of educating members on relevant and important issues concerning all aspects of the Greek System, such as safety, health, assault, and alcohol/drug consumption awareness. The nature of our chapter reflects the dynamic and dedicated involvement of our members both in the Greek System and on campus. Our chapter includes members from the Cal Dance and Cheer teams, other athletics such as rowing, lacrosse and soccer, members of the honors fraternity Honor of Omega, participants in the internship program Cal in the Capital, and much more. The chapter’s participation in a myriad of activities allows us to cultivate strong relationships both within and outside the Greek System.

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

Our chapter continues to participate in diverse philanthropic, academic and worldly endeavors. This year our chapter was able to raise $2,000 for our philanthropy via Kappa Karaoke, as well as participate in external philanthropy events such as a football tournament, diamond cup, AOPi spike out and many more. In addition to these external philanthropy events, members also participated in Jog For Jill in memory of Jill Costello. We had members researching and studying abroad in countries such as Kenya and India. In addition, we had members participating in Cal’s Zero Waste Initiative, spreading awareness on measures to decrease both personal and chapter waste.

Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?

Reading is Fundamental is the motivation behind a majority of our events. Kappa Karaoke is an event dedicated to raising money for this cause, and it is our largest philanthropy event of the year. The wide scope of the philanthropy allows us to run book drives, donate our time, and fundraise, all for a concise cause. Furthermore, we enjoy having a hands-on support approach to improve childhood literacy by traveling to a local elementary school to read to children every week. Being able to see the difference we are making in children’s academic success is a special and valuable opportunity. For these reason we continue to partner with Emerson Elementary.

Highlights of 2020:

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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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