Beta Omega
| Beta Omega | |
|---|---|
| BΩ | |
 | |
| Founded | January 11, 1913 |
| College | University of Oregon |
| Location | Eugene, OR |
| Homepage | Beta Omega Homepage |
| Media related to Beta Omega Chapter | |
University of Oregon established in 1872, Eugene, Oregon
Founded January 11, 1913
2,658 initiates (as of June 2015)
Charter Members:
Neta Bartlett, Clementene Cutler, Oliva Starr Donnell, Carolyn Leach Dunston, Ruth Claire Hardie, Lilla Irvin, Alice Edith Larsen, Loretta Showers, Hazel Emaline Wightman, Frances Packard Young.
Fraternity Council Officers:
Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:
Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:
Cathleen Tharldsen Catlin, 1964, Fashion columnist, editor; Louise Siebert Pappas, 1998, writer and pioneer in the field of cooking
Additional Outstanding Beta Chi Alumnae:
Contents
The Early Years (Excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity: 1870-1976)
In 1913, the year of Beta Omega's installation, the University of Oregon was 41 years old, it had a student body of 691, and a faculty of 65.
The five girls who had taken the name of Gamma Delta Gamma applied informally for a Kappa charter in 1909. They had been inspired by their house mother, Agnes Leach Dunstan, Omega - Simpson, mother of one of the five, to make Kappa their goal.
For four years the group maintained strength on the campus, and a second house mother, Maude Stinson, Beta Eta-Stanford, helped to keep the thought of a Kappa charter before them. In the spring of 1912 a formal petition was approved by Fraternity officials and sent on for chapter vote. On January 11, 1913, Beta Omega was installed by the grand president, Eva Powell, Pi Deuteron-California, assisted by Beta Pi Chapter. By that time four national women's fraternities had been established at Oregon but only one, Gamma Phi Beta, had been installed earlier than the local, Gamma Delta Gamma.
Although the group had had the security of a rented house near the campus from 1910 to 1925, the years before and after installation were difficult. Early members of Beta Omega have been described as "vigorous-minded individual girls of active and varied interests," distinguished by "strength and self-reliance."
Although the Kappa Alumnae Association in Eugene was small, these 20 members were of great service to the young chapter. There was help with house rent and expenses, assistance to the chapter adviser, and January 11 birthday parties for the group. Portland mothers also stepped in, presenting furniture and rugs.
Beta Omega developed in a stimulating atmosphere, inspired by the university president, Prince L. Campbell, a man of many virtues, including a respect for scholarship, and a feeling for beauty. Most of the girls in the early chapter came from Portland and Eugene. They majored in education, journalism, art, or music. Their scholarship, to quote Sally Elliott Allen, Eta-Wisconsin, the 1930 history chronicler for Beta Omega, "has been creditable and often superior, and they have always stood for a sincere and unaffected womanliness."
A member of Pi Deuteron Chapter, Irene Hazard Gerlinger, was a regent of the University of Oregon between 1914-1929. She was in charge of the campaign for the women's building which was dedicated in 1920 and name in her honor. She was the only woman on the Board of Regents.
The independent spirit of the house was seen in a number of interesting ways. There was no brass nameplate on the door; the telephone was answered by a repetition of the number "204", not "Kappa Kappa Gamma"; every Tuesday "outside girls" were invited for dinner; and many girls who were campus leaders did not wear their keys.
One year the chapter was so small that it appeared that only two girls would be back in the fall. Those two came to be known as Beta and Omega.
Financial conditions were often poor; but these conditions improved steadily. By the fall of 1925, a new house at 15th and Alder Streets had been built at a cost of about $37,000, for the lot, house, furnishings and landscaping. This original building has been remodeled three times. In 1974, new additions doubled the size of the kitchen, provided any apartment for the housemother, increased the sleeping porch area, and included a sun porch. Fifty-eight members can live in the house very comfortably.
During World War I, spare time was devoted to Red Cross work. During World War II, blood was donated and scrap metal was collected. A German war orphan was adopted and sent letters and gift boxes. During the 1960s community service in Eugene was considered more relevant and fund drives and parties for underprivileged children were co-sponsored, usually with a men's fraternity. In 1965 the chapter won the Oregon Citizenship Cup given to the organization outstanding in scholarship, leadership, and service to the university, community, state and national government.
Some of the chapter's recent community work has been with underprivileged children and working at the senior citizen center.
In 1942, five of the six seniors in the house were elected to Phi Beta Kappa. The 3.003 grade average in 1965 was the highest ever achieved by an Oregon group. The chapter was received many scholarship trophies.
By the middle 1960s a choice of 48 graduate and undergraduate degrees was offered at Eugene. The medical and related schools were on the Portland campus. Superior students were given the opportunity to take part in the "Honors College," a unique program offering the advantages of a small school, with seminars and research programs. In May, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson and the National Science Foundation awarded a grant of four million dollars to the university. Oregon was the first state university to receive a large federal grant to aid in its development as a top educational center.
Some chapter traditions have been lost, such as the joint Founders' Day celebration with Gamma Mu, and the Christmas Serenade with white candles, white collars, and sacred songs. Apple Polishing, a party for favorite teachers; a Kappa-Pi Beta Phi dinner when keys were worn slanted and arrows straight; activity paddles for active freshmen; the blown-out candle to announce an engagement; and the spring awards banquet were continued into the mid-1960s.
A revolving Emergency Loan Fund was started by the Eugene alumnae in 1945 in memory of Hazel Prutsman Schwering, Oregon's dean of women, who was a Beta Omega. These alumnae contribute greatly to the house and to the morale of the chapter. The mothers' clubs of Eugene and Portland and the Portland alumnae continue to make utilitarian and decorative contributions.
Prominent members have included Louise Allen Holmes, an advertising executive; Nancy Wilson Ross, a novelist; and Dorothy Duniway Ryan, a free lance journalist. Other outstanding Beta Omegas include botanist Lilla Irvin Leach, fashion coordinator Cathleen Tharaldsen Catlin, pediatrician Dr. Margaret Tingle, and educator Hazel Schwering.
The stamina which enabled Beta Omega to find boarders and to keep the chapter going when it thought that only two girls would be making up the entire group, and the independence of spirit which has characterized the chapter from the start, can be seen today.
Highlights of 2011
The year of 2010 was a very eventful and successful school year for the ladies of the Beta Omega chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. The annual winter transition of officers went smoothly and everyone started to get back into the swing of classes. The first big event Kappas participated in was at the end of January called Dance Marathon, a 12 hour long day of dancing that is put on by the Holden Leadership Center and benefits The Children’s Miracle Network. We had the largest number or participants in the Greek community and it was such a blast!
Next Pan-Hellenic Council (PHC) and the Interfaternity Council (IFC) hosted the first annual Greek Sing competition. We came up with a dancing and singing routine from the movie Annie, integrating Jay-Z’s “Hard Knock Life” and earned first place! All the proceeds from the tickets were awarded to our Reading is Fundamental philanthropy (RIF). Next we had our formal dance, Sapphire Ball on February 6th at the Country Inn. We took limos to and from the venue and everyone had a great time in their formal attire. During the winter term we also participated in Sigma Chi’s Derby Days, supporting the Frohnmayer Foundation. We worked really hard raising money and participating in their events and ending up winning second place.
We kicked off our philanthropies for the year with our 3rd annual Dodge Ball Tournament on February 20th. This is just one of our three philanthropies and it raises money for the Lupus Foundation. This philanthropy started in 2008 after one of our fellow sisters was diagnosed with Lupus, an autoimmune disorder where the body’s immune system starts to attack itself. The philanthropy was held at the Student Recreation Center and included the Greek community, other student groups on campus, locals and even students from Oregon State University. Muscle Milk and Monster sponsored us for the event and in the end we raised around $4000. When spring term came around there was a surplus of events to attend. We hosted the Eu-green 5K on April 7th at Alton Baker Park. It is our philanthropy that benefits local Early Childhood Cares, an organization that provides early intervention and early childhood special education services to children in Lane County. Qdoba, Explosion Sportswear, Cliff Bar, the Student Recreation Center and Turtle Mountain sponsored us. We raised $2000 and a ton of people participated in the 5K. During spring the PHC and IFC put on a weeklong competition between chapters called Greek Week. Our partner fraternity was Beta Theta Pi and we received second place and an award for being the most spirited house. We participated in Delta Gamma’s Anchor Splash dance competition. We received first place in Alpha Chi Omega and Sigma Phi Epsilon’s softball tournament referred to as, Diamond Days. Lauren Mitchell, a junior in our house, ran for Mrs. Greek and raised money for Alpha Phi and Beta Theta Pi’s philanthropy.
Kappas had a football team for the Pig Skin Classic put on by Sigma Pi and we won most spirited. After three long months of summer, we all came back refreshed and ready to kick off a new school year. We had a very successful recruitment! It started with open house started on September 30th and ended with bid day on October 5th. We worked so hard and our retention numbers showed it. We had the second highest retention rate and our lowest retention was 92%. We ended the process with 63 new members. We had a holiday themed bid day function at the Red Lion and the new members loved it. Next was Dad’s Weekend November 5th-7th where the girls and their fathers may have attended the University of Oregon vs. University of Washington game. We had initiation week the 15th-19th and Initiation on the 20th which was a great success. We ended the year of 2010 with laughter at our Kappa Christmas where all the newly initiated members received their first set of letters. Throughout the whole year Kappa’s participated in wide variety of internships, jobs and community service opportunities. Having a requirement of 5 hours of community service per term Kappa went above and beyond and averaged 23 hours per person!
Campus: The University of Oregon currently has 23,389 students 19,534 being undergraduates. The greek life at UO has been growing immensely over last last couple years and now has around 2,200 students involved in Fraternity and Sorority life. All the girls that showed up for recruitment this year couldn’t even all fit into Columbia 150 and they had to move half of them to another building. The Matthew Knight Area was under construction during the 2010 school year and was finally finished on January 13th, 2011. The John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Students Athletes was finished in the winter of 2010 and is a gorgeous building. It includes 92 total rooms, nearly 700 computers, a public café, 3 classrooms and 8 bathrooms. Lastly, due to the large numbers of incoming freshman every year there have been many issues with running out of housing to accommodate them. So the construction of new dorms has started as well as alternative housing such as apartments. Overall, the University of Oregon is making a lot of great changes in order to facilitate the growing needs of the community.
Chapter: Within the chapter we are starting to focus on things we can improve on. We have a plan to remodel the kitchen, expanding the dining room in the process. It it set to take place over the summer of 2011 and be done before that Fall term. We also received comcast T.V. in the Krib to allow more girls to watch the shows they want when the television in the living room is taken.
One challenge that we had to face in the Fall term of 2010 was the fact that not everyone could cram into the dining room for chapter. This was due to the increasingly large pledge class sizes. We overcame this challenge by making arrangements with the University of Oregon to use a lecture size classroom a few blocks away. It has worked very well! We now have our own personal space, we can see the officers better, and we don't get overheated and restless. Also due to the large number of girls the kitchen was no longer able to accommodate us for formal dinners. They didn’t have enough space to store all the food in the tiny kitchen. We adjusted and now we have normal dinner before chapter. Another issue was keeping everyone motivated to stay involved. Some girls didn’t feel like showing up to chapter or participating in events. We are starting to overcome this challenge by creating positive incentives to attend things, such as games, candy or other prizes. It has helped immensely and the negativity in the house has subsided.
Highlights of 2012
In 2012, the Beta Omega chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of Oregon found itself surrounded by tremendous success and the drive to overcome challenges. Our chapter continues to have one of the highest member retention rates throughout all of Fraternity and Sorority Life and remains a top choice for potential new members during Formal Recruitment.
Kappa Dodgeball, our philanthropy event which is held each Winter Term, brought out over 50 teams and raised a tremendous amount of money which was donated to Early Childhood (EC) Cares of Eugene (a non-profit which serves special education children and their families). Additionally, Beta Omega enjoys supporting our fellow Fraternity and Sorority Life houses in their various philanthropic events. KKG placed 2nd at Sigma Chi's Derby Days competition and 1st at Chi Omega and Kappa Sigma's "Chi-Olympics". Our Winter Formal "Sapphire Ball" held at the Country Inn in Eugene was a beautiful and classy event which was enjoyed by all. Barn Dance and Spring Fling were held Spring Term and brought out some of the most creative and fun costumes!
Formal Fall Recruitment once again proved successful for Beta Omega. We maintained some of the highest retention rates between all Sororities and came away with an amazing 2012 New Member Class. Our "New Bid on the Block" Bid Day theme, complete with a DJ, bouncy castle, snacks, and photo booth, was a perfect way to celebrate all of our hard work during Recruitment.
Beta Omega holds many "class" nights where members of various New Member Classes interact with one another and engage in fun activities such as pumpkin carving and roller skating. During our 2012 Initiation Week, our New Members enjoyed bonding activities around campus and the house. Our annual Capture the Flag tournament, junk food and movie night, and Blue and Blue dinner add up for a special and memorable time for our 56 newly initiated members.
Beta Omega planned to improve our academics, as we have ranked lower in grades in recent terms than we have grown to expect as a chapter. We worked to strengthen our Academic Excellence committee and the standards we set for one another. Additionally, our chapter worked to gain stronger bonds between the various Fraternities and Sororities at the University of Oregon. We planned on becoming more involved in philanthropic and social events throughout the year.
Overall, 2012 was a year of growth and sisterhood beyond compare. Beta Omega continues to impress its members, alumni, and community by being an example of what it truly means to be a Sorority Woman.
Fraternity and Sorority Life at the University of Oregon is continually growing and bettering themselves and the Oregon community by looking to include new chapters and provide opportunities for inter-Greek relations. The Greek community is not a prominent group compared to the entire campus population, but we are consistently working to present ourselves with positivity and acceptance for all. We are a community of proud Oregon Ducks and love to show our school spirit any chance we get.
Beta Omega continues to set the standard for sisterhood and stability within Fraternity and Sorority Life, while being a shining example of the best aspects of "Going Greek". Kappa Kappa Gamma aims to be a house with members who extend their friendship and a helping hand to the community, Greek or not, expanding beyond the University of Oregon campus.
Highlights of 2013
In 2013, the Beta Omega Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of Oregon experienced great success and worked diligently to improve our chapter. Our chapter continues to serve as an example of what it means to be a sister, friend, and woman. Beta Omega continues to be a top choice for potential new members coming through Formal Fall Recruitment, maintaining one of the highest retention rates throughout the week.
Some of Beta Omega’s successes include our efforts in philanthropies, Recruitment, community service, and more. Our annual Dodge Ball tournament helped raise over $5,500 for EC Cares, our local philanthropy that serves special education children and their families. We had over 70 teams from different sororities, fraternities, and other University of Oregon students compete in our competition. The theme of our Dodge Ball tournament was “Kappa Jam” and everyone dressed up in retro and color clothes. Additionally, Beta Omega competed in a social media competition and won $1,000 for RIF. We won by having the most girls in our house sign up for the new launch of the social network site Hallspot.
During Fall Formal Recruitment, our chapter worked very hard to get the best pledge class. All of our hard work paid off and we were thrilled to have our new pledge class finally join Kappa. The theme of our Bid Day was “Kappadelic,” complete with a bouncy house, DJ, photo booth, and lots of snacks. It was a really exciting day for our whole house and reminded us of why we “went Kappa.”
It is a Beta Omega tradition to have “class” nights the week leading up to initiation, where the new members have the opportunity to hangout with girls in every pledge class. Each night was dedicated to a specific “class” and included fun activities such as capture the flag, movie night, bowling, and game night. We also have a Blue and Blue formal dinner for new members and their big sisters to attend to kick off and celebrate the beginning of Initiation Week. The whole chapter celebrated the addition of 60 new members into Kappa in November
Beta Omega has always enjoyed participating in other sorority and fraternity’s philanthropies, especially when it comes to sports. Every pledge class in our chapter participated and won in Sigma Pi’s Pig Skin tournament. Our chapter also won most spirited in Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s flag football philanthropy. Our chapter paired with Beta Theta Pi, was very excited to win first place in the University of Oregon’s Greek Week Competition. The theme of the competition was “TV Channels” and we were ESPN. Some of the events we participated in include a parade, dance, carnival, and house decorations in which we choose to show “Game Day.” It was a great way to kick off the beginning of the school year!
Although, Beta Omega has experienced several accomplishments, our chapter is always interested in making improvements. Our chapter pledged to improve our grades after ranking lower in grades. We vowed to work together and improve our Academic Excellence committee as well as setting higher academic standards for ourselves. Additionally, Beta Omega planned on being more involved with philanthropies and social events.
Fraternity and Sorority Life at the University of Oregon has continued to grow over the past few years. They are looking to add additional chapters and are dedicated to developing better relationships between chapters. The Fraternity and Sorority Life are involved with events on campus and give back to our community through philanthropies and community service. At the University of Oregon, we are all proud to be Duck fans and show our school spirit any chance we get.
Beta Omega is a chapter of incredible women who continue to set the standard of what it means to be a sorority woman. Our chapter is filled with bright, compassionate, and caring women who all contribute something unique to our chapter and make it the best sorority on campus.
Highlights of 2014
In 2014, the Beta Omega chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of Oregon grew together as a whole. Beta Omega improved in areas such as Leadership, Philanthropy, Recruitment, and Philanthropic Involvement among others.
During Fall Formal Recruitment, our chapter surpassed our quota and welcomed 66 New Members into our chapter 12 of which are legacies. Throughout recruitment the ladies of Beta Omega worked hard to find the best pledge class possible and we feel that these women are more than capable to uphold Kappa's ideals. Our Bid Day theme this year was a Kappa Circus which included a lot of fun decorations, a balloon arch with a painted popcorn box at either end, a DJ, and a photobooth. This welcoming of our New Members was a great way to see all of our long hours and dedication pay off.
The Beta Omega chapter of Kappa Kappa Kappa excelled in the area of philanthropy in 2014. Our chapter held our annual Dodge Ball tournament which was the highest attended philanthropic event at the University of Oregon in 2014. We had over 700 people play in the tournament and raised over 7,000 dollars. We gave about 6,000 of the money we raised to our local philanthropy Early Childhood CARES while also providing the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation with 1,000. This event was an extreme successes. Additionally, Beta Omega held our reading is Key event in the week leading up to Mom's weekend in which we held an all-campus book drive at our chapter house. That week we volunteered with the local Boys and Girls Club and made arts and crafts as well as group reading activities. Approximately 300 people attended and contributed to this event and 100 books were collected for Reading is Fundamental. Beta Omega also raised $407 for Reading is Fundamental through a social media competition for the app Blend.
Our chapter puts a great importance on philanthropic involvement. In 2014 Beta Omega participated in each of the philanthropy events that chapters within our community held. We placed second in Kappa Sigma's Boot Camp, Second place in Lambda Chi Alpha's Pumpkin Smash, first place in Sigma Chi's Derby Days dance, and first place in Sigma Pi's Pig Skin Classic among others. The Greek Life community at the University also held several greek-wide events. Our chapter was partnered with the gentlemen of Beta Theta Pi during Greek Week, a week long competition between all greek houses, and we placed first overall. Greek Life also planned an event called Greek Games where all chapters were partnered up and competed in a series of sporting events. We were partnered with Kappa Sigma and Alpha Epsilon Pi in which we also earned first place. 2014 was a great year for our chapter regarding philanthropic involvement.
Our chapter also enjoys giving back to our community. In 2014 we participated in several events of service. In February we had a group of girls volunteer at the Special Olympics which was said to be a truly humbling experience. Our chapter also went to one of the local retirement homes in Eugene to play Bunco with the elderly on multiple occasions and volunteered at the Boys and Girls club as well. Additionally, Each individual member took upon the responsibility of completing their community service hours by attending several different events.
In 2014, our chapter dedicated efforts to improving our grades and maintaining a strong risk management program. Beta Omega also put a great importance on holding sisterhood events to improve the bonds between pledge classes. Overall, Beta Omega grew together as a chapter and improved the bonds between themselves and other chapters. Beta Omega is a chapter of amazing women who continue to set the standard for what it means to be a sorority woman.
We hold chapter in the dining room of our house. Our chapter owns a beautiful home right next to campus. We are privileged enough to have a home with a capacity of 55 women. We have maintained a high demand for members who want to live in. This has been our same home since Beta Omega was founded.
Highlights of 2015
In 2015, the Beta Omega chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma had much strength. Beta Omega was able to improve on its chapter goals of academia, with an improved overall grade point average, and ritual, with the implementation of a Founders Day celebration. Beta Omega was also able to excel in some of its previous areas of strength such as philanthropy, community involvement, and recruitment.
At the start of 2015 Beta Omega’s philanthropy even planning was in full swing. As proven successful in the past, our philanthropy chair planned our annual Kappa Dodgeball event. The theme was Kappa Gameday, which helped create a competitive and energetic atmosphere. The event took place on February 21 at a venue on campus. This year we doubled our participant attendance from the years past, with over 700 participants from both Greek affiliations and non-affiliated groups. This became the most widely attended event within the Greek community on University of Oregon’s campus in 2015. In the end, Beta Omega raised 10,500 dollars, making it the most successful philanthropy event in Beta Omega’s history. Beta Omega was able to donate 8,000 dollars to our local philanthropy, Early Childhood Cares, which is a learning center in Eugene for children under the age of five with developmental disabilities. One thousand dollars from our total was donated to Reading is Fundamental with the remaining 1,500 donated to the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. Beta Omega is humbled by the support we have received from the University of Oregon student body that has allowed us to provide such donations to charities that are special to our chapter.
In the preceding months Beta Omega continued to grow as a chapter. In March we had our Spring Formal dance and finished off the school year with moms weekend in May. At this event our Moms Club was able to raise 25,000 dollars for renovations for our chapter house. Over the summer our study lounge, blue room, and living room all received improvements. Our members were excited to see these renovations and were even more grateful for these changes with recruitment in the immediate future.
With nearly 1,000 signups for fall formal recruitment, Beta Omega undertook recruitment headstrong. By the end of the week our chapter welcomed 69 new members. Our Bid Day theme was Kappa Adventure with a tagline of “Your Kappa Adventure Awaits”. Our lawn was covered with smiling faces and tears of joy as the newest members of Beta Omega made their way to their new home. We are proud to have initiated these members this fall, which has brought our total number of active members above 200.
On October 13th, Beta Omega celebrated Founders Day with a large celebration dinner. This dinner included a catered meal with an accompanying video made by our registrar that featured our members telling their favorite stories about Kappa and why they joined this fantastic group of women. This event helped our chapter finish off the year with memory sharing and nostalgia.
Overall, in 2015 Beta Omega proved to be a chapter of amazing women who continue to set the standard for what it means to be a Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority woman.
