Changes
→Highlights of 2016
2016 has been a very busy and exciting year for Delta Pi! Our new Chapter Council came in strong with goals for each officer to promote transparency, understanding of rules and ritual, dedication to participation in chapter events as well as in other sorority and fraternity events, and making improvements in our house. In the beginning of the semester, our house chair hosted a Spring Cleaning event, which was a much-needed time for us to do some deep cleaning and start preparing decorations for the house for fall recruitment. Some of our more artsy sisters painted canvases while others organized archives, ritual equipment, recruitment props and decorations, and the many closets throughout the house. Long lost belongings were found, many items were donated, label makers were used, music was playing, and Delta Pi got work done!
The rest of the semester included many events for Delta Pi to support and compete in. Kappa women competed in several philanthropy events in the spring semester, including Chi Omega Sing, winning second place, and Kappa Alpha Karaoke, winning third place. We also competed in Kappa Sigma Olympics. Kappaccino, our spring philanthropy event, was a huge success! Delta Pi transformed into a fancy coffee shop, with baked goods and hot beverages, and even live music, courtesy of some friends in the singing fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha. Delta Pi raised money for the Kappa Kappa Gamma foundation and for Reading is Fundamental. In the end of March, Delta Pi had a RIF event at Hawthorne Elementary, where we were able to sit down with some of the students and read some of our favorite childhood books with them, like Magic Tree House books. Later in the semester, there was a Relay For Life event hosted by the university, and Delta Pi women (led by Curri Chandler) rallied to win the event, selling cake balls, donating, and walking to raise over $1700 in a close competition with another organization. Finally, in April, Delta Pi partnered with Kendra Scott for a "Kappa + Kendra" event to raise money for Girls Academy, which the chapter would host in the fall semester. Delta Pi had a beautiful Sapphire Ball formal to finish off a great semester.
Towards the end of the semester, there is an annual All-Greek Banquet where the women and men of each sorority and fraternity on campus come together to celebrate the year and the accomplishments of Greek life. Delta Pi won several well-deserved awards! Our 2015 president, Clair Pottebaum, won the Outstanding Chapter President award; the chapter won the Chapter Standards and Principles award, the Point of Excellence in Leadership and Character award, as well as the highly desired Circle of Excellence award! This award is given to a chapter who is succeeding and inspiring all-around, in service, scholarship, and standards. The women of Delta Pi were so excited to be honored with these awards after all of our hard work! Finally, at the end of the semester, Delta Pi was elated to find out that our GPA had risen, and that we had moved up to the second highest GPA on the row! Delta Pi plans to continue that hard work and dedication, and continue to improve in the semesters to come. In addition, this summer at the 71st Convention, Delta Pi was proud to bring home honorable mentions in standards, new member program, recruitment, and excellence in chapter management!
After a nice summer break, Delta Pi women came home to Kappa for a week of preparation for formal recruitment. The chapter received all kinds of new furniture for the back lounge and study lounge from our Alumni Association, and we couldn’t wait to show it off to potential new members. Work week was a great time for the members, and included a sisterhood event to Sky Zone, where members de-stressed by jumping, flipping, and playing dodgeball. Delta Pi had a bit of a scare before formal recruitment began, because the house was replacing the old carpet in the front with hard wood. Of course, the process was delayed, and Delta Pi wasn’t able to use the front of the house for a couple days, and had to prepare for recruitment elsewhere. Nevertheless, the hard wood was finished the day before recruitment, and it went off without a hitch. Delta Pi gained 17 wonderful new sisters! Like usual, the semester was off to a busy start with our philanthropy week coming up. Delta Pi had a fantastic Kappasta dinner, full of all kinds of pastas, salads, bread, and those famous Reasor's cookies. Kendra Scott came back, and donated part of their sales to our philanthropy as well. Later in the week, Kappa Klassic, our dodgeball tournament, had a great turnout, and Delta Pi ended up raising over $2300 for Susan G. Comen Breast Cancer Research, and over $700 for Reading is Fundamental. That weekend the city of Tulsa had a Raise for the Cure event, and several Kappa sisters participated to finish off our philanthropy week.
Kappa continued to show support for other Greek events, by competing in many philanthropy events. Some events to note include Sigma Chi's philanthropy week, where every single member of Delta Pi participated in their philanthropy dinner, and won the weekend event, Derby Days! That win included a gift of $500 for Delta Pi to donate to our philanthropy. Another Kappa Alpha Karaoke event took place, and Delta Pi did an amazing job, winning second place. Later in the semester came Homecoming week. Kappa was partnered with Kappa Alpha for the competitions of the week, which included a board painting contest, street painting, and general participation in the events of the week. Kappa sisters worked hard alongside the men of KA to create some artistic masterpieces and the work was worth it, because we won third place in the board decorating contest, and we had fun working together and showing our love for Kappa, KA, and of course, Tulsa. Later in the semester was Lambda's Choptoberfest, which Kappa won by donating the most cans (which would be given to a food bank), having the most participation, and for competing well in field games.
Delta Pi was honored to host a Girls Academy this year. The whole chapter pitched in to dedicate time to teach and encourage middle school girls in the Tulsa community. It was a wonderful weekend, thanks to the chapter and the alumni association for coming together to inspire young women.
Throughout the year, our wonderful Social chair planned many different events with houses up and down both sorority and fraternity row. The chapter always has a great time getting to know members of other Greek organizations and strengthening our relationships with the rest of campus. Some favorite events from the year include KA Newlywed, where KAs come over to Kappa, and members are paired with someone to be "newlyweds" and get to know each other enough to answer questions about each other. Other events include Owloween, hosted with Chi Omega, and Kappa Kissmas, where members get to bring two dates via a surprise invitation. Semi-formal in the fall was a lively event held just off campus, with the theme of Starry Night. One of the best memories from this semester was during work week, when sister Kaitlyn McKee (now Kaitlyn Tindle) got married! Members were able to attend the reception and sing On the Heart of Each Sister and, of course, the Spirit Circle; though we may have scared some of the wedding-attendees who didn’t understand what was going on. Overall, it was quite the eventful year with many new memories to look back on.
Inspiration week was exciting for the chapter as well. It happened to fall on the week of Founder's Day, and we also celebrated 70 years of Delta Pi at TU! The chapter was excited to welcome a Leadership Consultant that week as well. It was a wonderful experience to have another Kappa woman share in our traditions throughout the week, and to hear about her experience in Kappa as well. Initiation went beautifully, and the chapter was thrilled to finally call our 17 new members our sisters.
Though members stay busy with classes and jobs, Delta Pi women still dedicate their free time to volunteering, participating in Kappa and other events, intramurals, committees, student government (congrats to Kaitlyn Tindle on being secretary of SA!) sisterhood, and so many more things. Delta Pi had a very successful 2016, and plans to continue that hard work next year.
The university grew with the addition of the building downtown which houses the college of health sciences. Other than that, the campus is just as beautiful as ever, with the same finely cut grass and perfectly manicured lawns. TU is still a highly regarded school, considered a top university by many reports. We did learn this year, thanks to a viral video about mascots, that TU has the "heaviest mascot" - literally. Someone did the math and determined that a hurricane made out of gold would be the heaviest mascot in the US, and probably the world.
Delta Pi has 60 active members currently, and continues to flourish and have a strong presence on campus. Chapter women are involved in a myriad of activites on campus and in the community, and past university life as well. Many women have studied abroad this year, have been inducted into honors societies, have been elected leaders of organizations, and have been honored by other Greek houses as well (congrats to Camilla Ball on Lambda Chi Alpha Crescent Girl!). Kappa Kappa Gamma is inspiring others, and being inspired by the people around us. Together, we are smart, athletic, dedicated, artistic, organized, competitive, supportive, goofy, loyal Kappa women.
Delta Pi supports several organizations, including Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness, Reading is Fundamental, and the Kappa Kappa Gamma foundation. This fall we also participated in a Girls Academy event. Many chapter members also participate in Reading Partners, tutoring, Feeding America, Habitat for Humanity, food banks, and many other programs. The university hosts a Service Day event in the spring of every year, and this year Kappa volunteered with the Special Kids Learning Center, a therapy/day care center for children with special needs.
Delta Pi has supported these organizations for several years now. Our support for the Susan G. Komen foundation began because of a member's connection to breast cancer, and throughout the years that organization has always held a special place in our hearts. There are always members who known someone or who have a family member who has suffered from breast cancer, and the chapter has always been eager to lend it's support. RIF and the KKG foundation
Chapter meetings are held in the dining room of the Kappa house.
I would recommend Hutton Person to be on the Oral History Project.
