Changes
→Highlights of 2014
belongings. Informally, we have been thinking about different ways to accommodate Kappa living
arrangements, but it is very difficult.
==Highlights of 2015==
This year, Eta Mu consistently grew bigger and better than ever. During Winter quarter, we had our new officer installments. The new CC was very dedicated, and had many plans for the year. A leadership consultant visited and gave us wonderful tips on how to be the best leaders we could be. To start us off, the Vice President of Standards, Christine Charitar, hosted a fun sisterhood that many girls attended. It was a movie and candy night, which was desperately needed amongst the craziness of midterms. The Event chairwoman, Sophia Brinton, then hosted an amazing Semi-Formal at the Coconut Grove, with lots of dancing, fun photo props, and, of course, yummy food. The last event of Winter quarter was a tie-dying sisterhood on campus. We were given t-shirts, and we were also allowed to bring things we wanted to tie-dye from our homes.
Spring quarter was jam packed with fun Kappa activities. Presents brunch on April 19th was absolutely beautiful. We had a large new member class, so there were a lot of speeches, ranging from completely emotional and adorable to absolutely hysterical. About a week later, it was Eta Mu’s birthday! Our House chairwoman, Paula Pastuskovas, held an adorable birthday party on campus, with good food and games- it was a lot of fun. May 1st was our Sapphire Ball, which was an absolute success. It was held at Hotel Paradox, and there was a photobooth and a yummy sit down meal. There were also awards given out, which were voted on by our chapter, from things like Kappa Klassy (congrats to our President Sanaz Batmanghilich) to Kappa Krazy (congrats to Registrar Ruby Lynch). The next day was the start of Greek Week. As two-time reigning champions at powderpuff, our girls worked very hard and won it all again! We also won 3rd place in lipsync, which was the first time we have placed in many years, and we won 4th place in pizza eating. It was a great week for us. The next event was Kappa Karnival, thrown by our philanthropy chairwoman Roxanne Leon, which was new this year. There were games set up all over the lower field, and sisters were the game organizers and coaches. Students came in groups and played against each other. We successfully collected books and raised money for our national charity, Reading Is Fundamental. The etiquette dinner was held on campus in the Kresge Town Hall, and it went very well. We provided yummy Italian food, and hosted the charming men from the other greek organizations on campus. They were impressed, and responded positively to the event. Finally, it was senior appreciation time. The senior banquet was a success- it was very emotional and full of love. Seniors passed down gifts and their friends gave speeches. It really was lovely, all thanks to Kira Aarvig, the Education chairwoman. At the final meeting of the year, the seniors each gave their “last words” to the chapter. It was very sentimental, and we sent them off with much love.
Fall quarter was full of exciting events, especially with all the new members we got. Before recruitment began, we had another leadership consultant visit, and she helped us a lot when it came to running our recruitment. Recruitment went very well, thanks to Rachel Du and Yaritza Rodriguez, and we ended up with 52 new members who became sisters. Bid day was so much fun, as the New Member chair, Amanda Merrifield, welcomed the new members to Kappa. The event was sports themed, and was held at a gym on campus. We had a sisterhood at a pumpkin patch, to get in the mood for fall. Next up was our Date Dash event, which was country themed, and everyone enjoyed themselves. Spare the Hooters, our annual bowling for cancer philanthropy which we co-host with Sigma Pi, was a huge success as always. The bowling alley also contributed so that if we brought in cans of food to donate to a charity organization, they gave us free bowling shoes. Eventually, it was that amazing time of the year: Big Little week! The clues were a pin box, a mason jar, a picture frame, a CD, and special socks. For the reveal, we had the bigs wear matching socks that they gave to their littles, and they found their bigs like that. It was absolutely adorable, and everyone was very happy. Then it was I-week. Our Marshal, Magali Ceballos, hosted two wonderful nights of crafting preceding the initiation. We held initiation at the Veterans Memorial Building, and it went very smoothly. Nominations and elections for officers for the 2016 calendar year also went very well. At our last meeting of the quarter, our Vice President of Academic Excellence, Taylor Tibbs, gave everyone goodie bags of school supplies that we would need for the upcoming finals week. Eta Mu had a productive and positive year!
The campus of UC Santa Cruz is constantly evolving. The incoming classes continue growing bigger and bigger, and our campus has to account for this. Our chapter has grown so large that it has been hard finding places off campus to accommodate our size. We have been lucky to fit into the same room for the past few years, but we will have to update our room soon because we are so large now. We are one of the largest greek chapters at our school, and as diverse as possible. All of our girls come from many different backgrounds, and are learning many different things at school. However, we are united by our love of food and our love of each other.
Chapter Philanthropy:
What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?
Our chapter continues to raise money for breast cancer research every year with our annual Spare the Hooters event. We also consistently volunteer with the boys and girls club in downtown Santa Cruz.
Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
We chose to raise money for breast cancer for many reasons, but mainly because it is such an important cause that has impacted many of our sisters and their families lives. We help the boys and girls club because the children of our community need our attention, and we love to give it to them. We have built a great reputation in our community.
==Highlights of the 2020s==
