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|Image= [[File:Gamma_Zeta.jpg|200px]]
|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1920|01|03}}
|College= [httphttps://www.arizona.edu/ University of Arizona]
|Location= Tucson, AZ
|Homepage= [httphttps://wwwarizona.arizonakkgkappa.comorg/ Gamma Zeta Homepage]|Media= [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Gamma_Zeta Media related to Gamma Zeta Chapter]}}
'''University of Arizona, established in 1885'''
Gamma Zeta enjoyed our Founders Day brunch with our alumnae, recognizing our 50 and 65 year members. We are looking forward to the Fraternity's sesquicentennial as Gamma Zeta will celebrate its centennial year while the Fraternity celebrates its 150th anniversary.
==Highlights of 2020s:2020==
We supported the Joyful Heart Foundation for our philanthropy this year. Our normal event is called Hoops for Hope in which we
host a basketball tournament to raise money for our organization. It was scheduled for late March of 2020 so unfortunately
our event was cancelled. We were still able to donate $12,000 to the organization through jersey sales.
This organization was brought to our attention when one of our dear sisters came to us with this
organization that supports survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. The cause was very near
to her heart and many of our sisters. This organization empowers and educates society to change the
negative perception of survivors of these horrendous events. The organization was started by
Mariska Hargitay, an actress who plays Olivia Benson on the show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
The contents of the script and the work she did to prepare for the role made her realize she wanted
to do more to help women who were victims of sexual assault. The organization’s mission is to
“transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, support survivors’ healing,
and end this violence forever.” As we all may know, on college campuses the
rate of sexual violence is high. This is a cause we can all get behind as many college women
experience this or know someone who has.
This year we held a virtual Founder’s Day celebration over Zoom. We had alumnae attend our Zoom meeting and
we held ritualistic activities in accordance with our bylaws. We also showed the Gail Owen 150 year
video provided by the Fraternity. The video told the story of many Kappa women and what being a Kappa
Kappa Gamma means to them, even after graduation. We had many alumnae attend over Zoom, even
more than we may have had in person. The one good thing about meeting virtually is almost
everyone is able to attend even if they are not in the area.
At the end of the Spring 2021 semester, our Gamma Zeta chapter received recognition for #1 GPA amongst all UA Panhellenic chapters. We recruited a class of 112 new members in the fall. Gamma Zeta held a virtual Founder’s Day and a lovely brunch celebration in the Kappa Kitchen post-meeting. We were recognized with academic achievement for the fall of 2021 with an average active member GPA of 3.46. We held a special date dash event which was Golden Globes themed at a local Tucson restaurant and were shuttled to and from in buses.
In the spring of 2021, Gamma Zeta supported Pathway to Work as our local philanthropy. This foundation was proposed by an active member, Lauren Dill of PC ‘19, whose adult brother has Autism. When faced with the challenges of the next step after schooling, her mother organized a program for individuals with developmental disabilities to gain a solid footing to enter the workforce. Our donations of over $8,000 allowed this foundation to purchase a brand-new vehicle for staff members to assist program members in job interview searches.
Kappa Kappa Gamma members expanded their awareness on DEI initiatives under the education of our newly elected DEI chairman. We had the opportunity to learn with short weekly educational
sessions at the end of our chapter meetings on various topics proposed by our active members via Google Forms. Our primary social media platform, Instagram, was used to promote anti-hazing week and suicide prevention week with encouraging posts. Additionally, our chapter attended a few informational sessions on anti-hazing and promoting growth within Greek life. Gamma Zeta no longer recognizes legacies during the recruitment process to create a fair recruitment process for each potential new member. Grade risks are dealt with privately and no longer voted on as an entire chapter, to preserve the integrity of each student and respect their academic record.
During the spring and fall of 2021, all live in members were required to wear masks while indoors. COVID-19 was under control due to our high regulations. We had several rooms allocated for active members to quarantine for up 14 days after exposure or testing positive. Food was delivered to their doorsteps each day by kind volunteering members to avoid any face-to-face interaction. Our chapter was fortunate to still meet weekly for in-person chapter meetings amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Students with prior obligations or illness were able to attend chapter virtually via Zoom. In the spring of 2021, our philanthropy chairman held a virtual auction with donated items and raised nearly $8,000 in funds for our local Tucson foundation, Pathway to Work. Our recruitment was half virtual. Short 1-minute-long videos were shown for Set 1, while Set 2 and 3 were held on Zoom. Set 4, Preference, was held in person since girls were paired up by twos. One of the biggest changes to the recruitment process was the timeline. Instead of sorority recruitment taking place one week prior to the start of school, recruitment began over a weekend and finished the following weekend. The first week of school with in-person classes broke up the flow of recruitment. Our lovely princess-themed bid day was held in person with a bounce house, DJ, tent, personalized napkins, catered food, watercolor face-tattoo artist. Our shirts were labeled “Kappaly Ever After,” with pink accents, and masks were encouraged since this event was held outdoors. Initiation in the fall was completely in person and masks were worn. During I-Week, we held sisterhood bonding events at the house. We held our annual Kappa Kappa Grammys where girls thought of kind awards for different Kappas in their new member class. For example, some ideas included, “Most likely to hold the door open for another Kappa” or “Most likely to be on Broadway.” Kappa Campfire consisted of all chapter members sharing stories in small circles of their best memories with other Kappas. We adjusted by eliminating the overnight portion of the ceremony and creating smaller ceremony groups. Alums were still able to attend and serve as readers. This initiation
was a unique experience for PC 20 since their initiation took place online the previous year. They played a key role in the behind-the-scenes activities such as bracelet making. Our key pin shipments were delayed several months due to supply chain issues from COVID-19. We distributed temporary key badges and distributed flower arrangements and personalized sweatshirts for the Member Class of 2023.
'''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!
