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''January 1st 2011- December 31 2011''
-compiled by Stephanie Cochran, Registrar , and the Business Supercommittee
In January, Zeta Pi hosted its Kappa Casino event to raise money for Reading is Fundamental, the Kappa Kappa Gamma national philanthropy. Despite early local reservations and advertising on campus, the turn-out to Kappa Casino was lower than anticipated due to a last-minute schedule change on behalf of another campus event. Kappa Casino was able to raise $350 to send to RIF for the 2011 year. This same month, Zeta Pi conducted a successful COB season, resulting in the initiation of 6 new members that raised the total number of chapter members from 12 to 18. The following month, the sisters of Zeta Pi celebrated their sisterhood and friendship at their annual Heart Sister Dinner, which took place at the Mona Lisa restaurant where the sisters greatly enjoyed spending time together while eating delicious fondue. In March, a contingent of the Zeta Pi chapter attended the Province meeting hosted in Pullman, Washington, at Washington State University. While attending Province, the women of Zeta Pi gratefully took advantage of the hospitality of the Beta Kappa chapter at the University of Idaho by staying at their beautiful chapter house. While attending Province meetings and dinners, the Zeta Pi women found kindred spirits in the Beta Phi chapter at the University of Montana, who indicated that they too suffered the same issues that come with small chapters and low membership. April witnessed the occurrence of Greek Week on the College of Idaho campus, which is a week-long celebration and promotion of Greek life. Zeta Pi sponsored a pie-walk that proved successful in establishing good relations with other Greek organizations and the campus at large. Immediately following, the NPC sororities on campus competed in the annual Derby Days competition sponsored by the local chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity. Despite losing the overall competition, the women of Zeta Pi continue to celebrate their victories in the lip sync and sorority Olympics competitions. In May, our chapter was recognized at the Greek Awards. We received "Greek Organization of the Year: 2011," "Outstanding Service Event 2011" for the Giving Tree, and our former president, Samantha Sink received a well deserved "Greek Woman of the Year 2011." The end of May witnessed the graduation of three senior Zeta Pi women, Lani Boykin, Keeley LeGore and Samantha Sink, who all proudly sported Kappa Kappa Gamma stoles over their graduation gowns. All available members of Zeta Pi were spontaneously reconvened in late July, where the beautiful and suspenseful candle-light ceremony revealed that Keeley LeGore was recently engaged. The final week of August witnessed the annual Zeta Pi chapter work week, renamed Sisterly Love Week, that allowed the women of the chapter to prepare for the upcoming formal recruitment in mid-September. During Sisterly Love Week, the chapter practiced recruitment skills, reviewed ritual materials, and strengthened the bonds of friendship and sisterhood that proved extremely necessary and beneficial. Shealene Zitny attended Leadership Academy in mid- September, where Beta Phi extended an invitation to Zeta Pi for their annual Sapphire Ball, which the women of Zeta Pi gratefully accepted and anticipated for the next several months. During the week of formal recruitment, in the presence of a greatly appreciated and much-beloved leadership consultant, Gracie Rice, met with all chapter officers and provided guidance and advice regarding issues that frequently arose within the chapter. At Rice's suggestion, the chapter was reconstructed into super-committees, which allowed the chapter to better utilize all of its members and to redistribute the ever-accumulating tasks that were becoming too much for those individuals holding multiple offices. At the end of September, Zeta Pi celebrated the removal of the focus letter that had been invoked in 2009. The College of Idaho NPC sororities experienced their greatest turn-out for formal recruitment ever, during which time approximately 90 women expressed an interest in participating in Greek life. This is largely attributed to the Panhellenic Council changes to formal recruitment, which allowed Greek women to advertise Panhellenically prior to the actual recruitment date. Zeta Pi chapter attained 16 new members, which is the largest contingent of new members ever attained by the College of Idaho Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter. Due largely to vociferous protests on behalf of the NPC sororities on campus, the local Greek Council decided to hold its annual Greek Week celebrations the week after formal recruitment. Although this put more pressure on the sororities as the prepared for recruitment, the KKG pie-walk once again proved successful and enjoyable. October saw the continuation of the New Member Program, which proved successful in preparing new members for sorority life and initiation. A portion of the chapter travelled to the much-anticipated Sapphire Ball at the University of Montana, where they stayed overnight at the Beta Phi chapter house and later reported that the experience was so good that Zeta Pi hoped to reciprocate with a similar invitation when the opportunity arises. Simultaneously, a small group of women from Zeta Pi attended the Founder's Day ceremony with the Boise Valley Alumnae Association, where Zeta Pi created new bonds with the alumnae and enjoyed a classy luncheon while experiencing the generational ties that Kappa offers. The final chapter of the month resulted in a surge of creativity during the Halloween-themed chapter. The Fraternity's Founders day was celebrated with a small ceremony, which, while very special to the Kappa women, saw only a mild turnout by the rest of the Greek community. The Fraternity's Founders day was celebrated with a small ceremony, which, while very special to the Kappa women, saw only a mild turnout by the rest of the Greek community. The Zeta Pi Founders day was celebrated with a small ceremony, which was also attended by a small portion of the Greek community. November proved to be a crucial month for the women of Zeta Pi. The middle of the month witnessed the initiation of 14 new members, after losing one during the new member program and one electing to remain on New Member status until financial problems regarding tuition could be worked out. This pledge class was the largest ever initiated by Zeta Pi chapter, and almost doubled the number of active members, raising the chapter member count from 18 to 3231. Initiation went very well, and Zeta Pi enjoyed exceptional alumnae turnout and participation. Due to changes in the structure of the academic terms, Zeta Pi also set up its annual Giving Tree, sponsored through the Salvation Army, in November and December. The first Monday of December also witnessed the women of Zeta Pi chapter supporting the local Salvation Army by sorting cans at the food bank. Another unscheduled meeting and candle-light ceremony revealed that Zeta Pi sister Amanda Stearns was recently engaged. The chapter greatly looks forward to two weddings in the impending future. Finally, before the holiday break, the new Nominating Committee met for the first time and determined a preliminary slate of officer nominations for the upcoming year. '''The College of Idaho Campus:'''
One significant change on campus pertains to the alteration of the housing policy for students, requiring students to live on campus until their junior year. The PEAK program recently instituted in 2010 and, requires 3 minors plus one major with the intention of emphasizing the diversity of education that Liberal Arts colleges offer. The Kappa Kappa Gamma delegate, Breanne Young, who has been involved in the Panhellenic Council since her freshman year, was Panhellenic president as a senior. Our campus has also witnessed an increased interest in Greek life, especially regarding sorority involvement. This renewed interest is largely due to changes in Panhellenic policies that now allow all NPC sororities to sport their letters before formal recruitment, along with increased cooperation between the NPC sororities and an overall movement towards being Panhellenically minded. The College of Idaho currently has three NPC sororities, representing the Kappa Kappa Gamma fraternity, and the Gamma Phi Beta and Kappa Alpha Theta sororities. One local sorority exists on campus, Sigma Epsilon. The mens' national fraternities on campus include chapters from Sigma Chi, Kappa Sigma and Delta Tau Delta.
'''The Chapter:'''
The Zeta Pi chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the College of Idaho continues to be a diverse, loving and ever-growing group of strong and intelligent young women. According to a recent chapter survey, the chapter considers itself well versed in the meaning of sisterhood, and seeks to increase these friendships through more bonding activities. A new sisterhood event, Kappa Craft Night, occurs weekly on campus with the intention of increasing sisterhood in a fun and creative environment. The initiation of the largest pledge class ever not only almost doubled the size of the chapter, but brought in many younger members that provide a strong base for future growth and management of the chapter itself. The new and returning members are very dedicated to the fraternity, and exhibit loyalty and friendship to one another within the chapter through good times and challenges.