The Abolish Greek Life at NU rose to prominence in July and led the Upsilon chapter to have several virtual meetings to discuss our chapter’s role in maintaining exclusive membership. We met with Kappa Headquarters, the Northwestern Panhellenic community, and internally with alumnae and current members to discuss and hear the different views represented in our chapter. We found that our chapter perpetuated harm in the past and currently, especially towards marginalized communities on campus. Ultimately, the Upsilon chapter decided to draft a letter to Headquarters requesting the surrender of our charter at Northwestern. This letter was signed by ¾ of active Upsilon members and was sent to the Advisory Board for their consideration.
Headquarters denied the request to surrender the chapter, and all the chapter members that signed the letter were automatically dismissed. After this, there were only two members of the chapter left, Skylar Waldron and Tanitoluwa "Tani" Adedibu.
==Highlights of 2021==
In January, students were finally allowed back on campus, and therefore allowed back in the house. With our new house director, Annie, welcoming us into the house, it made the cold season much warmer. In the Winter and Spring Quarters, four people lived in the house: the remaining two active members, and two members that took early-alumnae status. PHA cancelled primary recruitment this year because of Covid-19, but allowed chapters to recruit informally, via continuous open bidding, in the Spring Quarter.
Skylar Waldron became the President of Upsilon and led the way to reviving Upsilon. In May, Skylar held informal recruitment virtually, over Zoom, with the help of Bailee Myers, Mary Belvin, Emma Caroline Belvin, and the Theta Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. By May 16, 2021, Skylar and Tani recruited and formally pledged seven new members: Yiting "Selina" Liu, Adelaide Ray Young, Hope Jin, Abigail "Abby" Toltus, Amanda "Mandy" Zobel, Savannah Graziano, and Emma Burnham.
We held our New Member Retreat at The Pot Shop in Evanston, IL, where we sculpted clay turtles; because of Covid-19, everyone was social distancing and wearing masks, in addition to most attendees being vaccinated. These seven new members were initiated into the chapter on Sunday, June 6, 2021, in a virtual ceremony that combined the three different parts of initiation into one. Since Covid-19 was still prominent, Northwestern University would not allow us to hold in-person meetings or rituals, so everything from the formal pledging, to new member education, to ritual review was held over Zoom.
These nine new members form what is, essentially, a second charter of Upsilon. Since Upsilon is now starting from scratch again, we look to our original charter members, Katharine Lucinda Sharp, Anna M. Boyle, Grace Little, Minnie Louise Scott, and Lucy Katharine Wood, for inspiration.
This fall, Upsilon is again participating in informal recruitment, this time in-person, and virtually for people who might be more comfortable this way. The chapter held three events, "Scoops with the Sisters," "Mask Decorating with KKG," and "Koffee with Kappas" in September. Throughout October, our chapter is participating in informal recruitment through individual meetings with interested potential new members, organized by our Vice President of Membership, Amanda "Mandy" Zobel. As of now, the chapter has one new member, Rose Akcan, who was formally pledged on October 14th, 2021.
In early October, there were situations that occurred at Fraternity houses on campus. In light of this, the chapter decided to put out a statement through our Instagram page (kkgnorthwestern) stating that we stand with, support, and believe survivors. This was spearheaded and mostly written by our Vice President of Member Development, Savannah Graziano. Savannah has also started a Kappa Book Klub, with more details to come.
We are attempting to continue classic Kappa traditions like Big/Little. We have partnered with Eta Lambda, Kappa's Chapter at Loyola University-Chicago, for Big/Little, so that each member can have their own big sister. Since our campuses are so close together, a few members of Eta Lambda have volunteered to be big sisters and mentors to members of Upsilon chapter. We are looking forward to what comes from our partnership.
Since all members of the chapter are now vaccinated against Covid-19 and are regularly tested, the chapter is able to hold events, such as chapter, ritual, and new member education, in-person. We also have a new Chapter Advisor, Ingrid Heider, who has helped us greatly.
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'''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!
