CAPTIMES, February 13, 1997 Sigma Gamma Rho stresses quality over quantity Black sorority contributes highly to area community despite small membership Renee B. Jackson Contributor While you probably know some Deltas and Alpha Kappa Alphas, the two best known African American sororities, have you ever met a sister from any of the other black sororities? One of those sorori- ties has been working quietly for 74 years, acquiring 72,000 members around the United States, the Caribbean and other parts of the world. It was founded by seven young teachers at Butler University in Indianapolis, Ind., and has expanded, today, to 400 chapters. The name is Sigma Gamma Rho, and if you haven't heard about these ladies, it's time that you get to know them. The sisters of Sigma observed their Founder's Day Weekend last November, as they do every year, to com memorate the date their orga nization was founded - Nov. 12, 1922. The year, Lambda Alpha Chapter at Millersville University celebrated their weekend with their support graduate chapter of Baltimore County, and the undergradu- ate chapter of University of Maryland, Eastern Shore. Wearing their blue and gold sorority colors, 21 s isters came together at Millersville campus to induct new members, conduct work- Stil I'M A BLACK OCEAN LEAPING AND WIDI E LING AND SWELLING I BEAR IN THE TIDI. LEAVING BEHIND NIGHTS OF TERROR AND FEAR INTO THE DAYBREAK THAT'S WONDROUSLY CLEAR ING THE GIFTS THAT MY ANCESTORS GAVE BRING THE DREAM AND THE HOPE OF THE SLAVE I AM 11111 L . 01994 UN , T 1 SUPPORT 1 &irk. 0197 8 h may., Angelou I . , lNed by retllll,loll 01 Random House Inc and the Author A mlll Cl 1s shops, and to share other activities "I think Founder's Day week is a time of reflec- tion, to remember our seven founders and to help promote Sigma Gamma Rho," said Jeanette Gossett of the gradu ate chapter. During a Saturday afternoon discussion, the s is - ters talked about Sigma, shar ing their pride in their orga nization, thoughtfully telling the story of their goals, interests and concerns. The meeting room took on an atmosphere of serious pur pose, combined with a strong bond of caring and support among the women. Laughter filled the room at t imes, too, as the con versation shifted from chapter to chapter, per- son to person Williams, a criminal jus- tice major at University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, talked about why she was attracted to Sigma. "It's just the fact that they're about business," This semester, they invited she said. "You can't put us in non-members to participate one general statement" At in some of their activities, her campus, Sigma has about such as a bake sale they 10 active members right now. sponsored. But, for the Millersville chapter, support from their sisters i s espe cially important, as right now, they only have three members. lUST LIKE THE MOONS AND THE SUNS WITH CFRTAINTY OF TIDES JUST LIKE HOPES SPRINGING //Rill OUT OF HUTS OF HISTORY'S SHAME Charma me Established in 1988, I Rise Still I'll rise I rise I rise I rise 1 - 1-1 E UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND a terrible thing to waste the Millersville chapter enjoyed a peak membership of 12 between the years 1988- 1990, with gradual losses caused by graduations, Gossett said. But, small num bers do not prevent the three Millersville sisters from sus- taining an active, involved chapter on campus, and in the Millersville community. The three members attempt to recruit new mem bers on an ongoing basis, A l isha Johnson, of the Millersville chapter explained. They do this, for example, by meeting with interested young women to discuss the organization. "We're basically a community service organization. I guess we recruit by example --- by being positive black women. We invite those young ladies who represent those qualities we look for in our organization." "It's a gradual process. You really feed off the responses. We try to do activities that bring African Americans together on cam pus since it's a predominant ly white campus," said Nicole BY MAYA ANGELOU THE THEME OF DR. ANGELOU'S POEM MIRRORS OUR OWN FOR 50 YEARS UNCF COLLEGES HAVE HELPED STUDENTS RISE 10 NEW HEIGHTS OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND PRODUCTIVE LIVES NOW YOU CAN RISE TO THE CHALLENGE AND SUPPORT THIS EFFORT. CALL - 800-332 UNC F FEATURE Hopkins, also of the Millersville chapter. Sandre Mitchell, of the graduate chapter, talked about recruitment "We're basi- cally a can- mu n ity ser - vice organiz a- tion . I guess we recruit by example - by being positive black women We invite those young ladies who represent those qualities --- Sandre Mitchell graduate chapter member Sigma Gamma Rho we look for in our organiza- tion," she added. The sisters discussed which qualities the sorority seeks in new members, and agreed on quite a few: high moral standards, leadership potential, independence, ded ication, responsibility, acad emic focus, motivation, posi tivity and productivity. The sorority professes three basic principles: "Sisterhood, Scholarship and Service," and its members practice these principles with serious action is Sigma's most essential pri ority, a tradition established by the founders. When those young teachers established their organization in the 19205, they did so with a mission of helping to shape responsible and productive citizens through the benefit s gained by education. Today, the sorority awards annual scholarships to students. In 1984, Sigma estab -1 ished the National Education Fund to make certain that support is always available for its educational commit ment, and for research in education, health and related fields. Although Millersville's chapter is made up of just three members - Tamiko Barber, an early childhood education major; Alisha Johnson, who is a psy chology major; and Nicole Hopkins, a Spanish major, the chapter earned recognition from the university adminis - tration last year as the black Greek-letter campus organi zation with the highest col - lective grade-point average. Service beyond the campus is also a priority with the Sigmas, as expressed in their motto, "Greater Service, Greater Progress." The Sigmas work at the local, national and international levels on service projects that have been a strong part of their history. The sorority's numerous national projects include: undergraduate tutoring programs; the Gift of Life Membership Club, which provides resources for the Judie Davis Marrow Donor Recruitment Program; and cooperative work with Habitat The sisters of Sigma Gamma Rho at their Founder's Day weekend last November at Millersville University Academic excellence for Humanity, International, in building low-income hous ing around the nation. The Sigmas are also hard at work on Project Mwanamugimu, an essay contest designed to teach young people about Africa and African culture. They are also involved in Project Africa, a joint effort with Africare, to provide thousands of dol lars for the purchase of grain grinders to ease the labor of African women who perform this work At the local level, the Sigmas at Millersville are busy as well. "We've been working on community se r- vice projects to better our selves. I'm part of Big Brothers/Big Sisters," Barber said. She is waiting now to be assigned a little sister. Barber is also active in the Black Greek Council at Millersville, which is com prised of the seven Africa an American sororities and fra- ternities on campus. Interestingly, like Sigma, each of the other black Greek-letter organizations has eight or less members. The council meets weekly, plans campus events, and participates in programs such as the Lancaster Salvation Army's "Toys For Tots" drive, Barber said. The Sigmas of Millersville do face one par- "It's going to be impera - five that we become businesses that are pat - terned after the business structure. We can no longer survive on volun - teers." --- Benita Herring Executive Director Sigma Gamma Rho t icular challenge, however, because for now, membership is not growing. Part of the difficulty is due to the low minority population on the campus, Gossett said. The university places its total enrollment figure for Fall 1996 at 7,485 students. Out of that number, there are only about 500 minority stu dents. Barber, though, does not see the issue of recruit ment as a problem. "I would rather have someone come to me and say, 'l'm interested in your organization.' I have people come up to me and say, `I like the way you, Alisha and Nicole carry yourselves," she said. Barber observed a trend in decreasing member ship figures in black Greek letter organizations in her travels to other campuses, she said. "This is not just Millersville, it's all over the East Coast," she said. Part of the reason seems to be the stigma of former abusive pledge practices that still haunt Greek-letter organiza tion, despite the fact that they are now i llegal, she explained. Sti 11, Barber is philo sophical about membership figures. "I'd rather take in one person than 15 who are going to give me trouble," she said. Barber talked about the role of a black sorority on a predominantly white cam pus. "They [black stud-nts] know that they can come to us when they see us on campus." Greek organizations have a voice with the administration, she said A problem for many African American students at Millersville is the attempt to assimilate into the main- stream campus culture, Barber said "Sometimes here it's kind of hard because you're not used to seeing so many white faces," she said. Sigma's role is to help encourage black students that they can make it." For two semesters, for example, the sorority gave out excerpts of Nikki Giovanni's "Racism 101," a book designed as a manual for black college students for coping with problems of racism in the college envi ronment, she explained. Reflection about her sorority experience goes hand-in-hand with all of Barber's hard work and activ ity as leader of the small chapter. "It's made me express my view more instead of taking the backseat. I thin k it took the qualities I already had and brought them out more," she said. As executive director of Sigma's national headquar- ters in Chicago, Benita Herring provides leadership and administration for all of the Sigma chapters. She has served the sorority in an executive capacity since 1982. At the national head- quarters, Herring's day-to day responsibilities include supervising member services, which change often, and right now, collecting dues from all chapters and mailing out membership cards. In he role, she oversees the opera tion of an organization that today has about 7,200 active members, about one-tenth of the total membership since 1922, she said Herring looked at the challenges, today, to member ship in sororities and frater nities. In 1990, the National
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