Elizabeth Nielson

The Greek letters Delta Gamma influenced Delta Gamma members to do good every day. Doing good in the community, doing good in school, and just being good. In the Delta Gamma Sorority, the rituals and lifestyle is sacred to the individual’s that participate in Delta Gamma’s sisterhood.

“People told me to try and rush so I definitely did and I loved it right then, it was fun and I loved having people be so nice to me,” Hagen said.
After going through rush Haugen decided to be apart of the Delta Gamma sisterhood.

“I choose Delta Gamma because it felt like the right decision, and I felt good intentions with all the active members of Delta Gamma, and I can’t wait to find a special bond with these amazing individuals,” Hagen said.
As for Delta Gamma, it was founded in 1873, in Oxford, Mississippi. The sorority’s traditions and rituals haven’t changed. Every Monday, Delta Gamma meetings are held in the Chapter room in its their house at 5 p.m., right after dinner. Members receive fliers of information about upcoming events and read sections of their ritual book together to remember the sacred sisterhood of Delta Gamma. Reading through the Ritual Delta Gamma handbook every week helps the community to remember the important information that Delta Gamma was established on, on December 25, 1873. This literature is shared only with Delta Gamma members, with the intent of creating a closed sisterhood bond.

“The special bond that we get to share with each other is lifetime and a memorable experience that you get to be apart of,” Kelsey Routh, a Delta Gamma an alumnus explained.

The Delta Gamma’s philanthropy is service for sight; Friends for Sight is the business that members work with. Monica Daly works for Friends for Sight. She emails the Delta Gamma members sign-up sheets weekly for them to help her do eye screenings across Utah, mainly for glaucoma.

“It makes me frustrated and despondent when people that aren’t apart of greek life think we only party, but we do much more than that,” Tera Mahoney said.

“Someone would rather read about the rape charges and the underage sorority girl that had to go to the hospital for drinking too much than the stories of the group of sorority girls that raise money annually for their local or national philanthropy,” Routh said. This certain reputation is brought upon Delta Gamma members because of stereotypes. The stereotype of a sorority girl on Hubpages is: a beautiful girl that is uneducated whom has no morals, and is an alcoholic, daddy’s girl, super self-centered, dramatic, and classless.

“ I have gained confidence throughout my years, and also I have a support system through out the rest of my life, Routh said. Through these negative reputations and stereotypes sororities never have the opportunity to pronounce the good in what they do, Routh said.”

“So I haven’t been initiated yet, I will get initiated in a couple of weeks and I’m so excited, but it wasn’t what I expected at all. I was expecting people partying, girls not being to nice, but it was opposite, I seriously love all the girls and it’s awesome,” Hagen said.

Statistics have shown at Association of America Universities public research, that fraternity and sorority members manage to be more involved, allowing the involvement to be positively related to student learning and intellectual development.

“As a result, it would be reasonable to expect higher, not lower levels of learning and development for greek members,” Gary R Pike, said in his study.

“ I don’t want to be referred as a sorority girl, that’s why I never paid for friends while I am in college, but, I, mean let people do what they want to do,” said University of Utah Hilary Soter, who has never joined a sorority.
Delta Gamma has impacted several lives. Through sisters, Greek members, and students at the University of Utah, several have interacted with each other, not even realizing if they are apart of greek life. Should people express to their peers that they are apart of this community or should it be kept a secret? Being in a sorority over all has given me the chance to be me and meet people whether they are in DG or in the community and I wouldn’t change my experience for the world, “Routh said. “I’m a proud Delta Gamma.”

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