O M E GA G A Z E T T E VOL. 5, ISSUE 7
Inside: Kallistei
Featuring: Alternative Spring Break ● Advisor Appreciation Month ● New MGC Sorority Reveal
President Updates MULTICULTURAL GREEK COUNCIL
Ashruta Acharya Multicultural Greek Council President
MGC is proud to announce that Wichita, an organization that empowers PANHELLENIC COUNCIL (PC) Lambda Pi Upsilon will be joining our women that have been victims and greek community next fall, turning our survivors of domestic violence in the ladies of Leading Empowered Women Greater Wichita area. Thank you to into greeks! Delta Sigma Theta and everyone that donated and supported Alpha Kappa Alpha had great events this this initiative! For the month of April, March and a lot of our members also MGC’s main focus will be Step Show on had exciting trips throughout the Spring April 28. Please make sure to get tickets Break Week. Make sure to check out from the WSU Bookstore or Koch their adventures featured in MGC and Arena and come support all WSU FSL social media platforms! For organizations that have worked so hard the month of March, our council was to create an amazing event! actively collecting hygiene donations to benefit the Women’s Initiative Network
ORDER OF OMEGA
Maddy Wituk Order of Omega President
Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful spring break and are ready for the last busy few months of the school year. Order of Omega would love to welcome our new treasurer Angelique Banh. Angelique is a sophomore majoring in accounting and minoring in management and marketing. She is also in the honors college. Along with her membership in Gamma Phi Beta, she also holds leadership
positions on the Panhellenic Council, Community Service Board, and Love Your Melon. She is also a campus rep for PINK and the Social Life. Angelique is planning our upcoming fundraiser at the end of April, so be on the lookout for information to come. With finals just around the corner, we have study halls planned for our members to prepare for exams.
INTERFRATERNITY COUNCIL
Jared Chamberlain Interfraternity Council President
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Hey everybody. IFC has some fun and exciting events coming up in the month of April. First off, we have the Boys and Girls Club Field day on April 16 in the Heskett Center. Children from the Boys and Girls Club will be coming to Wichita State for a fun day full of games and hanging out with the greeks of Wichita State University. Come on out and1help make it a great day for these kids. We also have partnered with the Wichita Area Sexual
Assault Center to once again put on Take Back the Night, an event raising awareness and knowledge of sexual assault. Delta Upsilon is also hosting their first Ping Pong Palooza table tennis tournament on April 8. Make sure to follow our Twitter @ wichitastateifc for more information and updates on what IFC has in store for you over these upcoming months. See you later!
President Updates PANHELLENIC COUNCIL
Aleyah Murray Panhellenic Council President
This is when the count down begins to the end of the spring semester. The Panhellenic Council has been working on some exciting events with our community such as planning a 90s Block Party mixer for our sororities, participating in Stroll Like an Alpha, attending Kallistei, hosting and planning Post Grad and PC, and more. This past month we reopened our Vice President of Administration position and had a new officer selected. We are very excited to add a new member to our team. The Panhellenic Council will also be voting on a new philanthropy called Circle of Sisterhood. The Circle of Sisterhood Foundation is a mechanism
by which all sorority women can stand together across affiliation, age, color, and creed to make a difference in the lives of millions of girls and women around the world. We are also partnering with Community Service Board for a park clean up, to not only connect as a community of our own but also give back to the community we live in.
member highlight
Theresa Doan Sigma Psi Zeta
Theresa “BOLT” Doan is a senior studying International Business and is our current Community Service chair. She chose to rush Sigmas because she loves what we stand for— empowerment and standing up for any violence against women. She continues to help provide opportunities for our members to give back to the community through various ways whether it is passing out newspapers to the elderly, or volunteering for the NCAA block party. Theresa’s personality always brings light whenever she enters the room and her positive and motivated attitude continues to push other sisters to do their best within our sorority. Thank you Theresa for all that you have done and continue to do for our community!
member highlight
Tyler Cotner
Tyler Cotner is a recent addition to the initiates of Lambda, but he is no stranger. Tyler has been there to see us grow from our inception here at Wichita State. He is a member of our founding fathers and we are now glad to call him our brother. Tyler is an enterprising engineering student, and a devoted recruitment chair. We are very lucky to have his wit and spirit at our disposal and as a part of our brotherhood.
Lambda Chi Alpha
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FROM THE DESK OF
Fraternity & Sorority Life
Rani Somers,
Coordinator of Fraternity & Sorority Life rani.somers@wichita.edu
Gabriel Fonseca, Student Involvement Assistant Director gabriel.fonseca@wichita.edu
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Welcome to the wonderful and busy month that we call April! In March, Fraternity and Sorority Life held yet another successful Kallistei Sorority Wellness Retreat on March 9 and 10 at Camp Hiawatha. We took 5 facilitators and 20 students and topics were discussed surrounding all areas of wellness, including physical wellness, mental wellness, and emotional wellness. We were also able to have great conversations surrounding what it means to be a sorority woman in today’s society. March was a month that held excitement for the Multicultural Greek Council. Leading Empowered Women is an associate member of the Multicultural Greek Council with an interest in becoming a Hispanic sorority within the council. In order to find the perfect addition to our community, Student Involvement held a national search by reaching out to all Hispanic-based sororities from across the country. Through the search, we had around four sororities apply and we invited two of the organizations to campus to meet our community. Through the feedback from our search committee, the members of Leading Empowered Women, and the Fraternity and Sorority Life staff, we made the decision to extend an offer to an organization and they accepted! We are happy to announce that we will be bringing Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority, Inc. to join our Multicultural Greek Council community this summer. There is more information on page 7 in this edition of the Omega Gazette. We are excited to work with this incredible organization and add to our Greek Community!
We are still actively searching for an additional Coordinator of Fraternity and Sorority Life. We have decided to re-open the application in order to find a quality candidate that best fits the needs of our community at this time. We are incredibly excited to hire a passionate individual to work with our team! We encourage all of our students to utilize our Fraternity and Sorority Life Calendar on our website to keep up to date with the events that are happening in our community. We love seeing our students supporting other organizations! Make sure to tag Fraternity and Sorority Life on Instagram (@wichitastategreeks). As always, if you have any questions about Fraternity and Sorority Life, please email us at greeklife@wichita.edu.
ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK EXPERIENCE Learning. Passion. & Growth. The Alternative Spring Break trip I attended in Washington DC really allowed me to have the opportunity to learn in a different way. This experience taught me more than what I would normally be taught in a classroom setting. I was able to work hands on with service projects that assisted in hunger and homelessness in an urban community. I learned that sitting down and having conversations with the individuals being affected by these systematic issues can really open your eyes
Alternative Spring Break is an opportunity that no one should pass up. I went on the Catalina Island trip. It was an amazing experience because I was able to see and learn things in an island setting where environmental issues are more emphasized. We helped to build better trails for hikers to reduce human impact on the environment. We also maintained plants on the roads and in the Wrigley Memorial Garden to make
to the struggles they face. I learned that having those conversations touches them as much as it touches you. I learned a list of things and because of this, I have grown and my mind has expanded. Not only has my mindset grown, but my passion for service and specifically these two issues. I’m so grateful to have been able to experience all of this and will continue to use my talents to keep giving back while learning and growing along the way. -Maribel Sanchez
sure everything looked nice and clean to observe. After coming back home, I’ve realized the importance of changing our habits to impact the environment positively and how effective a closebonded team can be. I cherish the memories I had from this experience. -Ammar Mahdi
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K a l l i s t e i S o r o r i t y We l l n e s s R e t r e a t
Kallistei is an annual retreat in which sorority women come together to discuss issues surrounding wellness and issues affecting sorority women in today’s society. This year, our retreat was held on March 9 & 10 at the Hiawatha Camp & Retreat Center in Park City, Kansas. We were so happy to have every active sorority on our campus in attendance! With 20 students and 6 facilitators, we had a full group to learn from and get to know. We focused on various areas of the wellness wheel, such as emotional, intellectual, physical and mental wellness. We also spent time discussing different issues that are currently affecting sorority women. It was truly an amazing weekend!
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ADVISOR APPRECIATION WEEK In honor of Advisor Appreciation Month, we would like to recognize all of our chapter advisors for our Greek organizations. Thank you all for your hard work and time commitments to Fraternity & Sorority Life at Wichita State. We appreciate you! Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. : Joseph Guillory & Danielle Johnson
Kappa Kappa Gamma: Lynn Loveland & Jennifer Nolte
Alpha Phi: Rebecca Reiling & Bobby Gandu
Lambda Chi Alpha: Andrew Walker & Gary Goodrich
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. : Cassie Overton & Shareika Fisher
Leading Empowered Women: Rocio del Aguila
Beta Theta Pi: Jason Carlson & Sandy Sipes
Omega Psi Phi: Derrick Judkins & Kevin Harrison
Chi Sigma Tau Fraternity, Inc. : Alicia Newell & Branden Tang
Phi Beta Sigma: Elijah Crandall
Delta Delta Delta: Dawn Tiffany & Angela Paul Delta Gamma: Lauren Smith Delta Upsilon: Tony Durano & Cathy Durano Delta Sigma Theta: Sharon Collins & Samone Thomas Farmhouse: John Watkins & Kyle Reynolds Gamma Phi Beta: Ashley Sevart & Kim Sandlin Kappa Alpha Psi: Eric Hendrick & Ricki Ellison Kappa Delta Chi: Melissa Conley & Mireya Serna
Phi Delta Theta: Gavin Smith & Bobby Gandu Sigma Alpha Epsilon: Nate Schwiethale & Tate Blanton Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc.: Fidel Serrano & Alicia Sanchez Sigma Phi Epsilon: Tyler Joe & Brian Austin Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority, Inc. : Tegan Perry & Cindy Nguyen Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. : Brittany Thompson, Nashell Williams, & Cathy Durano Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.: Dr. Marche Fleming-Randle & LaShonda Garnes
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W S U We l c o m e s N e w S o r o r i t y
Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority, Latinas Ponderosas Unidas, Inc. Multicultural Greek Council Expansion
Student Involvement would like to announce the selection of Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority, Latinas Ponderosas Unidas, Inc. for expansion at Wichita State University, which will take place beginning in the summer of 2018. Over the past few months, a selection committee and members of the Greek community have reviewed and evaluated several national organizations to decide the best chapter to bring to campus. This Latina-based, all-inclusive sorority will charter a colony with
the focus of empowering their members through learning about their varied cultures and of helping the underprivileged members of American Society. Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority, Inc., was founded in November 1992 at the State University of New York College at Geneseo. The goal of the sorority is to promote the values of Family, Education, Motivation, Advancement, Learning and Exposure.
Philanthropy: Children Initiative: Asthma Awareness Colors: Red, White, Gold, Black Motto: Con Amor, Dignidad, y Orgullo (with Love, Dignity, and Pride) Mascot: Spotted Jaguar Flower: White Rose with Red Tips (Fire and Ice Rose) Stone: Emerald
For more information on the organization, please visit www.lambdapiupsilon.org.
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SPRING BREAK DESTINATIONS
Beta Theta Pi - Colorado
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Raven Hodges, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc - 2018 Kansas City Kansas Delta Sigma Theta Alumnae Chapter Miss Jabberwock Pagent.
Carley Phillips, Delta Gamma Logan Canyon, Utah
Sigma Phi Epsilon - Panama City Beach, Florida
Karson Younger, Kappa Kappa Gamma - Times Square, New York
Gamma Phi Beta representing WSU as Transition Mentors at a regional conference in KC
Aliyah Funschelle, Delta Delta Delta - Covering the NCAA Tournament in San Diego.
Chi Sigma Tau - MAASU 2018 Spring Conference in Columbus, Ohio.
Jenna Knight, Gamma Phi Beta - Gonaives, Haiti
SPRING BREAK DESTINATIONS
Delta Upsilon - Manitou Springs, CO
Sigma Lambda Beta and Delta Gamma - Oklahoma City
Alpha Phi - Estes Park, Colorado
Nadia Al-Khalidi - Delta GammaUniversity of Illinois for the American College Dance Association
Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority, Inc. March for Our Lives in ICT
Morgan Marie, Kappa Kappa Gamma - Chicago, Illinois
Lizzy Morgan, Alpha Phi Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
Gamma Phi Beta - Cap Haitien, Haiti Missions Trip
Ali Phelps, Alpha Phi - Santa Catalina, California for Alternative Spring Break
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Chapter Updates Kappa Kappa Gamma On March 2, our ladies got to meet their pen pals at Oaklawn Elementary for Dr. Seuss Day, which was very exciting! We appreciate all the book donations from everyone in the community. We had more than enough for all the kids to take one home, which is the highlight of this event. April is a very busy month for Kappa. We have our Parent’s Day where we will be having a cookout and attending a WSU baseball game. We will be initiating 5 great new members on April 21. And lastly, our philanthropy event Custard with Kappa will be on April 26 and 27, so make sure to get your tickets for $5 from any Kappa!
Sigma Phi Epsilon The men of Sigma Phi Epsilon are off to a great start to the spring semester! We have recently had mixers with Kappa Kappa Gamma and Gamma Phi Beta. We had a successful basketball season, reaching the championship game! We have been putting a lot of work into our Hippodrome performance and we are eagerly awaiting the performance. SigEp will be hosting our philanthropy event, Pennies for Wishes, on April 7. We partner with sororities and collect change at different intersections around Wichita. All of the money we raise goes to Make a Wish Kansas. We had brothers travel all over the country, from New York, to Florida, to Colorado over spring break. We hope everyone in the Greek community had a safe and fun Spring Break!
Delta Gamma Delta Gamma has been having a great Spring Semester. Anchor Splash and Bash was in early March and we are proud to announce that we raised $6,950 for Heather’s Camp Inc. and The Delta Gamma Foundation! Our sisters had many fun plans for Spring Break and were ready to jump back into school. Looking ahead, we will be having our annual Pancake Feed on April 6 & 7, so find a DG for tickets!
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Chapter Updates Gamma Phi Beta March was a busy month for the Gamma Phi Beta’s. It started with Greek Awards. We are proud of our sisters that received awards this year. Ashtyn Rottinghaus received the Outstanding Sophomore award, and Kayla Hasse received the Order of Omega Outstanding Junior award. As a chapter, we also received the Rhatigan Gold Standard for Fraternal Excellence, as well as the Christine-SchneikartLuebbe Camaraderie award. We congratulate all of the other chapters on the awards they received. We then took time to focus on our two values of loyalty and love as we had our annual spring sisterhood event. One of our members, Paige Gray, said that this sisterhood event solidified her appreciation of “being a part of an organization that supports me just as much as I support the sisters in it.” We also had a blast hosting an International Women’s Day celebration with the women of Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority, Inc. As Gamma Phi Beta women, we are called to aspire to the highest type of womanhood, and we loved empowering other women to do the same while getting to know the Sigma Psi Zeta women better as well. Looking forward to April, we have to mention Grilled Cheese with GPhiB’s on April 17 and 18. Find any Gamma Phi and purchase a ticket for $5 for delicious unlimited grilled cheese! We can’t wait to see you there helping us support our local philanthropy, Heartspring.
Lambda Chi Alpha This semester has gone well for Lambda Chi. We concluded the fall semester by welcoming our two newest initiates, David Ozinga and Tyler Cotner. Our spring semester has yielded progress towards growing as a chapter and as individuals. We are proud of the associate class we have consisting of Rupert Nunez and Logan Kilpatrick. What we are primarily focused on at the moment is our Philanthropy event Lambda Lap coming April 7. All proceeds go to our partner, Feeding America. We hope to see many of our fellow Greek students out to compete and enjoy so that we may do our part in helping the less fortunate.
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Chapter Updates Alpha Phi March was full of fun and basketball! We were proud to support our Shocker basketball team as they played in the American Athletic Conference tournament and NCAA tournament. We initiated seven amazing new members this month! Five of our sisters were invited to join the Fairmount chapter Mortar Board! Also, in March, our sister, Jennifer Mattar was accepted into medical school at the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, where she will be studying Osteopathic Medicine.We are so proud of them! Our sisters had a refreshing Spring Break and are ready to get back to school. Alpha Phi has two events coming up in April, which are Alpha PHIFA and Taco Phi’st. Our second annual Alpha PHIFA soccer tournament will take place on April 7 from 11 AM-4 PM at the Wichita State Metroplex. You can buy tickets from any Alpha Phi for $3, or they are $5 at the door. Our other annual event, Taco Phi’st, will be hosted from April 19 to April 21 at the Alpha Phi house. On April 19, there will be dinner from 6 PM- 8 PM. On April 20, there is a lunch shift from 11 AM-1:30 PM, dinner shift from 5:30 PM-8 PM, and a late-night shift from 11 PM-1 AM. On April 21, there will be a dinner shift from 11 AM-1:30 PM. You can buy tickets from any Alpha Phi for $6, or they are $8 at the door. For more information, go to our Twitter page at @WichitaAlphaPhi, or the Wichita Alpha Phi Facebook page. We hope to see you there!
Sigma Psi Zeta In 2017, our chapter received chapter status at the Sigma Psi Zeta National Convention in Denver, CO. Alpha Theta is one of the two charters that accomplished this goal in under five years. Recently, we were awarded the 2017 Rhatigan Sorority Legacy Award for Sorority of the Year. These are just a couple of the milestones our chapter has reached within the past year. Currently, our chapter is looking forward to hosting our Annual Clothesline Project which helps bring awareness to gender-based violence and our Annual Rise and Shine breakfast feed which will take place in May, so make sure to keep a look out for what we have planned in 2018!
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Chapter Updates Phi Delta Theta In the month of February, we initiated our newest class into the international lifelong brotherhood of Phi Delta Theta. A few of our members were able to attend a Recruitment Workshop, hosted by our GHQ, in Norman, OK. We also took another trip to Manhattan for the Bi-Province Leadership Retreat. Both of these events were great opportunities to communicate with Brothers and help us become the greatest versions of ourselves! In the month of March, we just wrapped up our longest tradition as a house, that being Spaghetti Feed. We had a great turn out and are looking forward to this event again come the Fall. We also won our second consecutive Intramural Basketball Championship! Both teams, SigEp and Phi Delt, had great crowds to come support and the atmosphere in the Heskett Center that night was indescribable. On March 15, we celebrated our Founder’s Day with the ladies of Delta Gamma since we both share the same Founder’s Day date. We are looking forward to what April has in store, especially the Hippodrome competition that will be here before we know it!
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. The Epsilon Alpha Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated has had a busy March filled with sisterly relations and community service projects. Members volunteered during the Men’s and Women’s Senior Basketball nights taking tickets, as well as volunteering at the boys and girls club mentoring young students. This year we also held our annual Skee Week filled with events serving the community as well as empowering women.
Kappa Delta Chi Four of our Alpha Alpha Chapter sisters were inducted into the Wichita Alum Chapter. We had our super fun social with the gentlemen of Lambda Chi Alpha where we let out our inner Picasso’s #GREEKUNITY The Alpha Alpha chapter continues to bond and maintain our sisterhood, in this case through Zumba!
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Spring 2018
Standing Up, Stepping In and Speaking Out February 5 | 5 P.M. | RSC 202 The ability to manage risk in a chapter is one of the most important responsibilities of chapter leadership. Learn how to assess the risk level of events, prepare your members to step in and understand how risk can affect the chapter.
Recommended Officers: Presidents, Vice Presidents, Vice Presidents of Programming, Standards Officers, Risk Management Chairs
Moving Forward Together March 12 | 5 P.M. | RSC 202 It is hard to work with a group of people, whether this is your executive board, chapter or council. Discover how to communicate effectively and utilize techniques to work efficiently through conflict so that your chapter and council can be successful. Conflict is important for a chapter to grow and hear diverse perspectives, but it is how you work through the conflict that will help strengthen the chapter. Recommended Officers: All Chapter Members
Padding the Chapter’s Pockets April 2 | 5 P.M. | RSC 202 Looking to increase your chapter’s budget so that you can provide more opportunities and programs for your members? Learn how to come up with fun events and unique options that will help your chapter raise additional funds. Recommended Officers: Vice Presidents of Finance, Treasurers, Philanthropy Chairs, Fundraising Chairs
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Looking for an on campus job this Fall? Student Involvement is looking for a Leadership Student Assistant to work with our leadership programs starting in August!!
Apply here: https://app.joinhandshake.com/jobs/1446961/ share_preview via @joinhandshake
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Upcoming Events April
4/2: FSL Workshop: Padding the Chapter Pockets, 5 p.m. in RSC 202 4/2: Step Show Late Team Registration DUE 4/3: Sigma Psi Zeta - Clothesline Project T-Shirt Making Day 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 4/4: MGC Hump Day 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. 4/7: Lambda Chi - 2nd Annual Lambda Lap 4/7: Alpha Phi - Alpha Phifa 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., Hughes Metropolitan Complex 4/8: Sigma Lambda Beta and HALO: Miss Latina WSU Pageant 6 p.m. – 10 p.m., CAC Theater 4/8: Delta Upsilon - Ping Pong Palooza 2 p.m. 4/9 – 4/14: Hippodrome Week 4/10: Sigma Psi Zeta - Red Flag Campaign 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. 4/13: 2019 Step Show Exec Applications DUE 4/16 – 4/20: Alpha Phi Alpha Week 4/17 – 4/18: Gamma Phi Beta - Grilled Cheese with GPHIB 4/19 – 4/21: Alpha Phi – Taco Phi’st 4/28: 9th Annual Shock the Yard: Step Show 7 p.m. 4/28: Beta Theta Pi - Beta Bash 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
COUNCIL MEETINGS... IFC
Tuesdays 4-5:30 p.m. RSC 202
MGC
Mondays 3:30-5 p.m. RSC 202
PC
Fridays 2:15-3:45 p.m. RSC 202