Rushing into the 21st Century

By Craig Stewart
Daily Cougar Staff

Sorority Sigma Phi Omega held its first rush event of the 21st century Tuesday. This semester the rush theme is "Be All You Can Be," which was emphasized with hand-decorated picture frames, presumably to hold pictures of new members with their new sorority sisters.

This was selected as the theme, Amanda Ton said, because: "Every experience you go through in life is a learning experience. Each person gets out of it what they want."

Photo by Travis Howell

This year the Asian-interests sorority is celebrating its 50th year of operation. Sigma Phi Omega is dedicated to service, social, and academic responsibilities.

Ann Fajardo, a member since Fall 1998, said, "We go against a lot of the stereotypes of sororities, with the drinking and partying. We have done a lot for the community, like helping the Star of Hope, the March of Dimes and Workout for Hope."

When asked what the best thing about being in this sorority was, Fajardo said, "It's hard to explain. You have a bond with a big group of girls, sharing experiences with those who have come before us. Tradition is very important."

Another girl described how she had felt a little alienated at UH until she joined the sorority and met new friends. "You know that the friends you have in college are the ones you will know for the rest of your life," Debbie Hung explained.

Academics are also very important to the members. The minimum GPA required to join the organization is 2.5, and this must be maintained while the girls are members.

Sigma Phi Omega was originally founded in 1949 at the University of Southern California. Its purpose was to deal with the anti-Asian sentiment left from World War II.

The sorority now has chapters throughout California, at the University of Texas at Austin, Baylor University at Waco and UH.

The UH chapter was founded in 1995 by a group of 13 women who wanted to build a stronger awareness of Asian women on campus.

For the past four years, the UH chapter has worked toward this goal, and has also emphasized the importance of diversity.

In the sorority there have been girls of many ethnicities, including Chinese, Vietnamese, Philipino, Laotian and Hispanic, among others.

Two other important traits that the sorority emphasizes are strength and character, which are represented by the group's colors, green and yellow.

Tuesday evening, the new rushees got to know the girls in the sorority by playing games and talking with the older members.

Sigma Phi Omega's most popular rushing event is always its bowling night, when would-be members are invited to the UC gamesroom for a few games of ten-pins.

The next event the group is participating in will be open Greek night, which is a mixer for all the Greek organizations on campus.

If you are interested in joining Sigma Phi Omega, you can call (713) 952-1793 for more information.