Our History
Alpha Phi
In September of 1872, twenty young women
entered Syracuse University. As the University first opened its
doors to women, the challenges of pursuing their studies in a
thoroughly male dominated environment set in. These women had a
pressing need for support and friendship. Among these earnest
students entering in August of 1872, were six freshmen, three
sophomores, and a junior whose "brave hearts were filled with a
noble purpose and whose eyes saw clearly into the future." These
were the founders of Alpha Phi. These women were the original
ten.
Twenty years later, Kate
Hogoboom Gilbert wrote:
"At that day and age of the world, coeducation was an
experiment, and the fifteen or twenty girls in the new Syracuse
University were made to feel daily that they stood in slippery
places; in other words their presence in the classroom was
unwelcome and that their position was by no means secure."
(Alpha Phi Quarterly)
Of the original ten, three were
elected to Phi Beta Kappa, one earned a Ph.D. degree, and three
were listed in WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA.
Taken from "the Ivy Leaf"
Our Founders
Clara Bradley Burdette
Elizabeth Hubbell Shults
Florence Chidester Lukens Ida Gilbert Houghton
Kate Hogoboom Gilbert
Louise Shepard Hancock
Martha Foote Crowe
Jane Sara Higham
Rena A. Michaels Atchison Clara Sittser Williams
Delta Kappa
Chapter
Founded in 1950, our local
sorority was known as Iota Xi Omega. The aim of the women was to
further musical interests and high cultural values among its
members. The sorority was active with homecoming activities, the
inter-sorority formal, Song Fest, Winter Carnival and the
Variety Show. On September 8, 1962 Iota Xi Omega became the
colony of Alpha Phi National Sorority. The Delta Kappa chapter
of Alpha Phi was installed on March 2, 1963.
