Alpha Delta Sigma
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Alpha Delta Sigma (ΑΔΣ) is a sorority that was founded in April 2003 at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Alpha Delta Sigma was the first sorority to be founded at the University of Alabama, and the first sorority ever to be founded with an emphasis on diversity.
Alpha Delta Sigma's goal is to promote diversity awareness. The sorority strives to be a symbol of equality and stability. They seek to unify women through scholarship and service to the community.
[edit] History
Alpha Delta Sigma Sorority started out in March of 2002 when the Dean of Students, Tom Strong, in response to the lack of any integration of the National Panhellenic Conference sororities at the University of Alabama, called a meeting of all the interested undergraduate women who were not already in a sorority to discuss how we could go about starting up a new and multicultural one here. Our options were to (a.) bring in one of the 11 National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) sororities that aren’t currently represented here with the understanding that the sorority would not bar anyone from joining based on race, religion, etc; (b.) bring in one of the nationally recognized multicultural sororities; or (c.) start our own sorority from scratch. As it turned out, about 50 women attended that fateful meeting. A few of them are now sisters in Alpha Delta Sigma.
During the summer of 2002, the members of the organization who had remained in town worked closely with two advisors to pull the sorority together. The group decided on the name Uniting Capstone Women and began the task of deciding which of the three options proposed was the appropriate one for the organization. It was decided that the best option would be to attempt to bring to the campus one of the many nationally recognized multicultural sororities. The members of Uniting Capstone Women researched many, many multicultural sororities, eventually narrowing the search down to just one. But after about a semester of working on becoming a member of that group, most of the women in Uniting Capstone Women decided that it just wasn't right for them.
Nine of those women became the founders of Alpha Delta Sigma. It was decided unanimously at the first meeting apart from the rest of the group that their sorority should be started from scratch. After all the research that had been done on multicultural sororities, they had discovered that none of these national groups fit their needs perfectly. They decided that instead of being a sorority based on “multiculturalism,” they wanted to be based on “diversity.” The term encompasses so many more things, such as socio-economic background and sexual orientation, as well as just race and religion. They thought that term "diversity" would fit them better. They decided on the name and official pillars of the sorority, as well as symbols, colors, a crest, a badge, and a flower.
By the time that Alpha Delta Sigma's Alpha Class was inducted, the group was down to nine members. All nine of them successfully completed the pledge process under the guidance of Ashley Al-Sayyad now known as the Vice-President of New Membership, and three pledge educators who wrote all of the sorority rituals. The nine founders of Alpha Delta Sigma Sorority were Ashley Mohammed Al-Sayyad (Vice-President of New Membership), Jennifer Ann Biladeau (Secretary), Rebecca Marie DiPiazza (President), Elizabeth Frenkel (Vice-President of External Affairs), Elizabeth Leona Fuller (Vice-President of Membership and Sorority Education), Leigh Ann Hargrove (Vice-President of Service), Jennifer Michelle Henley (Executive Vice-President), Jessica Rose Maxwell (Vice-President of Social Affairs), and Melody Marie Twilley (Treasurer). They were initiated on April 03, 2003 at Gorgas House, one of the oldest buildings on the campus of the University of Alabama.
The summer after initiation, the sorority worked very hard to ensure all of the operations of Alpha Delta Sigma would run smoothly. Several members of the sorority worked to write a National Constitution and By-laws for the sorority, as well as by-laws for the Alpha Chapter. They set up Nationals for the sorority, so that when the time came to expand, they would be ready. They started making plans for Alpha Delta Sigma's first Formal Recruitment. Thanks to the extraordinary effort put forth by all of the founders of the sorority, the group doubled in number with its second pledge class, accepting nine new members as its Beta Class. The sorority continues to grow and expand, and hopes to soon provide a home for university women all over the country. This hope is best exemplified in the official purpose of the sorority:
"The purpose of this Sorority shall be to unite college women in a bond of sisterhood that will defy all barriers and discrimination. Each sister shall be equal in honor and will be welcomed without distinction. The members of this Sorority shall be a symbol of equality and stability. We will unify a group of women through scholarship and service to the community."
[edit] Vision of Alpha Delta Sigma
"The purpose of this Sorority shall be to unite college women in a bond of sisterhood that will defy all barriers and discrimination. Each sister shall be equal in honor and will be welcomed without distinction. The members of this Sorority shall be a symbol of equality and stability. We will unify a group of women through scholarship and service to the community."
