Chi Omega members; Kristin Wood, junior elementary education major, Brook Hoover, junior English secondary education major, Kaile Teeter, junior nursing major, and Ashley Bonjour, junior health promotion major, enjoy dinner together Tuesday night at Casa Ramos. Jonathan Elliott/The Bulletin

In Greek life there is a saying, “From the outside looking in, you can’t understand it. From the inside looking out, you can’t explain it.”

Chi Omega

Greek life is one of the best organizations to be involved in on campus, according to Kristin Wood, Chi Omega president and junior elementary education major.

“Greek life does a lot of community service in the community, has the highest GPA on campus, and has taught me great leadership skills that I can take with me when I become a teacher,” Wood said. Wood has been a member of Chi Omega for three years.

The Nu Zeta Chapter of Chi Omega was founded on April 8, 1961, at Emporia State University. Ladies must be full-time students at ESU with a 2.0 GPA or above to join. Now, Chi Omega has 44 active members and 2 new members.

“We have women from all majors in the chapter from elementary education, nursing, sociology, premed, accounting, business administration, theater, and a bunch more,” Wood said.

Chi Omega has six purposes: scholarship, campus activities, sisterhood, career and personal development, community service and social/friendship.

Laura Bosiljevac, freshman of biology major, joined Chi Omega at the beginning of this year.

“I have had so many wonderful experiences and opportunities from being in Chi Omega and just through Greek Life in general,” Bosiljevac said. “I have also met many amazing people and learned more than I ever hoped to…my sisters in Chi Omega have been great and if possible even more fantastic than I thought when I first joined the house… many of the people in other Greek houses have turned into great friends and mentors as well, and have been just as wonderful.”

Bosiljevac said she feels that the sorority life is a special connection to the girls, and she likes the values and energy of it.

Chi Omega meets every Tuesday night. They have sisterhood events, Mom’s Day, Dad’s Day, Siblings & Best Friends Day, along with events with other sororities and fraternities on campus. And also involve in Relay For Life and Rebuilding Together each spring.

“Greek life has been nothing but positive for me,” Walter said. “It is a network of opportunities, both social and scholarly that can build a successful future.”

Members of Phi Delta Theta fraternity participate in a formal dinner together Tuesday night at the Phi Delta Theta house. Jonathan Elliott/The Bulletin

Phi Delta Theta

Phi Delta Theta President and senior crime and delinquency studies major Jeremy Walter says Greek life is a way for men and women to grow and mature into more well-rounded people than they would otherwise be.

Phi Delta Theta Fraternity was founded in 1848 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The Emporia State University chapter was founded 120 years later in 1968.

According to Walter, Phi Delta Theta was founded on the principles of friendship, sound Learning and rectitude.

Phi Delta Theta now has 22 members right now, with three of them not initiated into full membership. New members must attain a 2.5 GPA, be of sound moral character and complete the new member program with their fellow Phikeia, or pledge.

This program includes planning and executing a community service event, a fundraiser, a house improvement project and a social event.

“We have a lot of music majors right now, but the composition of the house changes constantly. We encourage diversity in our studies as much as possible,” Walter said.

Phi Delta Theta has a formal dinner for the chapter every Tuesday.

Matthew Crome, freshman management information systems major, joined Phi Delta Theta this semester.

“I agree with not only the values of the fraternity, but I instantly made friends with the men who were already members,” Crome said. “My grandfather, along with several other family members, had been involved in Greek life, so they helped alleviate any fears that I had.”

After joining, Crome said he met so many more people. He had assumed everyone was involved on campus and active in events, but he said he didn’t realize that so many of the most active people were Greek.

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The Chi Omega dance team competes in “So you think you can step?” hosted by the Black Student Union Saturday night in Albert Taylor Hall. Chi Omega’s win broke the two year reign of Sigma Sigma Sigma. Giri Nam/The Bulletin

Chi Omega broke Sigma Sigma Sigma’s two year reign as champions of the Black Student Union sponsored step show “So you think you can step?” on Saturday.

This was the fifth annual step show in which Emporia State’s sororities, including Alpha Sigma Alpha and Alpha Sigma Tau competed. While not a part of the competition, there were also routines by the ESU Stingers, Dynasty and the Interfraternity Council.

“Step is an activity mostly done by Greek organizations that allows for sororities to step or move in unison,” said LaToya Green, president of BSU. “It’s really a matter of pronunciation.”

Green said that step is an opportunity for Greeks to show pride for their organizations.

“When you do step as a Greek organization it’s about marking your territory and letting people know, ‘We’re here, we’re together, we’re unified and this is how we display it outwardly,’” Green said.

A member of Chi Omega, Laura Bosiljevac, freshman biology major, said that team collaboration earned the sorority its title.

“It was absolutely amazing (to find out we had won) because we had worked so hard and I was just really excited, especially for the seniors because they put a lot in, everybody did, but they really took charge and helped the newer members,” Bosiljevac said.

With practices sometimes three times a week and late into the night, Chi Omega perfected its routine, which appealed to the insanity within everyone as it was performed with stage props depicting a psych ward.

“We learned everything piece by piece and we didn’t learn it all the first time,” Bosiljevac said. “We learned set by set and when we got one down we started another then toward the end we learned the rest of the steps and began to put in them in order.”

An audience member whose daughter performed with both Chi Omega and the ESU Stingers thought that Chi Omega deserved its new title.

“The Chi Omega one was my favorite,” said Sheri Hays. “But I don’t think it’s just because I’m biased, I think it was really a great dance.”

Aside from providing entertainment, BSU also collected canned goods for the Salvation Army.

“From what I understand, the vast majority of the people who came to watch the show brought canned goods and the audience was about 450 to 500 people,” Green said.

Green said this was her favorite part of the event.

“I think that was a big part that doesn’t always get the publicity and the glam and glitz that it should because we go to school here, we live in this community for four to five years,” Green said. “Us collecting those cans is more than the incentive just to get a dollar off of your ticket, it’s a chance for us to say ‘Hey Emporia we appreciate you and this is what we want to do to allow families to have a good thanksgiving.’ It’s always good to support where ever it is that you are.”

Sarah Shaw/The Bulletin

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