- Omega Upsilon
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Omega Upsilon ΩΥFounded November 18, 1958
Mount Olive CollegeType Social Scope Local Motto Sisters United for Eternity Colors Cardinal and Black Symbol Lamp Flower Peace Lily Nickname O-U Headquarters Mount Olive, North Carolina, USA Homepage home page Omega Upsilon (ΩΥ), also known as “OU”, is a local sorority founded at Mount Olive College on November 18, 1958. The sorority is the only Greek-letter social sorority at the College.
Contents
History
Purpose
The purpose of Omega Upsilon is: “To uphold the cherished principles of Peace, Truth, and Sisterhood and to create a lifelong bond, thus allowing women continued success through friendship and loyalty to one another.”
The Founding of Omega Upsilon
In 1958, a group of male students at Mount Olive College decided to form a fraternity in order to increase and bolster the social life of the College. Despite opposition from the College’s president, Revered W. Burkette Raper, the fraternity was approved by the Student Council and came to be known as Delta Pi Delta.
Empowered by the actions of these men, a group of women at Mount Olive College also sought to create a sorority for social purposes. Just a week after Delta Pi Delta was approved by the Student Council, a group of twelve women also filed a petition to form a sorority called Omega Upsilon. The petition was approved on November 18, 1958.
Following this approval by the Student Council, Dr. Raper and the Board of Trustees enacted a moratorium, thus prohibiting the formation of any future fraternities and sororities at the College. Omega Upsilon remains the only social sorority at Mount Olive College today.
In 1965 Omega Upsilon secured its first private residence, making it the first female organization at Mount Olive College to have independent housing. This house was sold in 1977 and a new house was purchased in 1978, which the sorority still occupies today. In 1986 after Mount Olive College became a four-year institution, Omega Upsilon likewise became a four-year sorority.
Omega Upsilon currently boasts 80 members and has an endowment of well over half-million dollars. In recent years the sorority has been in discussions with several national sororities about a possible merger.
Founding Members
- Melissa Carruthers
- Janice Mills
- Mary Elizabeth McClinton
- Barbara Smith
- Elaine Cooper-Nelson
- Sandra Kerr
- Catherine Williams
- Sophia Jacobs
- Janine Copeland
- Phyllis Mayweather
- Alice Corbin
- Leah Pillcoat
Omega Upsilon Today
Today, Omega Upsilon is the only social sorority at Mount Olive College. Like Delta Pi Delta, it holds formal rush every fall and has a less formalized process in the spring. It does allow its members to join any of the College’s eating clubs, except Terpsichorean Society, an all-female eating club.
Omega Upsilon is involved in a number of philanthropies and charities. Its largest philanthropy is Ronald McDonald House. Its Annual “Rock-A-Thon” raises thousands of dollars each year for Ronald McDonald House.
The sorority has also been heavily involved in a community service project called "Reading for Joy," which involves members traveling to area nursing homes and reading to the elderly.[1]
References
- ^ "Omega Upsilon Sorority". Reading for Joy. Goldsboro News Argus. March 2005. http://www.newsargus.com/news/archives/2005/03/27/moc_sorority_sponsors_reading_visits_to_elderly/index.shtml.
External links
Categories:- 1958 establishments
- Organizations established in 1958
- Student societies in the United States
- Local fraternities and sororities
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