Sigma Phi Omega

Sigma Phi Omega
ΣΦΩ
Founded	1949 (1949) University of Southern California
Type	Social-Service
Affiliation	Independent
Status	Active
Emphasis	Asian-Interest
Scope	Regional
Motto	"The Reward is in the Doing"
Pillars	Strength and Character
Colors	Kelly Green and   Maize Yellow
Symbol	White Dove
Flower	Yellow Rose
Chapters	9
Headquarters	United States
Website	www.sigmaphiomega.com

Sigma Phi Omega (ΣΦΩ), also known as Sigmas, is an Asian American interest sorority founded at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California

History

Sigma Phi Omega was founded at the University of Southern California in 1949, and is the oldest Asian American sorority at USC and UT Austin and third oldest Asian sorority in the United States. It was originally established as a social organization for Japanese and Japanese American women at USC and has since then come to consist of a diverse membership of women hailing from numerous racial and cultural backgrounds.

At its beginning, the founding mothers of Sigma Phi Omega were invited by Chi Alpha Delta, an Asian-American sorority from UCLA, to become one of their chapters. Chi Alpha Delta had been chartered in 1928 at UCLA, but was rendered inactive between 1942 and 1945 because the majority of its members were unable to attend UCLA due to World War II. After the end of the war, the sorority was reorganized in 1946.

However, the founding mothers decided to start their own organization. The Greek letters were chosen at random and were not used by any other existing College fraternities or sororities at that time. The Greek letters were, however, being used by a national high school fraternity. Although the Sigmas did not originate as a sorority, one could speculate that the choosing of Greek letters was a public way of voicing an unsatisfactory opinion about the treatment of Asian Americans, specifically Japanese Americans, by the campus and Greek organizations.

Founding mothers

• Miki Haga
• Joyce Ishibashi Tawa
• Ida Kado Watanabe
• Kazuko Kay Matsumoto
• Helen Morita Matsunaga
• Cherry Okimoto
• Akiko Sato Miyamoto
• Edna Tanaka Okui
• Helen Taniguchi Wakamatsu
• Miki Tanimoto
• Dottie Uno
• Julia Uriu
• Grace Wada Iino
• Betty Wakamatsu Nishikubo
• Chiyoe Yata Oki
• Mitzi Okamoto
• Thelma Sasada Yamamoto

Symbols

The motto of Sigma Phi Omega is ''The Reward is in the Doing''. Its pillars are Strength an Character. The sorority's colors are Kelly green amd maize yellow. Its symbol is the white dove. Its flower is the yellow rose.

Activities

There are annual conventions held each summer as well as Mid-year Retreat, where sisters from different chapters gather to bring orders of business as well as bond. These conventions and retreats are hosted by the chapters in rotations

Philanthropy

Service is one of the main pillars within the sisterhood of Sigma Phi Omega. By it they explain their pride in serving their communities and are inspired to contribute to make a difference in each other's lives and the lives of others.

Sigma Phi Omega has chosen domestic violence awareness and prevention & sexual assault awareness as its national philanthropy. Each April, the chapters organize a week filled with seminars and fundraising events to bring awareness to their communities. Throughout the month of October, all chaptersorganize a "SAFE (Stop Abuse For Everyone) WEEK" filled with seminars and discussions about domestic violence and fundraising events. Sigma Phi Omega works to educate college campuses and surrounding communities, specifically reaching out to Asian and Asian American women, in an effort to stop domestic violence and to raise awareness of sexual assault on college campuses.

While raising domestic violence awareness is Sigmas' main philanthropy, the chapters also sponsors and participate in AIDS Walks, Habitat for Humanity, Canning for Hunger, Girls Inc., various shelters, clean cities programs, and more. Many members of Sigma Phi Omega are also individually involved within their own community through tutoring and mentoring programs for the disadvantaged and younger students, as well as through various volunteering programs.

Chapters

Sigma Phi Omega has installed nine chapters located in California and Texas. Active chapter noted in bold, inactive chapters noted in italics.

Chapter	Charter date and rannge	Institution	Location	Status	Reference
Alpha	1949	University of Southern California	Los Angeles, California	Inactive
Beta	1973	California State University, Long Beach	Long Beach, California	Active
Gamma	May 1, 1991	University of Texas	Austin, Texas	Active
Delta	December 18, 1991	San Diego State University	San Diego, California	Active
Epsilon	April 21, 1995	University of Houston	Houston, Texas	Active
Zeta	April 5, 1997	University of California, Berkeley	Berkeley, California	Active
Eta	May 1, 1999 – 20xx ?	Baylor University	Waco, Texas	Inactive
Theta	May 20, 2005 – 202x ?	Southern Methodist University	University Park, Texas	Inactive
Iota	May 2, 2009	Texas A&M University	College Station, Texas	Active
Kappa	December 8, 2013	University of Texas at Dallas	Richardson, Texas	Active

See also

• List of social sororities and women's fraternities

• List of Asian American fraternities and sororities
• Cultural interest fraternities and sororities

External links

• Official Website