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 Our Founding Mothers saw Sigma Psi
Zeta as a society to "unite
and empower women in sisterhood... to promote awareness of the Asian
culture and heritage... to provide charitable services to local communities
and the Asian community-at-large through leadership..."
Above all, the undergraduate women that began this sorority shared
a unified vision born out of a desire to identify their own individual
cultures and share them with others. Gina
Han, Sally Hsieh-Adams, Jean Cassidy
Kim, Jenny Kim, Sandra
Lam-Sanchez, Leah Yan-Chieh Liu, Winnie
Liu, Michelle Macaraig,
Tiffany Sung-Yon Noh, and Loan
Trang realized this. What tied together their
noble ambitions was a strong friendship. SYF was born. They did research
into existing Greek organizations, but found none that could meet
their needs. After much deliberation and contact with their campus
administration, they began the steps towards establishing a sorority
that would address their needs.
What first began in the Fall Semester
of 1993 blossomed in the Spring of 1994. On March 23, 1994, they founded
Sigma Psi Zeta. Loyalty,
Allegiance, and Dedication were the attributes these women incorporated
into the organization, and to this day, they continue to serve as
the foundation and spirit by which all members of Sigma Psi
Zeta Sorority, Inc. act upon. These women collectively felt
it important to understand and unite because the Asian
and Pacific Islander cultures face significant difficulties and challenges
that are both geographically and linguistically based. The historical
marginalization of women, particularly women of color, has had a
significant impact on the process by which multi-cultural, multi-ethnic,
and multi-racial women ascertain educational, economic, social,
and political capital in American society.
The structure of a Greek
Letter organization addressed the need for the organization to nurture
bonds between women that surpass
those of traditional clubs and associations. At the same time, these
ten women of various cultural and ethnic backgrounds hoped that the
organization would nurture bonds of sisterhood and become a
vehicle for action in addressing the needs of Asian-American women
on their campus. They took an oath of loyalty, allegiance, and
dedication to each other and to their cause. A sorority was established,
adopting Sigma Psi Zeta as their name. What brought together our
founders still attracts so many women today.
Although our orientation is toward women of Asian descent, we are open to women
of all cultural backgrounds and are further empowered by them. The
diversity in our membership's personalities and ethnic backgrounds
attests to this fact. Sigma Psi Zeta thrives on the diversity of its members, and
we attribute much of our success to our organization's ability to
embrace these differences.
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Sandra aka Bones, Allison aka HiFi & Sally aka Shae |
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