Sigma Phi Omega (), also known as Sigmas, is an

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

interest

sorority Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...

founded at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

History

Purpose

Sigma Phi Omega was founded at the

in 1949, and is the oldest

at USC and UT Austin and third oldest Asian sorority in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was originally established as a social organization for

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

women at USC and has since then come to consist of a diverse membership of women hailing from numerous racial and cultural backgrounds.According t
Sigma Phi Gamma's official website, "About Us" page
accessed 5 Aug 2021.

Early years

At its beginning, the founding mothers of Sigma Phi Omega were invited by

Chi Alpha Delta Chi Alpha Delta () (also XAD or Chis) is the oldest Asian-American cultural interest sorority in the United States. It was founded and chartered at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Chis are one of the four Asian-American interest s ...

, an Asian-American sorority from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, 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

Philanthropy

Sigma Phi Omega has chosen

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

awareness and prevention & Sexual Assault Awareness as its National

Philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. During the month of April each year, the chapters organize a week filled with seminars and fundraising events to bring awareness to their communities. Equally, throughout the month of October each year, all chapters of Sigma Phi Omega Sorority, Inc. organize 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. 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.According t
Sigma Phi Gamma's official website, "Philanthropy" page
accessed 5 Aug 2021.

Chapters

Sigma Phi Omega has installed nine chapters located in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, nine of which are active. Active chapter noted in bold, inactive chapters noted in ''italics''. The main archive URL i
The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage
Chapter list fro
Sigma Phi Gamma's official website, "Chapters" page
accessed 5 Aug 2021.

Conventions

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.

Affiliations

Cousin fraternity (Texas): *

Delta Epsilon Psi Delta Epsilon Psi () is a South Asian interest social and service fraternity located in the United States. Delta Epsilon Psi Fraternity, Inc. was founded on at the University of Texas at Austin. The main archive URL iThe Baird's Manual Online A ...

External links

Official Website

References

{{Fraternities and Sororities , collapsed Student societies in the United States 1949 establishments in California