Sigma Psi Zeta

Sigma Psi Zeta () Sorority, Inc., also known as Sigmas or SYZ, is a progressive multicultural sorority. It was founded on March 23, 1994 at the University at Albany and incorporated in New York on March 15, 1996 by the 10 Founding Mothers. The sorority's colors are red and gold and its flower is a yellow rose with baby's breath. It is a part of the National APIDA Panhellenic Association (NAPA).

Sigma Psi Zeta is a cultural, social, educational and community service–oriented Greek organization. It is the third largest Asian-interest sorority in the nation. Its philanthropic focus is to combat violence against women in its various forms. Sigma Psi Zeta is an official partner of the White House initiative, It's On Us, which launched as a result of the ARC3 Survey.

Sigma Psi Zeta currently has active memberships in the states/commonwealths of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin. It has 43 memberships in the United States.

History

Plans for the Sigma Psi Zeta sorority were formed in the Fall semester of 1993 at SUNY Albany by a group of female undergraduates from different backgrounds. The sorority was formed in part to address the dual difficulties faced by Asian women. On March 23, 1994 the sorority was officially recognized by the University. Within a year, a second chapter was formed at SUNY University at Binghamton. The main archive URL i
The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage

The founding mothers were:

* Gina Han
* Sally Hsieh
* Jean Kim
* Jenny Kim
* Sandra Lam
* Winnie Liu
* Yan-Chieh Liu
* Michelle Macaraig
* Sung-Yon Noh
* Loan Trang

Internally, the sorority uses the term "womxn" instead of "woman" or "women"; Similarly, it uses "sxsters" or "syzters" in place of "sisters". Similar terminology has been adopted by other multicultural organizations.

Philanthropy

Since 1999, Sigma Psi Zeta's philanthropy has been to combat violence against women. The sorority has worked against violence against women in many forms, and has focused specifically on Asian women who are historically objectified and disempowered. Local chapters and colonies participate in events such as the Take Back The Night rallies, and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence's Domestic Violence Awareness month.

Membership locations

The sorority differentiates between three levels of organization at its campus units. "Chapter" status appears to be the ultimate goal of their campus groups, with approximately half the active chapters having reached that stage. Newer or emerging groups are called "Charters", and a third type is denoted as "Interest Groups". An interest group must have permission to form from campus administration, must include at least ten members, and eight of these must be freshmen or sophomores.From the national website
Expansion Requirements
accessed 22 May 2021. Active groups are listed here in bold, inactive groups are listed in ''italics''.

Chapters

* �Alpha Chapter – University at Albany, The State University of New York – Albany, NY
* �Delta Chapter – University at Buffalo, The State University of New York – Buffalo, NY
* �Eta Chapter – Stony Brook University – Stony Brook, NY
* �Iota Chapter – University of Rochester – Rochester, NY
* �Lambda Chapter – University of Virginia – Charlottesville, VA
* �Nu Chapter – Drexel University – Philadelphia, PA
* �Xi Chapter – University of Nebraska–Lincoln – Lincoln, NE
* �Omicron Chapter – Stanford University – Stanford, CA
* �Pi Chapter – The George Washington University – Washington, D.C.
* �Rho Chapter – University of Washington – Seattle, WA
* �Tau Chapter – University of Maryland at College Park – College Park, MD
* �Upsilon Chapter – University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, PA
* �Phi Chapter – University of Colorado at Boulder – Boulder, CO
* �ΒAlpha Beta Chapter – Northwestern University – Evanston, IL
* �ΔAlpha Delta Chapter – Rutgers University – New Brunswick, NJ
* �ΕAlpha Epsilon Chapter – University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign – Champaign, IL
* �ΘAlpha Theta Chapter – Wichita State University – Wichita, KS
* �ΙAlpha Iota Chapter – University of California, Berkeley – Berkeley, CA
* �ΚAlpha Kappa Chapter – University of Minnesota – Minneapolis, MN
* �ΛAlpha Lambda Chapter – Rochester Institute of Technology – Rochester, NY
* �ΜAlpha Mu Chapter – University of Kansas – Lawrence, KS
* �ΝAlpha Nu Chapter – George Mason University – Fairfax, VA

Charters

* �Beta Charter – Binghamton University – Binghamton, NY
* �Theta Charter – University of Massachusetts – Amherst – Amherst, MA
* �Kappa Charter – Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) – Blacksburg, VA
* �ΓAlpha Gamma Charter – Villanova University – Villanova, PA
* �ΖAlpha Zeta Charter – University of the Sciences – Philadelphia, PA
* �ΞAlpha Xi Charter – Syracuse University – Syracuse, NY
* �ΟAlpha Omicron Charter – Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis – Indianapolis, IN
* �ΠAlpha Pi Charter – University of Wisconsin – Madison – Madison, WI
* �ΡAlpha Rho Charter – Stevens Institute of Technology – Hoboken, NJ
* �ΤAlpha Tau Charter – New York University – New York City, NY
* �ΥAlpha Upsilon Charter – Northeastern University – Boston, MA
* �ΦAlpha Phi Charter – Western Michigan University – Kalamazoo, MI
* �ΧAlpha Chi Charter – Washington State University – Pullman, WA
* �ΨAlpha Psi Charter – Temple University – Philadelphia, PA

Inactive groups

*'' �Gamma'' – Jamaica, NY
*'' �Epsilon'' – Oneonta, NY
*'' �Zeta'' – New York, NY
*'' �Mu'' – Geneseo, NY
*'' �Chi'' – Shippensburg, PA
*'' �ΑAlpha Alpha'' – New Haven, CT
*'' �ΗAlpha Eta'' – New York City, NY

References

{{National APIDA Panhellenic Association

Student societies in the United States
Asian-American culture in New York (state)
Asian-American fraternities and sororities
Student organizations established in 1994
1994 establishments in New York (state)