“Think Theta” is the slogan for the Kappa Alpha Theta fraternity for women on campus. Corey Burnett and Lauren Lewis are the two educational leadership consult employees that represent the fraternity. They were invited by the USF senate to head the new organization as part of USF’s Greek expansion process.
The Greek community petitioned for expansion of Greek organizations and a committee was formed to decide which organization was to be established on USF’s campus. The committee was made up of one representative from all the fraternities and sororities on campus, a university ministry representative, a senate representative, and a faculty advisor. The committee invited potential sororities to submit their information and the committee then discussed the strengths and weaknesses of each organization.
Among their top three picks were Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gama, and Alpha Delta Pi. The final decision was left to the vice Provost for Student Life Peter Novak and the Assistant Vice Provost for Student engagement Greg Wolcott.
Rosie Ceja, the Vice President of Administration of the Greek Council said “I think there has been a positive reception of Kappa Alpha Theta, it has created a lot of excitement and more attention to Greek life on campus.”
In the next two years, the committee for expansion is looking to add one more sorority and one more fraternity to USF’s Greek organizations.
Kappa Alpha Theta held a sisterhood event this passed Thursday for its newly recruited members. Currently there are eighty two new recruits in the Kappa Alpha Theta fraternity.
Lauren Lewis said “our goal was to recruit seventy five to ninety new members, and we reached our goal”.
Corey Burnett said, “We are excited to be here with the new members and we can’t wait to work with the student body and other campus organizations.”
Thursday’s bonding event took place during National Hazing Prevention week. The campaign strives to educate college students and organizations about the dangers of hazing and provides education and resources to help prevent it. Support for the prevention of hazing is was seen on campus through buttons attached to backpacks and t-shirts.
When asked about the campaign Lauren Lewis said, “We have a zero tolerance policy against hazing, we want to make sure that anything with the slightest connotation of hazing is avoided”. According to the Kappa Alpha Theta’s handbook “Hazing, in any form will not be tolerated. Hazing may result in chapter and member discipline, including termination of membership”.
The new members of Kappa Alpha Theta members can be identified through their Think Theta shirts and handbags. New member Andrea Cordona said, “I chose Kappa Alpha Theta because I wanted to meet new people and be a part of the new Greek organization on campus and be a part of an amazing sisterhood.” Another fraternity member, Nicole Lang, said she chose Kappa Alpha Theta because “Their mission and morals are the same as mine, and I wanted to be a part of the first female fraternity.”
