Delta Zeta women find their place on campus
After a year of construction, the women of Delta Zeta Sorority will move into their new house on Greek Row just in time for the fall 2015 semester.
Without a house, the members of Delta Zeta lived in Wallace Residence Hall since they were chartered five years ago.
Because of this, Delta Zeta chapter president Elisabeth “Izzy” Martin said the women see both sides of campus living — Greek life and dorm life. She said it’s important to the women that they remember where they came from. That’s why when the architects designing their house asked the women what they wanted, they overwhelmingly decided to keep the suite-style living, similar to how they lived in Wallace.
“We wanted to carry that with us,” Martin said.
Kira Hunter | Argonaut
Construction continues on the Delta Zeta mansion, scheduled to be completed by fall 2015.
The suite-style living is different than the porch-style sleeping arrangements used by most of the other houses on campus. Martin said this willingness to break away from the beaten path and embrace change is something she hopes will define Delta Zeta in the future.
“I’ve noticed chapters love the word ‘tradition,'” Martin said. “Something with our chapter that I’ve noticed is we’re very accepting of change, which is a lot harder for more established chapters.”
That’s not to say Delta Zeta isn’t establishing their own traditions. Martin said the house has hosted an end-of-the-year barbecue for the past two years, which she hopes will continue in the future. Once their house is built, she said they will have much more space to put on events.
“We want to keep going the positive and healthy traditions and get rid of the negative things associated with Greeks,” Martin said.
Martin, a founding mother of the University of Idaho chapter of Delta Zeta, said she always expected to live in the dorms. Though her dad’s family had all gone Greek, it was never something that interested her.
She said she has this in common with many girls in her chapter. It wasn’t until she came to campus and saw the sisterhood, philanthropy and beauty that inspired her to join. Now, four years later as her chapter president, she said she couldn’t be happier with how Delta Zeta has grown and developed since their colonization.
“I love the direction our chapter is going,” Martin said. “We pride ourselves on having a lot of really diverse women. We have women involved in multicultural events, Nourish International, athletics, jazz choir, and that’s something I’m really proud of about our chapter.”
Hannah Shirley can be reached at [email protected]