Tri Sigma Foundation

The start of the school year is an exciting time on college campuses across the country. Making new friends, preparing for classes to start and welcome back activities are all an exciting part of returning to school in the fall.

The beginning of the semester can also be a dangerous time for women on college campuses. The first six weeks of the semester, known as the Red Zone, marks the time women are most vulnerable to sexual assault. More sexual assaults occur during the first six weeks of classes than any other time during the school year, according to Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

As Tri Sigmas, it’s important we watch out for our sisters during this time to help keep each other safe. Here are some tips to stay safe and raise awareness about the Red Zone:

• Share #TheRedZone posts posted to Tri Sigma’s social media accounts.
• Use RAINN’s tips to show your sisters you “CARE” if you witness a situation that could be a sexual assault:
  • Create a distraction. Do what you can to interrupt a situation and get your sister to a safer place.
  • Ask directly. Talk directly to the person who might be in trouble.
  • Refer to an authority. Talk to a security guard or bartender about your concerns. Never hesitate to call 911 if you fear for someone’s safety.
  • Enlist others. Ask someone to come with you to approach the woman at risk.
• Share campus resources with members, such as phone numbers for counseling services and campus police.

For more resources on sexual assault safety and prevention, visit www.rainn.org.

The start of a new semester can be hectic with a new class schedule, sorority events and other activities to balance. Start the fall semester off right by getting organized and prepared for your classes with these smartphone apps:

• Mint: This free app can help you organize your budget. Track your spending through all accounts ­– checking, savings and credit cards – and categorize your transactions.
• iHomework: This $1 app can help you organize and track all of your readings, courses, teachers, and schedules. The app will even notify you of upcoming deadlines.
• Notability iPad app: For just $1, you can download this app for note-taking, PDF annotation, typing, and recording.
• Good Morning Alarm Clock: This alarm clock app tracks your sleep patterns and helps you wake up in time for those 8 a.m. classes. For $4, the app analyzes how well you’re sleeping and can even play peaceful music to put you to sleep.
• Course help: Want tutoring available on your smartphone? Check out Wolfram Alpha apps on your app store for help in subjects ranging from calculus to music theory.
• Remember the Milk: This to-do list app can sync with your email and calendar, and has a prioritizing function to organize your most important tasks.
• Quizlet: Need flashcards for a study group? Try this free app to organize flashcards for all of your classes.
• EasyBib: Need help figuring out how to cite your sources for your next research paper? Try the EasyBib app!

With the fall semester starting, you’re probably focused on recruitment and welcoming new members into your chapter. We talk with our new sisters during their new member education about our zero-tolerance policy on hazing, but how often do we share this message with our campus and Greek community?

National Hazing Prevention Week (“NHPW”) provides the perfect opportunity to highlight your chapter’s anti-hazing efforts. (This can also provide a great opportunity to get out on campus and meet new women to add to your names list for Continuous Open Recruitment!) This year, National Hazing Prevention Week is September 19-23. You can find information and resources on Sigma Connect in the Hazing Prevention toolkit!

Nationally, Tri Sigma will be posting on the national Instagram account throughout NHPW. Share what your chapter is doing by submitting your photo and information by September 15 here. You might see your photo on Instagram!

We have a great opportunity for you and your chapter to focus on Character in September!  Thursday, September 22 is Global Character Day. Join hundreds of thousands of people from across the globe for this third annual day to celebrate and talk about character.  (This also happens to be during National Hazing Prevention Week and what a great tie-in!)

Here is how you can participate:

• Step 1: Schedule a time on September 22 and ask your chapter to join you in screening the 8-minute short film: The Science of Character. Here is an editable flyer to distribute to your chapter.
• Step 2: Show the film and then lead a discussion using the discussion guide. Share the Periodic Table of Character handout with those in attendance.
• Step 3: Ask your members to share what they learned using #TriSigma #CharacterCounts #CharacterDay16 #WOCDontHaze

Learn more about Global Character Day.

Use this to advertise on Facebook. Click here to download the image.

Order your Compassion It wristbands here.

We will celebrate character for an entire week in October. Purchase your CHARACTER COUNTS! Week t-shirt and here.

When almost 6.9 trillion gallons of rain poured across Louisiana last month, causing flooding and what the Red Cross deemed one of the worst national disasters since Hurricane Sandy, Tri Sigmas across the state came together to support sisters and others in need.

The women of Gamma Mu, Southeastern Louisiana University, have been busy collecting and donating items to those in need and helping members of the community clean up flooding homes and recover damaged property.

A Hammond, LA resident expressed his appreciation to Tri Sigma members who assisted others in the Greek community for helping remove items from his 79-year-old mother’s home.

“(The students) came to the residence of my 79-year-old mother and removed furniture, insulation and cut out sheet rock,” he said. “They were very hard workers and got a great amount of work accomplished.”

A fraternity member at SELU reached out to National Headquarters to thank the chapter members for helping his family after his home flooded.

“The ladies from Southeastern Louisiana University volunteered on their last free week of summer to help my family gut their house after it flooded,” he said. “The girls were amazing, spirited, and not afraid to do anything asked of them. They pulled carpet, took out sheet rock, and helped remove everything that was lost. All with a smile

Gamma Mu Chapter President Phoebe Castro said many of the chapter’s members were affected by the flooding, but that hasn’t stopped them from supporting each other and making sure they are helping others in the community.
“Many of our members were impacted, but the overwhelming support that our sisters have shown each other is remarkable,” she said. “I am very proud of the women of my chapter. We have certainly displayed, ‘To receive much, you must give much.’”

The members of Alpha Zeta, Northwestern State University, are continuing to battle rain and rising water in Natchitoches, LA Chapter President Abby Hinds said several members have lost their homes, and the chapter members have collected items to send to southern Louisiana area alumnae.

The Alpha Zeta chapter will also use recruitment as a time to help flooding victims by crafting bags that will include toiletry items that will be sent to a local elementary school.

The Northshore LA Alumnae Chapter also created a Purple Violet Flood Relief event to support sisters and their families that have been affected. If you would like to participate, more information can be found on Facebook by clicking here.

Each year Sigma Nu and Hazing Prevention.Org sponsor the #40answers campaign. In the 40 days leading up to National Hazing Prevention Week, a new common excuse heard from students about hazing is tweeted daily from HazingPrevention.Org and Sigma Nu. Participants in the campaign are invited to tweet a statement on how they’d respond to that excuse using #40answers. Tri Sigma will be tweeting each day in response to the excuses. Follow HazingPrevention.Org (@PreventHazing) and Sigma Nu Fraternity (@SigmaNuHQ) on twitter to see the excuse for each day. To learn more, visit the campaign site to learn more.

What is the Red Zone?

The first six weeks on a college campus are known as the “Red Zone” – when first-year students are at the highest risk of encountering sexual violence. Campuses often create a false sense of security for students living away from home for the first time, and the excitement of the beginning of the year puts students at even more of a risk.

Join Tri Sigma as we spread awareness on social media using #TheRedZone. For more information and resources visit RAINN.org. RAINN provides a free, confidential, and 24/7 National Sexual Assault hotline at 800-656-HOPE.

Below are links to information resources and fliers for staying safe and getting assistance:

• Staying Safe on Campus
• Upstander
• Sexual Assault Fact Sheet
• Strategies for Effective Helping
• Student Activism
• Take Action Against Abuse – For Young Adults

In the 2015-2016 academic year, 206 Tri Sigma members were initiated into Order of Omega. We are proud of our members continued commitment to academic success, leadership, and service. Join us in recognizing and congratulating these women!

Alpha – Longwood University

Christina Hogan

Caroline Blommel

Jessica Billings

Katelyn Rehovich

Kristin Converse

Emily DeMasi

Alpha Beta – Kent State University

Amy Enlow

Jenn Coffey

Alpha Chi – Murray State University

Julie Boyken

Kristin McNutt

Taylor Rhoades

Jessica Crosno

Alpha Epsilon – Northwest Missouri State University

Alicia Margritz

Allison Parks

Pride Mariah

Katie Riggs

Morgan Waibel

Alpha Gamma – Fort Hays State University

Joni Johnson

Kaitlin McLoud

Sara Nansel

Ashley Templeton

Abigail Dreher

Alpha Iota – Northeaster State University

Kaitlyn Turner

Alpha Mu – University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Cassidy Sonnier

Kayla Trahan

Alpha Omicron – University of Central Arkansas

Taylor Lambert-Lysen

Alpha Phi – Central Michigan University

Ellen R. Brandell

Ashlea Elizabeth Dull

Lauren E. Hoffman

Samantha L. Jendza

Kaitlin D. Horn

Kelsey A. Pietrzak

Margaret G. Pratt

Ashley N. Retberg

Alpha Psi – Eastern Illinois University

Katherine Hickey

Caitlyn Koch

Emily Duran

Stefani Jungjohann

Madeleine Sheley

Stacy Rowan

Alpha Theta – Radford University

Bridget Fowler

Alpha Xi – University of Wisconsin, Whitewater

September Elenewski

Alpha Zeta – Northwestern State University

Tristan Bridges

Abby Hinds

Beta Alpha – Northern Illinois University

Julia Washkowiak

Gabrielle Washkowiak

Beta Delta – Shepherd University

Katelyn Sabol

Erica Hepner

Melissa Selby

Erin Buchannon

Beta Epsilon – Western Illinois University

Courtney Powelson

Caitlyn Westfall

Penelope Jensen

Beta Theta – University of Pittsburg

Madisen Agrentieri Jacquelyn Braithwaite Isabella Hassan Hannah Melamed Sarah Stein

Jacquelyn Braithwaite

Isabella Hassan

Hannah Melamed

Sarah Stein

Jill Franklin

Beta Xi – Southeast Missouri State University

Rachel Mae Woodworth

Rachel Garrelts

Kelsey Elizabeth Irwin

Alayna Danae Dillon-Cox

Madeline Marie Reichmuth

Chi – Pittsburg State University

Beth Stehan

Chelsea Foster

Leslie Nichols

Delta Delta – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Carly Duvall

Pamela Devia

Bailey Pennington

Tyler Carson

Victoria Mitchell

Olivia Elkins

Jacqueline Cebula

Carly Collette

Alexa Papadopoulos

Kathryn Alexander

Delta Omicron – Gettysburg College

Alexandra Jane Richmond

Delta Pi – Winthrop University

Caroline Gooding

Kathryn McGee

Madison Cooley

Hannah Beckstrom

Pam Varraso

Epsilon Chi – Northeastern University

Julie Donnolley

Sharon Jaquez

Samantha LaFratta

Siyang Li

Nicole Moreira

Kristy Pardo

Christina Sirabella

Emily Skehill

Epsilon Delta – Gannon University

Andrea May

Madison Zaccagnini

Emily Gibbs

Allison McGinnis

Chelsea Grinchuk

Epsilon Eta – East Stroudsburg University

Arionna Charlesworth

Kayla Neske

Allyson Rowland

Madeline Warren

Nicolette Peters

Angelina Salmons

Epsilon Epsilon – Stockton University

Dominique DeFilippis

Epsilon Iota – St. Mary’s University

Sidney T. Lopez

Kendall Meaghan Pasko

Epsilon Kappa – University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh

Jamie Mikrut

Jamie Ann Heberer

Raven Wilson

Epsilon Nu – University of Northern Carolina at Greensboro

Marjorie Dale Hacker

Aimee Wardle

Epsilon Phi – University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Rachel Bresnick

Megan Davitt-Loysen

Keely Griffith

Epsilon Pi – Presbyterian College

Deodata Rogers

Destiny Willis

Mary Kate Bartlett

Samantha Tindal

Savannah Austin

Epsilon Rho – Minnesota State University, Mankato

Heather Hines

Madeline Taylor

Megan Kiehne

Katherine Bohn

Thea Rief

Eta Eta – Lynn University

Natalie Myers

April Ferguson

Ashley Abel

Lydia Ames

Lily Woodward-Logan

Alanna Carey

Jillian Vazquez

Eta Nu – Ramapo College of New Jersey

Renee DeLora

Eta Omicron – Sam Houston State University

Alexis Rae Gonzales

Eta Phi – Pratt Institute

McCall Moody

Kendall Konenkamp

Josette Marcario

Lauren Gaudet

Eta Sigma – Culver-Stockton College

Elizabeth R. Hamilton

Eta Tau – Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Jordan Foster

Logan Turco

Eta Theta – Gustavus Adolphus College

Brita VanOsdol

Britta Johnson

Cassandra Lindstrom

Helen Thompson

Madeline Jentink

Shannon Graham

Gamma Lambda – University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire

Amber Miller

Katelyn Noack

Kayla Louise Johnson

Krista Elise Von Feldt

Gamma Mu – Southeastern Louisiana University

Regan Cascio

Hannah Cook

Gamma Pi – Nicholls State University

Camille Comeaux

Megan Monier

Gamma Psi – Morehead State University

Kaitlynn May

Gamma Rho – Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

Cassidy Jolaine Christian

Lindsay Ann Mink

Gamma Zeta – Slippery Rock University

Cassandra Tompson

Rebecca Sapp

Lambda – Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Shana Grosch

Rachel Kee

Pi – Emporia State University

Erica Johnson

Candace Cote

Megan Budnik

Psi – Marshall University

Elizabeth Finch

Olivia Walters

Theta Alpha – High Point University

Sarah Luz

Casey Garr

Patricia Leach

Samantha Entwistle

Alyssa Walker

Grace Heffner

Theta Beta – University of Michigan-Flint

Jaclyn Wamsley

Tiffany Muma

Morgan Reed

Theta Eta – Old Dominion University

Katelynn Elaine Sparks

Theta Zeta – Case Western Reserve University

Lauren Lucente

Gloria Neilson

Zeta Alpha – Bryant University

Melissa Rose Brigante

Juliana Marie Houldcroft

Kaitlyn Anne Koumarianos

Sydney Marie Logan

Zeta Chi – Coastal Carolina University

Cassandra Diane Davin

Jaimie Lynn Mataosky

Jacqueline Danielle McMillen

Grace Elizabeth Morrison

Rebeccah Danielle Rodger

Allison Fowler Turner

Larissa DiNatale

Taylor Farrow

Zeta Delta – SUNY, College at Oneonta

Hailey Wekselblatt

Zeta Kappa – Montclair State University

Samantha Shane

Stephanie Heady

Carolina Focella

Brooke O’Donnell

Tiffany M. Sisak

Zeta Pi – Virginia Wesleyan College

Cori Lynne Hailey

Emily Elizabeth Powers

Taylor Jenise Nichols

Mariah Taghavie-Moghadam

Sierra Morgan Rothenberger

Zeta Psi – The College of New Jersey

Brittany Barnstead

Taylor Stark

Mallory Cohen

Lauren Jackenthal

What and Why

Submitted by Jackie King, Alpha Phi

If you have never attended a Tri Sigma State Day event, you have probably asked, what is this, and why in my busy life would I want to participate? The answer to the first part of this question is simple. State Day is an event for ALL Tri Sigmas living within a particular state or region that is planned by an alumna committee, with the sole purpose of connecting to and celebrating our national sisterhood.

Why attend? We take pride in being members of a National Panhellenic sorority, yet we rarely gather as a g. roupConvention is as close as we get to this, but it usually involves only voting delegates, volunteers, and national officers. A State Day event allows for the membership of entire collegiate and alumnae chapters to share in this experience, along with unaffiliated alumnae.

Fellowship is the focus for these occasions, with an emphasis on responsibility to self, service, and Sigma. The program includes entertaining speakers and activities for attendees. Those in attendance participate in a local service project, that may be as simple as collecting children’s books for a shelter, or making fleece blankets for a local children’s hospital.  Representatives from Executive Council and the Tri Sigma Foundation may be on hand to update everyone on the state of our sorority, and explain the impact our Foundation is having through our donations.

Having served on a State Day planning committee, I can attest to the satisfaction of working with sisters from other chapters to create a special experience that extends beyond our local community and that allows us to see the scope of our sorority.

When asked how attending a State Day event positively affected her, Rachel Cane, Omicron, shared,

“I moved from Michigan to North Carolina for law school after finishing my undergraduate. I didn’t know anyone when I moved to NC but was able to connect with Sigma sisters at State Day and joined the Piedmont Triad Alumnae Chapter shortly after!”

Brenda Christie, Alpha Iota, replied,

“My first State Day was back in the eighties in Oklahoma. It was my first experience and opportunity to understand that we truly are a national sisterhood. The chance to meet one to one with women from all over my state was amazing.”

State Day events are being planned for sisters in Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.  Wisconsin’s event will take place April 8, 2017, in Madison, WI; the rest are to be announced so stay tuned.

If there is no event planned for your state and you are interested in forming a planning committee, please contact me (Jackie King) at jacqulynking@gmail.com

Our twelve consultants are representatives of the sorority who work with collegiate chapters throughout the academic year in areas such as officer training, recruitment, and leadership. While consultants are empowering our sisters across the country, they are also cultivating valuable professional skills that will continue to serve them and their future employers well after their year of travel.

Welcome our 2016-2017 Consultants:

Jasmine Barnes, Eta Kappa

Stephanie Blair, Delta Delta

Alex Cash, Eta Upsilon

Kari Johnson, Zeta Pi

Kailua Marshall Zeta Gamma

Gina Mazzaferri, Epsilon Omicron

Catherine (Caity) Paloma, Zeta Chi

Catherine Till, Eta Omicron

Aileen Toomey, Delta Chi

Alexis Turner0Laving, Zeta Pi

Kayley (K) Weinberg, Eta Chi

Taylor Wilson, Alpha Epsilon