Dressed in all black, blending into the dark of the night, 7 young women made their way onto the center of the College Eight quad in unison, at UC Santa Cruz on March 1st. Their identities were concealed with masks over their eyes, hoods over their heads and soon began the coming out show. After showing off their creative and jazzy dance moves with a couple of pop song remixes, each girl began a rehearsed speech talking about their roots and backgrounds. Then one by one, they revealed themselves. Their captain Priscilla Gonzalez was unveiled first, and the coming out show ended with the unveiling of their line anchor Erika Romero. Towards the end of the night, the 7 young women were officially introduced as the new members and sisters that made up the Theta Line of the Sigma Lambda Gamma sorority at UC Santa Cruz.
Sigma Lambda Gamma is historically, the largest Latina-based national sorority with multicultural membership. The collegiate women of this sorority recognize the need to keep fueling an organization that provides empowerment to women of all cultural backgrounds. Diversity is imperative for the Gamma’s. Membership into sigma Lambda Gamma is open to women of exceptional moral and ethics who demonstrate commitment to academic excellence, and who pursue courses that lead to a degree in an accredited college or university. In a nutshell, the sorority focuses on five principles: academics, community service, cultural awareness, social interaction, morals, and ethics. Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Inc. was founded on April 9, 1990 at the University of Iowa. Since then it has branched out to an extensive amount of campuses. It made its way to the west coast and up north to the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2009.
In a society where men predominantly rule in the working world and such, it’s refreshing to see young independent women who are willing to pave a way for themselves. The women of Sigma Lambda Gamma are ultimately breaking away from those confines imposed by society and the ruling class. They welcome members of other backgrounds in order to form a strong solidarity between young women. The Gammas encourage each other and their community to live by their principles on a day-to-day basis.
Yesterday, Sigma Lambda Gamma was an unbreakable sisterhood of a network of close to 3,000 sorority members. Today, seven new indestructible young women have been welcomed into their sisterhood. The women of Sigma Lambda Gamma continue to uphold personal development and awareness of community involvement for the improvement of local, regional, national and global communities. After all, their motto is “hermanaas por vida” (sisters for life).
(Left to Right: Priscilla Gonzalez, Paola Castañeda, Alejandra Ramos, Raven Chambers,
Nohely Gonzalez, Mywzett Perez, Erika Romero)
Finally, the long days and nights of pledging and rushing had come to an end once the last mask had touched the ground. They couldn’t have reached the finish line without the support of their to-be sisters, their ambition, and self-confidence. Now, a new chapter in their life begins. A new journey has commenced alongside their fellow sisters, or as they call themselves, “PSIzzlinG Gammas.” There couldn’t have been a better way to welcome in the new month than by embarking on a new journey.
After the show I was able to chat with some of the girls and ask them a couple of questions….
Her Campus: How has the process you went through to become a part of the Sigma Lambda Gamma sorority shaped you for the better?
PG: The process definitely allowed me to see situations through different perspectives. It also taught me about the importance of the hard work we put into our goals because everything is possible with hard work and dedication.
RC: I believe I simply had to draw from the qualities I already had, being strong, determined and open minded. It taught me to look at this process as a life survival skill since I had to work with people of different backgrounds and attitudes. We all had different ways of expressing ourselves.
AR: Ultimately, the process helped me gain the necessary confidence to be outspoken and to voice my opinion. It also taught me how to work with others to reach a common goal, something that will definitely be used in the workforce.
NC: The process shaped me for the better because it was all about learning how to work with different individuals who all had unique ways of handling things. In a sense, that helped me learn to deal with multiple personalities at once, and how to adjust to them, too.
Her Campus: Why did you decide to pledge for Sigma Lambda Gamma?
PG: I’ve known the girls from SLG since my freshman year of college. They always invited me to their events, which made me feel comfortable around them. I got to know some of them personally, and I started looking up to them as well. Ultimately, my closest groups of friends were only guys so I felt I needed to find that similar bond with girls and I felt I had found it with them. I began to see them as a support system that I felt missing here in college.
RC: I was walking through the Quarry Plaza and these girls were sporting my favorite colors! Then, once I stopped by, one of the sisters handed me a flyer and encouraged me to attend to an informational. The idea of networking and opening myself up to a different group of women encouraged me even more.
AR: I joined SLG for the principles they uphold. Not only do they promote academics, which is why we’re in school, but they also stand for cultural awareness, community service, social interaction, morals, and ethics. All of these are imperative to strive as academic individuals.
NC: I always knew I wanted to join a Greek Org. but I didn’t know which one until I came across a co-worker who was an SLG member (Areli Monroy). She was very welcoming and answered all of the questions I had. [Areli Monroy] also introduced me to the recruiting chairs who were equally sweet and encouraging.
Her Campus: How do you plan to carry out the principles and what SLG promotes now that you are a part of the organization?
PG: Prior to becoming a part of SLG, I’d like to think I embodied the principles they stand for, but now it’s a matter of going the extra mile in enforcing them. To me it means being more involved, finding new ideas for community service, and putting myself out there. I plan to be as active as possible and dedicate my time to the organization. We have sisters nationwide therefore it ultimately comes down to upholding the image of striving to be our upmost best version of ourselves. It’s also about not letting the stereotypes of Greek Life define my sisters or me.
RC: I plan on graduating from UCSC and carrying out the fact that academics are an important asset in our lives. Furthermore, I will carry out the principle of social interactions because I’m a social able person –I love to talk and I love meeting new people.
AR: As women, I believe we should all embody and enforce the principles that SLG stand for. It is important to be aware and open-minded of things that are different and out of our comfort zone, in relation to giving back to our community in order to make it a better, and safer place. We strive to interact.
NC: The five principles that SLG stands for all play a part in our day-to-day lives. Now, as an SLG member I recognize that and will my best to think about everything I have learned to help me make the right decisions. It’s about knowing when to put the phone down, picking up that book, and setting aisde your own time to give back to the community. I might not be perfect but I have come to respect and understand many things by trying my best to live by these principles.