There was uncertainty surrounding the founding of Duke’s newest sorority Gamma Phi Beta. The girls who were considering rushing the new chapter were unsure of the chapter’s goals, and they were excited and anxious to be the founding members of the chapter. One of these women, Trinity junior Zeena Bhakta, is the epitome of a Gamma Phi Beta girl; she is ambitious, outspoken, kind and above all, a strong leader.
Zeena is incredibly accomplished, and I am breathless as she succinctly, no doubt after countless interviews, lists her extracurriculars and academic strengths. The chemistry major has an impressive resume, including Duke Marching Band, Campus Tour Guide, and research at the Duke Medical Center. After our meeting, she is packing up to spend one and a half weeks in New York City working for the National Board of Model UN. In light of her accomplishments, it is astonishing how social she has made her life at Duke.
There is a notorious assumption that a social life for independents—those not attached to a Selective Living Group or involved in Greek life—is almost nonexistent. However, as a member of the SLG Maxwell, Zeena did not join Gamma Phi Beta for the sole purpose of entering the Greek social scene. Rather, she relied on the opportunity to forge a new presence on campus and engineer the chapter.
“You can create what this group will be,” she said. “Because of that, it attracted all of the leaders on campus.”
Leadership. This seems to be a quality that Gamma Phi Beta is built upon. Perhaps leading women who, like Zeena, did not rush their freshman year because wanted to give Greek life a second chance.
“The rush process is very superficial,” Zeena said. “It’s about trying to impress.”
Curious, I asked about how Zeena and her sisters were planning on tackling the “superficial” process next year, when they will be a part of recruitment.
“A lot of the girls will be stressed out next year during rush,” she said. “We want to be the breath of fresh air. As cliché as it sounds, we are going to be ourselves.”
Sisterhood is what Zeena hopes most to find in her new sorority.
“I love Maxwell,” Zeena said. “They have given me family, support when I needed it and a social group that I can always go to. But there’s something to be said for finding a sisterhood that isn’t a co-ed group.”
The philanthropy aspect of a sorority appealed to Zeena as well.
“Our philanthropy is Building Strong Girls, an organization that works to help girls stay healthy physically and mentally,” she said.
Being a founding member has its own challenges of course, but Zeena is very optimistic about the sorority she is helping to establish.
“We’re like freshmen on East Campus,” she said. “We are all confused together, but I’m excited to see where it goes.”