Ann Shepard (Rueve)
I particularly loved my high school sorority, Iota Sigma Chi, originally created for daughters of the first African American Greek-lettered sorority for college educated women. The girls were from primarily Withrow, and Woodward, but the years I was a member, there were girls from Hughes, Central and Taft. I don't know when IEX was started, but the requirement to join was based on whether you were already friends with older girls in the IEX. I met, and became friends with many girls I would have never met because we didn't all live in the same neighborhood or go to the same school or church. I'm sure we had worthwhile activities because one of our mothers was the adult advisor, but most of all, I remember having meetings at the Melrose Ave. "Y", trying to look sophisticated by smoking cigarettes. I really enjoyed it and made lifelong friends.
My college sorority experience was just the opposite. I didn't pledge my mother's sorority until my junior year. I had transferred from Ohio State to HBCU Knoxville College and at both schools, I had missed rush because I enrolled too late. My junior year, I pledged but living in the junior/senior dorm and my roommate already an AKA, the sorority hazed me relentlessly because they had access to me 24/7. It got really violent the night before my mother and her best friend (a national executive of the sorority) were coming to the initiation to pin me. The girls ripped off my clothing, trying to remove my pledge pin that was worn on my bra. There was one girl, who was the ringleader, but my roommate joined in with the others. I fought those girls, took off the pledge pin, handed to the ringleader an told them, "You can have your pin. I can't see how you could do this to me tonight, and be my sister tomorrow!" The next day my mother and her friend arrived on campus.After they saw how angry I still was and not wanting anything to do with the sorority, they accepted that I didn't want to become a member. My mother's friend took some type of action to discipline the chapter. My roommate, who's husband was in Vietnam in the Army, moved off campus when he returned. I had my dorm room to myself and stayed in it as little as possible for the rest of the year. I took a gap year off from school. By the time I went back, everyone involved was gone.
Over the years, many of my friends who belong to AKA have asked me to join the graduate chapter, dedicated to philanthropy and community activities. Being part of the sorority was what I always looked forward to when I was young, but after college, I found other interests and other networking opportunities
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