Sorority earns acclaim

This is a story of love and sisterhood. Love inspired the

creation of sorority Alpha Xi Delta (AXD). After Tonya

O’Leary wed a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, she

decided to begin a new sorority chapter at BSU. This year the

sorority has earned five awards and holds the highest GPA through

mandatory study rules. “We definitely help each other out

when it comes to school,” O’Leary said.

The sorority’s most prestigious award was the Order of the

Quill. Only 26 out of 113 sororities were awarded the Order of the

Quill. AXD also earned Greek Organization of the Year and Student

Organization of the Month. They achieved number one GPA on campus

and the highest GPA improvement award for a student

organization.

Every member has mandatory study hours each day depending on their

GPA, with hours varying from two to five hours.

Getting a sorority started involves knowing who to ask. The women

sent a letter to National Panhellenic, which represents 26

different sororities. O’Leary’s husband and members of

the Kappa Sigma fraternity also sent letters. Seven sororities

responded. The ladies started AXD in February of 2003, and since

have added eight members. The new sorority offers another

opportunity to BSU women.

The sorority’s philanthropic focus is “Choose

Children.” They hold nine events a year, and are currently

holding an annual teddy bear drive. The AXDs will be in the SUB

collecting teddy bear donations for the next two weeks.Last year

they received over 340 teddy bears.

AXD gives the teddy bears to a local fire department. When the

department goes on calls they offer the teddy bears to comfort

small children in crisis. At the end of the year leftover teddy

bears go to underprivileged kids.

The sorority is currently working toward building their own

10-bedroom sorority house.

In order to get into any sorority at BSU, a student must have a GPA

of 2.5 or better.

During “rush week” members of AXD opt for quality over

quantity when choosing new members. “We usually look at how

the prospective member interacts and blends in with the rest of the

girls,” O’Leary said.

Rachel Perez
News Writer

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3. The Life of a Greek
4. Take initiative, start a student organization
5. Why go Greek?