Rebecca Shapiro Thesis (11 May 2011).pdf - Brandeis Institutional ...

The final Jewish Greek organization founded between 1890-1920 was SigmaDelta Tau ∑AT, founded at Cornell on March 25, 1917. The sorority, originally namedSigma Delta Phi, changed its name to Sigma Delta Tau when it learned that anorganization named Sigma Delta Phi was already in existence. The women wereoccasionally nicknamed "Cedars", as they were S.D.Ters. 91 The seven founders createdthe sorority in response to the closed doors and religious discrimination that theyencountered from other Greek organizations. 92The women prominently added a Star ofDavid into their symbol. ∑AT and AEΦ tirelessly competed for upper-class women, andrefused bids to undesirable women, notably those of lower-class or those from New Yorkwho epitomized loudness, pushiness, vulgarity and coarseness. In the 1930's, candidateswho were too stereotypically Jewish "in manner or appearance" were also seen asundesirable, by both the Jewish sororities and fraternities.World War I ended the foundation of Jewish fraternities and sororities. Only oneJewish organization, Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi, has been created since 1917. As notedpreviously, many organizations struggled to gain full acceptance on college campuses.Certain universities divided Greek organizations into two lists "Group A" and "Group B."Group A included the traditional and Gentile fraternities, while Group B included thesecond-class organizations, such as the Jewish fraternities. 93In addition to the obstaclescreated by the universities, the Jewish community created another hurdle for theseorganizations. While long-time Jewish Americans, who themselves enjoyed membershipin country clubs, understood the benefit of the Greek system as the "social centers" of the91 Sanua, 18092 Sigma Delta Tau, accessed April 28, 2011,http://www.sigmadeltatau.com/index.php?option=com_content.93 Sanua, 8323