Records of the Gamma Chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi, 1903-1934
Overview
Reports, bulletins, correspondence of the Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority's Gamma Chapter at the University of Maine.
Dates
- Creation: 1903-1934
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by the Gamma Chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi as well as copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.
Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.
Extent
.42 linear feet (1 file box)The records of the Gamma Chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi consist of convention and annual reports, correspondence, constitution and bylaws, and bulletins documenting the activities of the Gamma Chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi at the University of Maine, as well as the activities of the larger sorority. Some material regarding the merger of the chapter of Delta Sigma at Tufts University into Alpha Omicron Pi is also included, as well as letters of endorsement for Phi Gamma, the first sorority at the University of Maine. Of particular note are a document (including a diagram) explaining initiation procedures, a letter providing a detailed description of Alpha Omicron Pi's 1923 convention, and records documenting conflict at the University of Maine between Alpha Omicron Pi and Phi Mu Sorority. The matter involved a dispute as to whether Alpha Omicron sisters were discouraging students from pledging Phi Mu. Folder names were created by the archivist. The collection is arranged alphabetically.
HISTORICAL NOTE
The first chapter of college sorority Alpha Omicron Pi was formed by four classmates at Barnard College in 1897 and the sorority soon expanded, with chapters formed at the Sophie Newcomb Memorial College (now Tulane University), New York University, and the University of Tennessee between 1898 and 1902. The sorority was founded on the principles of character, dignity, scholarship, and college loyalty, with members encouraged to excel academically and be of service to their communities.
The Gamma Chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority was founded at the University of Maine in 1908, when the three chapters of the New England Delta Sigma Sorority applied for admission into a national sorority. These three chapters were based at Tufts University, Brown University, and at the University of Maine. The chapter at the University of Maine had originated as Phi Gamma, and was the first sorority at the University of Maine; it merged with Delta Sigma in 1903. As of 2020, the Gamma Chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi remains active. For a history of Alpha Omicron Pi, see the centennial history book on the sorority's website.
Physical Location
Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession number: 2019-M199
The records of the Gamma Chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi were acquired from DeWolfe and Wood in December 2019.
Processing Information
Processed: February 2020
By: Susan Earle
The Schlesinger Library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit. Finding aids may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
- Author
- Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
- Language of description
- eng
- Sponsor
- Processing of this collection was made possible by the 1955 Manuscript Processing Fund.
- EAD ID
- sch01714
Repository Details
Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository
The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.