Gamma Phi Omega recently celebrated its 25th anniversary on campus. Because of this, Vice president Ashley Toruno said they were made the hosts of their sorority’s annual national conference.
Gamma Phi Omega was founded April 17, 1991, at IU by six women, chapter president Elizabeth Amador said. She said this made it the first Latina-oriented sorority on campus.
“I think it’s such a privilege that we were founded at IU and were able to continue to grow as a chapter,” Amador said.
Amador said the founders started their own sorority instead of joining a Panhellenic Association sorority because it gave the founders a place to fit in and embrace their culture through the University.
All members of the sorority are required to attend the conference, Amador said. Four of the original six founders were also present at the conference.
The conference began last Friday at the Indiana Memorial Union, Amador said. Sisters arrived for early registration, where they planned a tour of all the historical locations for their organization on campus. This event was followed by a glow stick Zumba party.
On the following day, the conference continued with several workshops at Woodburn Hall. Amador said topics for the workshops included the history of Gamma Phi Omega, healthy eating, the workplace and how to advance as a person.
Later that evening, an exclusive banquet was held for all members of the sorority, Amador said. Several awards were given out to various chapters that night, including Chapter of the Year for IU’s chapter.
Gamma Phi Omega also won Multi-Cultural Greek Council Chapter of Excellence award at the Greek Assessment and Awards on Sunday night, Amador said.
Finally, on Sunday morning, sorority members held an event with their founders where the members learned about the history behind Gamma Phi Omega and why it was introduced. A Q&A session with the founders followed.
“Hearing from our founders how and why our organization was created was a great way to wrap up the weekend,” Amador said.
About 5.7 percent of the total IU student population is either Hispanic or Latino, according to a survey conducted last semester by the University Institutional Research and Reporting. About 79.9 percent of the IU student population is white.
Because of this racial disparity, it is important minority students feel like they have places where they can celebrate their cultures. Gamma Phi Omega sorority gives Latina women an opportunity to do this, Amador said.
“We find a home away from home here because this is such a predominantly white campus,” Amador said.
Currently, two of the 14 members of Gamma Phi Omega are not Latina.
Only five of the original six founders were Latina, Toruno said. This further promotes Gamma Phi Omega is not exclusive to only Latina women.
“We aspire to keep attracting sisters of all backgrounds and diversity,” Toruno said. “Having so many women come together to promote their culture and sisterhood is something we strive to do.”
During the conference, Toruno said the founders told their fellow sisters they were satisfied with the accomplishments of the chapter. Toruno said these feelings are reciprocated.
“Seeing their hard work is really inspiring to me,” Toruno said. “We really hope to make them proud.”
The four primary values of Gamma Phi Omega, and sororities as a whole, are academic excellence, community service, cultural awareness and sisterhood.
In order to properly live up to these values, sisters of Gamma Phi Omega involve themselves with several philanthropies and organizations on and off campus, Amador said.
Their national philanthropy is for the American Diabetes Association, which Gamma Phi Omega is one of the top fundraising teams for, Toruno said.
Also, they contribute to the organization by participating in the Step Out Walk to Stop Diabetes in Indianapolis, which is through the association.
Gamma Phi Omega also annually participates in the Bloomington AIDS Walk, whose proceeds go to HIV/AIDS prevention, Amador said.
The sorority also often volunteers at the Monroe County Library in a program called “El Central Communal,” which Amador said tutors children in Spanish.
“It’s important to grow up knowing both cultures,” Amador said. “It’s important to speak both English and Spanish.”
