Zeta Tau Alpha was founded October
15, 1898, by nine women at the State Female Normal School in Farmville,
Virginia. Only 14-15 years of age, these young women desired permanence to their
friendships and hoped to perpetuate their sisterhood long after
college. Though dedicated to the formation of a Greek-letter group, the
band of nine delayed selecting a formal name. A temporary name of "???" was
taken when, as legend has it, a member of another group met with the
Founders. Raising her eyebrows and forming her fingers in the shape of
a question mark, she asked "Who are you?" In unison, the group answered "Yes,
Who? Who? Who?" Thus, the group came to be known as "???" while they
sought an appropriate Greek name and symbols. During this time, the
group received valuable assistance from two of the members' brothers - Maud's
brother, Plummer Jones, and Frances Yancey Smith's brother Giles Mebane
Smith. Both were students at the college of William and Mary, members
of men's Greek-letter organizations and knowledgeable of Greek lore. After a
year of careful contemplation, the group chose the formal name, the
patron goddess and the badge.
Local
History
Three nursing majors, Donna Hart,
Nancy Travers, and Helen Ward dreamed of starting a new national sorority on campus. At the time, there was only one other national
sorority, 2 African American sororities, and 2 local sororities. These
three women worked hard to build up membership and seek acceptance from a sorority who would agree to colonize them. They finally chose Zeta and it
was the best decision they could have ever made. On Janurary 31, 1981
Zeta Tau Alpha was installed at Trenton State
College!
Recent
History
In the Spring of 2000 the Iota Gamma
chapter was caught hazing for the last time! Our membership dropped from 76 to just 12 (the Spring 2000 new member class + 1) as the rest of
the sisters did not want to endure the reorganization that was ahead.
In the fall of 2000 we were able to rebuild ourselves, doubling in size to 24 and complete our first successful non-hazing new member program. In the
Spring of 2001 we were able to take quota and reached TCNJ's
Panhellenic total of 50. We have successfully reorganized our chapter, adding
19 new members in 2002 and 21 new members in 2003, 18 new members in
2004, and 22 new members in 2005. Yup - we are pretty
proud!!
Traditions
Zeta Tau Alpha is known as a
fraternity, not a sorority. The founders intended ZTA be designated a "fraternity" to distinguish the organization from the sisterhoods organized
in connection with men's fraternities, called sororities. From
its founding in 1898, the innermost meanings of Zeta Tau Alpha have remained unchanged through the preservation of and respect for rituals.
Members and chapters celebrate the founding of Zeta Tau Alpha on
October 15 each year. The Founders' Day service offers rememberance, while turquoise and gray ribbons worn under the badge show each member's
commitment to the founding ideals of ZTA.
The Creed of Zeta Tau
Alpha:
To realize that within our grasp, in
Zeta Tau Alpha, lies the opportunity to learn those things which will ever enrich and ennoble our lives; to be true to ourselves and to those within
and without our circle; to think in terms of all mankind and our
service in the world; to be steadfast, strong, and clean of heart and mind, remembering that since the thought is father to the deed, only that which
we would have manifested in our experience should be entertained in
thought; to find satisfaction in being, rather than seeming, thus strengthening in us the higher qualities of the spirit; to prepare for
service and learn the nobility of serving, thereby earning the right to
be served; to seek understanding that we might gain true wisdom; to look for the
good in everyone; to see beauty, with its enriching influence; to be
humble in success, and without bitterness in defeat; to have the
welfare and harmony of the Fraternity at heart, striving ever to make our lives
a symphony of high ideals, devotion to the right, the good, and the
true, without a discordant note; remembering always that the foundation
precept of Zeta Tau Alpha was love, “the greatest of all
things.” --
Shirley Kreasan Strout
