CAFNR women join professional sorority

Melissa Buckman, Corner Post staff

Sept. 20, 2002 - Sigma Alpha, the professional agricultural sorority at MU, had its first rush Sept. 16-20. Each day had a different theme varying from 70s clothing to picking up trash.

Rush began Sept. 16 with a "Disco Fever Party," where the women donned their favorite 70s clothes and socialized while enjoying refreshments. On Tuesday, they listened to a professional speaker - this time trading the hippie look in for professional dress. On Wednesday, the rushees helped Sigma Alpha with one of their philanthropy activities, Adopt-a-Spot, and ended the night with a picnic. On Thursday, everyone took a more serious tone when the women were interviewed by a panel of Sigma Alpha members.

On Friday, the rushees picked up letters from the Gentry mailroom to find out if they made it through rush week and whether they had been given a bid for Sigma Alpha.

Later in the day, they were picked up a few at a time by their new sisters. Some were adorned with cowboy hats and some were blindfolded. All the girls were greeted with sprays of silly sting and a few gifts, including a Bid Day shirt. The new members were then treated to a hayride - the first of a long line of sisterhood events that they will be participating in throughout the remainder of their college years.

"Being a woman in agriculture … you instantly have a bond," Erica Thieman said when asked about joining Sigma Alpha rather than a social sorority.

Sigma Alpha, chartered at MU in January with 17 members, is an organization that focuses on agricultural professional development for women while bestowing bonds of sisterhood. It is part of the Professional Fraternity Council rather than the Panhellenic Council, which the social fraternities and sororities on campus belong to.

"I'm not a girly-girl," Diane Hesse, agribusiness major, said when explaining why she joined a professional sorority instead of a social one.

Because it focuses on agricultural women, 80 percent of Sigma Alpha's members must have an agricultural or natural resources major.

Sigma Alpha does have social events, including a spring formal, movie nights and a hayride. Its members are also active participants in Ag Week.


Story originally posted 10/02/02


Back to archives