The University of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma State University Panhellenic Associations have completed sorority recruitment. Congratulations to the new members of these organizations. Enjoy your time as a collegiate member and cherish the fact that membership is for a lifetime. To celebrate this event, here are the covers from two vintage rush guides from these campuses.
Both the University of Oklahoma in Norman and Oklahoma State University in Stillwater were founded in 1890, 17 years before Oklahoma became a state in 1907.
In 1909, Kappa Alpha Theta and Delta Delta Delta chartered chapters at the University of Oklahoma. By 1920, there were 10 National Panhellenic Conference organizations on campus.
OSU began as Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College. It became Oklahoma State University in 1957. In 1919, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Delta, and Pi Beta Phi all founded chapters there. Lambda Chi Alpha was the only national men’s fraternity on campus in 1919.
The women to whom these rush guides belonged were in college during the war years. Their college careers were turned upside down. Most males of college age were in the armed forces. Men’s fraternity life came to a halt during those years. Rationing of food, gasoline, and material goods became a part of daily life. There was angst and worry about the world situation and loved ones serving in the military. There was no instant communication as we have today (cell phones, e-mail, skype, etc.); waiting for the mailman to bring word from a loved one across the world added extra stress to one’s college career. If you know women who were in college during World War II, ask them what campus life was like. Chances are it was light years away from what the young women who have joined sororities in Oklahoma (and elsewhere) are experiencing today.
(c) Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2013. All Rights Reserved.
