Gamping Here We Come!

Fall has come and camping season has come along with it, but as a member of Gamma Chi Delta, I call this Gamping (Gammas + Camping... get it?). Gamping is an annual tradition in my sorority and for some is the highlight of their social year. Although I have not yet had the honor to go gamping (because I was not a member of the club in Fall 2008), I have heard nothing but amazing things and crazy stories about the event. One must keep in mind, of course, that this is not real camping. Instead of tents, we stay in cabins; instead of sleeping bags, we have beds; and there will definitely be bathrooms! Nonetheless, gamping is a way for all the members of Gamma Chi Delta – and each of the dates they choose to bring – to get out into the wilderness, stand around the firepit, and have a good time.

The event is in three days, and I could not be more excited! I am already started to pack my cold weather clothing (which, being from Arizona, I have very little of), buy snacks and s’more ingrediants of course, and plan with my friends all that we will be doing. The theme for the weekend is based upon the book, and more recently the movie, “Where the Wild Things Are”. Our properties chair, Alissa, designed shirts, dresses, water bottles, and even cute underwear with a custom “Where the Wild Things Are/Gamping” logo. I couldn’t help but buy one of each item; they are all awesome.

I can’t wait for Friday to come so I can gamping can begin! Hopefully, the weekend will live up to all the stories that I have heard about previous years. If only the week could go by slightly faster… I am ready to get wild in the wilderness with all my Gammas!

This is the logo that is on all the the Gamping merchandise!

I can't wait to wear mine!

Gammas Say Relax... It's Just a Crush!

Gamma Chi Delta Sorority has an annual tradition of holding a “crush” date party in the fall. For all other date parties, each Gamma will invite a boy to be her date for the night. “Crush” parties are a little different because each Gamma writes down who they want their date to be and a mass-email is sent to all the chosen dates informing them that they are invited- but they do not know which Gamma wrote their name down. This secrecy is the fundamental aspect of the “crush” theme; Gammas can invite their “crushes” who they might be too embarrassed to ask face-to-face. The whole party is somewhat of a joke because no one really invites their crushes. The Gamma Properties Chair, Alissa Howard, even made a shirt for Gamma’s to buy for their secret dates that read “GAMMAS SAY RELAX… IT’S JUST A CRUSH”.

The hectic planning leading up to the night (i.e. choosing dates, buying shirts, shopping for dresses) was nothing close to the actual event- it was a crazy night! The party started before we even got to the club when big buses came to Trinity University to pick up all the Gammas and mystery dates. The bus driver, Don, was an older man with a great sense of humor- he pulled the charter bus over on US-281 highway as a practical joke telling us that we were getting pulled over by the cops! By the time we got to Medusa’s (the downtown venue at which the function was held), everyone was ready to party! Medusa’s had a huge dance floor – which everyone took advantage of – and a DJ that only played a list of songs that Gammas had previously voted on. The fun night definitely ended too quickly, as people began to get back on the charter buses to be taken back to campus. Walking to upper campus definitely took a toll on my already exhausted feet, but it was all worth it!

About one-half of my pledge class and I waiting for the bus to

take us to Medusa's.

Gammas kick off for 'Concert for the Cure'!

As mentioned in my previous blog post, community service is a under recognized, but highly important, aspect of the Greek organizations at Trinity University; each club having its own ‘signature cause’. For Gamma Chi Delta, this cause is raising funds for cancer research and our huge service event for the year is “The Concert for the Cure”. This event was started by an old active member named Amy Walton who overcame childhood cancer. Amy used this as motivation to establish The Concert for the Cure Foundation which dedicated its revenues to The American Cancer Society. The first concert, in 2006 was in held in Mabee Dining Hall on campus, the next year it was the Tigers Den. But last year, the concert was made a massive leap in its magnitude and popularity and was held at Sunset Station – a trendy spot downtown. On a cold, February night, hundreds of Trinity students and San Antoinians gathered to hear The Eli Young Band play; all the proceeds went to the cancer cause. To this date, The Concert for the Cure Foundation has donated over $33,000 to the American Cancer Society!

This year, Gammas are getting ready for ‘Concert for the Cure’ already, beginning fundraisers to pay for the venue, the band, and the night of fun! Last Thursday Gammas held the ‘Kick off for Concert for the Cure’ party at Tycoon Flats – a popular bar just two blocks south of Trinity. Tons of Gammas, rushees, and friends attended with a small fee of $5 (which could be paid with Tigerbucks, of course!). All the proceeds went to the Concert for the Cure Foundation. Of course, the night was about philanthropy, but it was also a blast. Tycoon Flats had a band of their own performing while students met, mingled, and danced. This kickoff party was a great way for Gamma Chi Delta to show their serious dedication to the American Cancer Society and to have a good time doing it.


A gamma PC '08 member, Ann Wist, posing with
the band that played at Tycoon Flats the night
of the 'Concert for the Cure Kickoff Party'.

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Gammas Join 'Team Emma'

To any independent-college student at Trinity University, Greek clubs on campus may seem like just an excuse for a group of stuck up adolescents to drink and party. But the Greek system is also a way to get involved in the community through volunteer activity and last weekend Gamma Chi Delta, as well as other Trinity sororities and fraternities, joined the Phi Delta Kappa sorority in their largest service event of the academic year; the Walk for Polycystic Kidney Disease. This cause is especially important to Phi Delta Kappa because one of their members, Emma Hutchinson, lost her battle with PKD in 2008. Since then, they have dedicated their volunteerism towards the PKD Foundation focusing on the annual Walk for Polycystic Kidney Disease in San Antonio.

The event this year took place a Breckenridge Park at the painfully early hour of 8:00a.m. Despite the urge to press 'snooze' on our morning alarm clocks, nearly all 75 Gammas were at Breckenridge Park ready to walk the 1km route in order to raise money, awareness and spirits.

The event itself was a show; different booths were set up for registration, to provide breakfast, and there was even a DJ to get us ready to walk! Team Emma, which comprised of over 150 Trinity Students (almost 1/2 were Gammas), stood under the starting line for a picture with Emma's parents and her grandmother who had given one of her kidneys to a new-born Emma to save her life. The ceremony before the walk began was truly inspiring. A woman gave a speech about her personal battle with PKD, revealing how thankful she was to see such support for a foundation which provided the funding for her live saving kidney transfer.

The walk began and ended in under 20 minutes, but the time I and my sorority sisters gave up to not only support a great cause but support fellow Greeks on campus was much more rewarding. The Walk for Polycystic Kidney Disease was something Gammas were so proud to be a part of!

This is all of 'Team Emma' at
the starting line- the Gammas are in green!
(Picture and Permission by Paige Ottoson)

Welcome Back Gammas... Now "Grab a Date"!!

After becoming members of Gamma Chi Delta Sorority in the spring of 2009, my pledge sisters and I were being constantly introduced to (and often surprised by) new events and traditions that made our sorority special. I, for one, thought that the surprises would be over in the fall seeing as we were no longer freshman and had been members for an entire semester. Well, I was wrong. And I think that it is safe to say that, in Gammas, surprises are the preferred way to tell the newest members about anything going on in the club. What is my reasoning you ask? “Grab a Date 2009”.

Our first Gamma Meeting of the fall came to a close. But as all the girls were getting ready to go to Coates for some dinner, our President yells out “Let’s take a vote! When is our ‘Welcome Back Party’?” Then, as if it was rehearsed, all upperclassmen members yell back, “tonight!” My pledge sisters and I (that's us in the picture above!) seemed to be the only ones in the room shocked by this unexpected news. As the older girls laughed at our astonished faces, they soon informed us that the party was called “Grab a Date” and we were to call (or “grab”) a boy in the next three ours and ask him to be our last-minute date. If that wasn’t enough pressure, each girl took a piece of paper out of a bag being passed around which indicated the unique costume theme that you and your date had to dress up as at the party. I first pulled 'Jon and Kate Plus 8' but quickly traded for 'construction workers'.

After three hours flew by- filled with scrambling for dates and digging through costume closets- I finally arrived with my friends and our dates to Tycoon Flats for our first date-party of the year! The night was full of dancing, mingling, but mostly laughing at all of our sisters’ crazy costumes and the ridiculous outfits they made their dates wear. Except for getting back to my room at 3am on a Sunday, the night was perfect! It was a great way to start out my sophomore year at Trinity as a member of Gamma Chi Delta. I can’t wait for more good times to come!

Me and some of my sorority sisters at Tycoon Flats.
The costumes here include an M&M, Eve, a mermaid,
Mini Mouse, and me- a construction worker!