Last year, a group of inspired students advocated for the creation of a multicultural sorority on Trinity’s campus. The group sought a sisterhood where members could see themselves in one another. Initially, the group sought a national chapter of the multicultural sorority, Sigma Lambda Gamma, but even after gathering troops and garnering campus support, the initial plan to bring Sigma Lambda Gamma still fell through.
This, however, only became an obstacle and not a deterrent. After a long-fought battle with Trinity administration, fraternity and sorority life (FSL) advisors suggested the creation of a local multicultural sorority, the first of its kind on Trinity’s campus. With the support of FSL, Delta Theta Nu was created.
Creating a sorority from scratch proved to be a challenge in and of itself. Considering the letters, nickname, colors, philanthropy, constitution and motto, the Nu girls began to craft the sorority they envisioned for themselves. Delta Theta Nu’s colors, black, lilac and baby pink, are an ode to Sigma Lambda Gamma, the initial sorority they sought. Delta Theta Nu began with its motto “Non Ducor, Duco,” a Latin phrase that translates to “I am not led, I lead.” The leaders brought in a founding class of 16 girls, each finding their way home to Delta Theta Nu.
Bringing a multicultural sorority to Trinity’s campus had been a long endeavor that began in the summer of 2022 for Jimena Ibarra, senior English major, co-founder and vice-president of Delta Theta Nu. Inspiration for Delta Theta Nu came from historically black sororities like the Divine Nine, a conglomerate of Greek life that aims to achieve a siblinghood of members that share a similar identity.
“For me, I think it was just that I felt like I didn’t want to rush any other organizations because I didn’t see anyone that looked like me in them,” Ibarra said. “We wanted to create a space where we felt represented and then also where other students could feel represented as well.”
Over this summer, founders of Delta Theta Nu worked together to bring the sorority to life. Now that the Nu girls have finally established their place on Trinity’s campus, there is much to look forward to.
“I think it’ll be incredibly, incredibly exciting to see what our bid day is going to look like,” Ibarra said. “To really see the work we’ve been doing for a year now finally come to fruition, and be able to welcome people to their home on campus. Also, to get to know these girls and hear their stories.”
Alongside Ibarra, Nicole Covarrubias, senior political science major, worked as a co-founder and is now president of Delta Theta Nu. Covarrubias and many members of Delta Theta Nu never envisioned themselves in Greek life, but have finally found a space of their own. Multicultural sororities offer more emphasis on cultural aspects of the organization than traditional sororities.
“With our sorority, we focus more on the identities that make up our organization, and empowering and also learning from each other,” Covarrubias said. “Fostering an inclusive space for everyone, and I think also in a way encouraging open-mindedness for people to be more culturally sensitive to other cultures, whereas that’s not really a focus for traditional sororities.”
Triana Perez, sophomore undecided major and standards chair for Delta Theta Nu, oversees that her fellow members and organization are involved in the Trinity community. As a member of the founding class, Perez feels a sense of pressure trying to navigate through the unknown, but the joy of having a place to call home outweighs everything else.
“We’re the first ones doing this and we see all these sororities doing so good and we feel all this pressure of not really knowing what to do, and trying to navigate through it,” Perez said. “But finding a home and seeing freshmen feel welcomed makes everything worth it.”
