The Panther

Issue date: 3/30/05 Section: Lifestyles and Health

Raquel Clark, student and member of Zeta Phi Beta.

There are nine active Greek organizations on campus: Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, Delta Sigma Theta, Phi Beta Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta, Sigma Gamma Rho, and Iota Phi Theta. The Panther would like to inform readers how students can go to class, socialize, be active members of an organization, and hold a job. Therefore, each week the Panther will showcase a member of each of the nine active Greek organizations on campus.

The first Greek letter sorority to be constitutionally bound to a fraternity, to charter a chapter in Africa, to centralize its national headquarters, and to form adult and youth auxiliary groups is Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Founded on January 16, 1920 on the campus of Howard University by five women, known as "the pearls," Zeta was founded on the principles of scholarship, service, sisterly love, and finer womanhood.

Raquel R. Clark, a 22-year-old native of Houston, Texas, is one of the 40 active "z-kitties" of the Omega Gamma chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. on the campus of Prairie View A&M University. While many accredit a boost in popularity and prominence to Greek life, Clark maintains the same life she had before the letters. "The sorority doesn't make me, I make the sorority," said Clark. "You won't catch me walking around with my nose stuck up, if anything I have just gained a huge family of people who love me."

"A huge family" who sometimes, leave this senior English major trying to find the balance between school and sorority. " I can't even lie. It's hard not to throw the books down and go party with my sorors and frat," said Clark. "I just have to remember that school comes first."

Anyone seeking membership into a sorority or fraternity must research and examine its members, its history, and its reputation. "I wanted to be a Zeta because I saw evidence of scholarship, sisterly love, service, and finer womanhood," said Clark. "I knew I had to be in an organization full of people just like me, and Zetas are known for being down-to-earth and approachable."

Clark said Zeta Phi Beta takes care of business. "I have to make time for all meetings, seminars, and community service we attend," said Clark. "Trust me, its not easy being a kitty."

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