The Iota Chapter

2012-02-01T15:04:00.000-05:00

Hello!

From Carlson.

From Starlit.

Sigma's Sweet Sixteen in Seattle

2010-05-30T17:41:00.009-04:00

This year, our national convention was held in Seattle, WA, the first west-coast convention. Rho Chapter hosted an amazing convention with line syzter dinners, to an amazing cruise party and a fantastic gala. We met a lot of different sisters, and finally got a chance to meet sisters on the West Coast!

Some other highlights of this trip??

We sold out of the super cute shirts that Rena designed!
We won our first ever Psi Sistership Award!
3 Iota sisters are now on National EBOD!
While taking a national group picture after the workshops, meetings, and elections, a bride and groom decided to jump into our picture and take a few pictures of their own! It was a little weird, but really fun and interesting =)
seeing the famous fish-throwing, singing people who sell fish, and buying some really amazing smoked salmon from them

Congratulations to our entire chapter for getting a Psi Sistership Award for distinguished Achievements in Integrity!!! And congratulations to Stephanie “Thalia” Liu and Camille “Nocturne” Enriquez on becoming the new Chapter Directors and Alice “Vitalia” Wu on becoming the new Speaker of the Council on EBOD 2010-2011!!

It’s been a great year for us, and we’re definitely headed towards becoming even stronger and closer than we already are.

Our Rho host, Nancy “adinah” Ho, was incredible and very helpful. We owe her a special thank you for everything that she’s done for us this weekend. It was an amazing weekend, and this convention really set the bar for future conventions.

Here’s some pictures of this weekend. =)

Iota Chapter actives with the Psi Sistership Award for Integrity =)

Sight Seeing in Seattle!

Getting ready for the cruise party. Iota Omicron

-Vitalia

Class of 2010

2010-05-18T00:00:00.013-04:00

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2010! You ladies have definitely contributed so much to Sigma and really helped to make it what it is today. In the past four years, we've accomplished a great deal as a chapter thanks to you. We'll really miss you all and hope that you'll come back and visit us in Rochester!

Lynna Gu, Annabelle Estera, Rena W, Christy Zheng, Kerry Wang, & Camille Enriquez

Lynna Gu, Annabelle Estera, Rena W, Christy Zheng, & Lingyu Liu

Looking forward to seeing you all again soon for our 10-year celebration!

Here's a video slideshow that I hope brings back some good memories :)

- link in case the video doesn't work! -- http://animoto.com/play/n2I0h5rDrhd7oaLdufTZ8A

Congratulations to Annabelle "Cadenza" Estera, Camille "Nocturne" Enriquez, Christy "Collision" Zheng, Kerry "Ballistic" Wang, Lingyu "Λpex" Liu, and Rena "Crisis" W & Lynna "Influence" Gu!<3>

True to the colors red & gold, sisters forever, heart & soul

-Vitalia<3>

Congratulations Iota Chapter!

2010-04-07T02:32:00.000-04:00

the award + letter from the review board

Congratulations to Iota Chapter for winning the "Expectations in Excellence in Strategic Planning" award at the Fraternity and Sorority Achievement Reception today! This is one of the few top awards given out to Greek organizations and makes it the fourth year in the row that we have received honorable recognition by the University and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs (OFSA). What was once considered a small MGC organization that seemed to stand no chance against the large Greek organizations on campus, is now growing to be one of the most influential Greek organizations on our campus. I'm so proud of all the SYZters who have dedicated so much time and effort into getting Sigma Psi Zeta to where it is now. We've come a long way & let's hope we continue this legacy! <3Crisis

Looking Back: Iota Chapter 2009-2010

2010-04-06T01:20:00.000-04:00

It's been an extremely productive year and I just wanted to compile all the things that Iota Chapter has done for the past year. It's been an amazing time and I'm happy to see stronger bonds between sisters as well as stronger ties between our sorority and the community. I hope the years that follow will be just as memorable, if not more. Go Sigma! LOVE YOU ALL! <3Crisis

P.S. It may or may not be in exact order, and I know it doesn't include all the things we've done. Please let me know if I'm missing anything important or if I've made an error because these events are pretty much whatever I got out of pictures I've taken this past year haha. Otherwise enjoy reminiscing :) Warning: picture heavy!

April 2009-Iota Omicron crossing party

May 2009-Frances's Birds of Paradise Birthday Party!

September 2009-Seniors night out

September 2009-Sister Picnic

September 2009-Activities Fair

September 2009-Sig Rho Capture the Flag Rush Event

September 2009-Sister Social at Frank Warren's Post Secret Event

September 2009-Ember Party hosted by UR PDPSI

September 2009-Project Bundle Up (Comm Service)

September 2009-RUSH

October 2009-Visits from other SYZters Rita Wu, Alice Shu, Amy Chan, Trudy Li

October 2009-Bone Marrow Drive

October 2009-Dinner with Alums @ Distillery

October 2009-Walk a Mile in her Shoes (Comm Service)

October 2009-Domestic Violence Awareness Week

October 2009-Wong Fu Productions @ SUNY Buffalo

October 2009-DVA Week Silent Witness Figures

October 2009-DVA Week Catherine Cerulli Guest Speaker

October 2009-Co-Sponsoring for Halo Halo-ween

October 2009-Happy Halloween @ Club Pearl

October 2009-Co-Sponsors of Sexual Assault Awareness Week

November 2009-NERR at Yale

November 2009-Yayi & Alice presenting at Meet the Greeks (sorry I only have a really short video!)

November 2009-Sister Jeopardy

November 2009-SUNY Albany's Asian Occasion

Fall 2009-Iota Pi Crossing

December 2009-Boar's Head Event

December 2009-Iota Pi Crossing Party

December 2009-MGC Potluck (canceled...)

December 2009-Hot Chocolate Study Break

December 2009-Alumni Sigma Reunion Brunch @ NYC

January 2010-Sigma Secret Santa Exchange

January 2010-Order of Omega Induction of Lisa & Frances

January 2010-Happy Birthday Lingyu "Apex" Liu

January 2010-Four-Way Mixer @ SUNY Buffalo

January 2010-Iota Chapter Spring 2010 RUSH

February 2010-Rush @ SUNY Geneseo

February 2010-China Nite & After Party

February 2010-Restaurant Night @ Meliora

February 2010-Sister Retreat: Skiing @ Bristol Mountains

February 2010-CNY/Valentines Day Sister Celebration

February 2010-SigChi Mixer/Susana's Bday

March 2010-Founders Week-Sister Unity Event

March 2010-Korea Night (refer to blog post below!)

April 2010-RIT PDPSI mixer

April 2010-Quilt Making (Comm Service)

China Nite 2010

2010-02-12T18:56:00.000-05:00

Thanks to our syzters for participating and/or coming to support the show and special thanks for Delta Chapter for coming out and supporting us! Also, good job Frances "Forte" Wang for putting together an amazing sold-out show! Order DVDs!

Here is an article that can sum this up better than I can haha:

By: Thanh Ngo
Staff Writer

For the Asian community, it was Christmas all over again. Except that red envelopes were given out instead of colorful presents and dumplings was served in place of baked ham. Holiday spirits filled the air of Strong Auditorium on Saturday, Feb. 6th as the audience enjoyed the most exciting New Year celebration held by the Chinese Students’ Association: “China Nite 2010 – Year of the Tiger.”

The show began with the scene on an airplane and American pop music. A young girl, Miley ( played by Freshman Jennifer Chou) was on her way to visit Beijing, China. Sitting next to her was Di Pan (played by Sophomore Manuel Sangkwon Lim), a young Chinese guy who was also visiting the city. It turned out that, having grown up in American all her life, Miley has become too “Americanized” to appreciate her ethnicity. Di Pan, therefore, decided to take her around the city and showed her the ‘real’ China. Following the characters, the audience had the opportunity to experience what Chinese culture was about through various forms of performances incorporated within the story.

One of the lines said by the character was: “Dancing in every culture is an art. There are all sorts of different styles. In China, dancing is about creating harmony. Fans are a great way for us to create harmony, There is more to our great culture than just fans. Many times we can diversify with other things…” The statement was followed by convincing proofs - dances accompanied by these unique and representative objects ranging from long fans to handkerchiefs, umbrellas, and eye-catching costumes.

Through entertaining acts, the audience was introduced to origins of Lunar New Year, meanings behind the use of the color red and other interesting facts on subjects like Kung Fu or mahjong. Moreover, certain stereotypes toward certain Chinese values such as “Parents are cheap. People chew with their mouths open. They always fight for bills. And people obsess over some Zodiac fortune telling thingy, and Feng Shui” were unraveled to the audience in light-hearted and funny video clips.

As CSA Vice President Frances Wang has said “What we hope people get out of it is some new light and perspective on Chinese culture. Some people have never seen a fan dance or a lion head dance, and so China Nite is an opportunity for people to kind of get a sampling taste of different attributes of Chinese culture.”

However, we also wanted people to have fun and were not bored to death. From our perspectives as young college students, we blended in new aspects that reflect our generations. Modern musical elements were skillfully included in the show, without taking away the Chinese “feelings”. The audience was greatly entertained when the soothing jazz music and the ballet were combined with the popular Boom Boom Pow beats and hip-hop moves, choreographed by Sophomore Susana Ho and Moxi Zhou. Dancers Junior Jason Tan and 5th Year Ed Chung showed off their break-dancing techniques in multiple rounds of applause from the audience. The last performance, choreographed bySophomore Alexandria Xuechen Bao, with modern Chinese music and moves that no less attractive than those of Beyoncé - Single Ladies, left everyone awe.

“It was a phenomenal musical and visual feast with an entertaining touch of Chinese culture” said Freshman Christi Erba, one of the students who came to celebrate the night with us.

The big day is officially over, but it seems like the feelings still linger. When one comes across Facebook pictures, videos and statuses such as “Muran Zhu just realized that there are no more China Nite rehearsals”, there is a mutual feeling of emptiness. Music and moves no longer occupies the choreographers’ dreams and notebooks. Friday nights, Saturday mornings, Sunday afternoons on the dancers’ planners are now free of multiple practicing times. CSA Publicity Brian Ho now can spend more time on his Computer Science Project than on designing flyers and posters.

It was a long process that required tremendous amounts of team work and individual dedication. Anyone would remember the overwhelmed Frances Wang who seemed to have multiply herself to exist simultaneously everywhere: dressing rooms, backstage, Upper Strong, Lower Strong, or even on stage. Biology textbooks, Economics homework and laptops scattered around the auditoriums with the same frequencies of Starbucks cups and Chinese take-outs. Constant reminders such as “Frances. Breath!” and “Girls, don’t forget to smile” were given out to settle the butterflies before the performances.

For the people who were involved, nothing could be more rewarding than to know that everyone came to the show enjoyed it and looked forward for future events. Lunar New Year holds a significant meaning for us and it is our desire to share the excitements with as many people as possible.

With that said, I wish everyone an upcoming year full of joys and great fortunes.
Happy New Year!

2009-04-14T23:07:00.000-04:00

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE IOTA OMICRON CLASS!!

#39 Isabel Han "Caesura"
#40 Nina Lai "Andante"
#41 Alice Wu "Vitalia"
#42 Lynna Gu "Influence"
#43 Susana Ho "Ebullience"
#44 Yichen Qiu "Misaki"

You've made us proud ladies. Welcome to the syzterhood.
Rock those letters!!

Take Back The Night

2009-04-11T19:43:00.000-04:00

On April 9th. We cosponsored Take Back The Night with Women's Caucus as a part of their Sexual Assault Awareness Week. The event started at 6:00pm at Heavens Lounge. We first gather in a circle and shared sexual assault stories either found on TBTN web site or of our own. Hearing some girls sharing their own stories was shocking and sad to me. The discussion was followed by the candle light march through eastman quad, residential quad and back to Wilson Commons. Even though we couldn't light the candel successfully because of the wind, it was still a rewarding experience.

For that week, we also cosponsored Clothesline project, in which we encouraged students to draw their feeling about sexual assault on plain t-shirts and hung them up in Hirst Lounge. We can definitely work more with Women's Caucus in the future!

--Equinox

Relay for Life

2009-04-07T22:04:00.000-04:00

Friday, April 3rd, 2009 was Relay for Life hosted by U of R. Most sisters stayed the entire 12 hours--6pm to 6am :) We had dedication bags for some sisters we were relaying for, including our alumna Wincheng Lin.

We passed the time by participating in contests like Chubby Bunny and the Frozen T-shirt contest haha.

We also played Never Have I Ever...and some Horse game LOL. We tossed around a football for a while & played poker :D I hope everyone had a lot of fun--we raised a LOT of money. Special recognition to Kerry who raised over $800!!

<3 Crisis

Alumnae Weekend

2009-04-07T22:00:00.000-04:00

March 27-29, 2009 We had our annual alumnae weekend. Christie Hoang, Stephanie Liu, Miranda Kiang, Helen Phan, Sayaka Hanada, and Tiffany Tsui came to visit for the weekend hooray! We had a Psi Upsilon Mixer Friday night and Saturday afternoon we had pizza with the alumnae. After that, we had a belly dancing workshop. At night, we went out to have delicious meat-filled dinner at Delmononico's Steakhouse :9 Finally we capped off the night with sister jeopardy & an open house party. We miss you alumns! Come back soon :) Hope you like the gift!!

<3 Crisis

Greetings from Japan

2009-03-31T07:42:00.001-04:00

This is random, but I was standing on the corner of a store in Tsudanuma today and I turned around and found this. Just made me miss you guys a bit ;)

<3 Nocturne

Korea Night After Party

2009-03-26T19:07:00.001-04:00

Chalking on campus

Iota Charter <3

Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority hosted Korea Night After Party @ the Drama House on Saturday March 21st, 2009! We advertised by flyering and chalking the grounds on campus, with the help of Angela Lim from Tau Chapter. We had our own DJ Relapse who spun good music all night long :) We had a pretty good turn out and we showed off our National Stroll !

Three of our sisters were actually part of the Korea night show and performed a traditional fan dance. You girls looked so beautiful :')

<3Crisis

Tea Tasting (Spring 2009)

2009-03-25T19:17:00.000-04:00

On March 25th 2009, we had our Tea Tasting event as a part of Wake Up In Wilson. We cosponsored with student activities office and dining service. They provided teas and hot water so we don't need to worry about food safety.=)
We made a poster board with tea-related information and introduced four kinds of teas: Houjicha, Jasmine Tea, Oolong Tea and Chinese Green Tea. Apparently, Houjicha was the most popular one^^.
Thank all sisters who helped at the event or showed up for the healthy and tasty breakfast.

National Convention Spring 2009

2009-03-06T20:17:00.000-05:00

From February 28th-March 1st, Iota Charter went to National Convention at the University of Albany in celebration of the 15th anniversary of Sigma Psi Zeta :)

Convention started off with a presentation on domestic violence awareness, followed by some workshops. At lunch break we sold Sigma T-shirts, champagne glasses, and other goodies. That was followed by a Love line presentation (hehe). Then we went back to the hotel and got ready for the gala--so many sisters were there (see picture above) including one of our founding mothers, Sally Hsieh! She made a really awesome speech :) The food was pretty good (yay for beef!)

Then we went to the party!!!!! A lot of sisters attended the party so it was nice seeing everyone. We left the next morning--it was a memorable weekend and lots of bonding and fun :)

Hope to see you all again soon!

<3 Crisis