Letter from our President:
Molly Wehlage, Zeta Xi President
Founded in 1870 by Bettie Locke Hamilton at DePauw University, Kappa Alpha Theta is the first Greek-letter fraternity known among women. With nearly 130 chapters at colleges and universities across North America and 250,000 initiated members, Theta offers a strong national network of sisters providing friendship and support, promoting the fraternity’s goals of social, intellectual, and moral growth, and exercising the widest influence for the greatest good. In accordance with Theta’s tradition of being a sorority of “firsts,” our chapter was the first sorority established at Harvard. Zeta Xi has been leading the charge to strengthen sisterhood and Greek life on campus since our founding in 1993.
Harvard Thetas are consistently known as leaders on campus and in the community itself, concentrating in subjects ranging from English to chemistry and participating in a wide variety of extracurricular activities such as political and public service groups, drama and the arts, and Varsity Division I athletics. In addition to the academic and extracurricular leadership our members exhibit, the women of Kappa Alpha Theta are unique among the women on campus in their bright, genuine, loyal, down-to-earth personalities.
Theta places a strong emphasis on sisterhood. We catch up at weekly study breaks, watch movies, sports, or TV shows together, attend our sisters’ extracurricular events, and plan outings to the ice rink at Frog Pond, Italian restaurants in the North End, or Fenway Park for a Red Sox game. Sisterhood doesn’t end with graduation, however; our annual Harvard-Yale Brunch (the morning after a fun afternoon ride on a “Theta bus” to Yale) allows us to connect with Yale Thetas as well as our own alumnae. We have an exciting social calendar, filled with semi-formals like KAT in the Hat (a blind date event) and Crush Party (members send anonymous invitations to their “crushes”), fall, winter, and spring formals, and an annual tailgate with Kappa called “Kite & Key.”
Our chapter demonstrates Theta’s national commitment to the widest influence for good by supporting our national philanthropy, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), an organization that provides love, support, and protection for children in the welfare system. Each year, we host Kickin’ it for CASA, a widely-popular charity kickball tournament in Cambridge Common.
Last spring, we acquired our new Theta house, located at 10 Arrow Street in Harvard Square, across from Berryline. The 2-story, 2,700 square-foot house is spacious and beautiful, quickly becoming a warm and welcoming home for our chapter as we continue to decorate the interior.
Deciding to rush my freshman year was the best decision I’ve made at Harvard. The national aspect of Kappa Alpha Theta sets us apart from other female social organizations on campus; as a member of Theta, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with alumnae across the country, who have provided advice, job opportunities, and friendships that I will forever cherish. More importantly, the women in Theta have made me feel at home at a school that once seemed painfully far away from my home in Indiana. Although these women are incredibly intelligent and active on campus, they don’t take themselves too seriously, know how to relax and have fun, and are always there to support a sister in need. These girls mean the world to me, and one day, I hope to give back to Theta as much as it has already given me.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with questions, connections, or comments!
Theta Love,
Molly Wehlage
Kappa Alpha Theta
Zeta Xi, President
