Delta Zeta Mergers

The first of four mergers by Delta Zeta Sorority with other sororities occurred in 1941 with Beta Phi Alpha, the first collegiate fraternity for women to originate on the United States' West Coast. Organized as Bide-a-Wee at the University of California/Berkeley, in 1909, it had become a Greek-letter organization by 1919 and was admitted to the National Panhellenic Conference in 1923. At their convention in Lakeside, Ohio in 1941, Beta Phi Alpha delegates voted to become part of Delta Zeta. Phi Omega Pi was founded at the University of Nebraska as the Achoth (Hebrew for "sisters") Sorority and was for women affiliated with the Order of the Eastern Star. The sisterhood became a Greek organization in 1922, and in the next 11 years merged with several sororities. Phi Omega Pi became a part of Delta Zeta in 1946. Delta Sigma Epsilon had been founded at Miami University in 1914 by a group of women committed to scholarship and high ideals. Devoted to students in education, it had chapters on four campuses within 17 months. Delta Sigma Epsilon merged with Delta Zeta in 1956. Theta Upsilon was founded on the University of California/Berkeley campus in 1909. Choosing the name Mekatina, a Native American word meaning "among the hills," the group became an official university organization on January 1, 1914, and merged with Delta Zeta in 1962.