Gamma Phi Beta

This article is the first in a four-part series exploring the status of women at Dickinson College. The President's Commission on the Status of Women observed that even though women hold the majority on campus, they tend to act like they are in the minority. The article also noted that "Dickinson women often define themselves in terms of men - thinking of themselves as 'someone's girlfriend' or as a 'groupie to a particular fraternity.'" Some professors and students felt that sororities contributed to this atmosphere on campus and reinforce this in women.

In her 1984 research paper "The Presence of the Black American at Dickinson College from 1773 to the Present," Elaine Vivian Watson researched the influence of "Black America" upon Dickinson College. Her paper includes information on "unfamous firsts" at Dickinson as well as information on the Black Alumni Questionaire.

 

Some "Unfamous Firsts" Include:

 

1901: John Robert Paul Brock is the first black male student to graduate from Dickinson College.

 

An article in the Dickinsonian announces that the local Alpha Delta Epsilon sorority voted to affiliate with the national sorority Gamma Phi Beta. The group was to be a colony as of February 9 and initiated as the Delta Rho chapter to the international sorority in May of 1980. The former President of ADE, Peggy Silberthau, said that the group was “looking for more structure, support, and guidance from a strong organization which could also offer us advisors and active alumni support” and which they ultimately found in Gamma Phi Beta.