Alpha Sigma Theta started out with four women and is now a strong organization consisting of many members, memories, and traditions. Over the years, the sisters have added many things to the sorority that have made it the successful organization that it is today.

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Alpha Sigma Theta was established to give young women the opportunity to develop their leadership skills to their fullest potential and to develop sisterhood and spirit and enrich their college experiences. Through this, the sisters can better prepare for the future.

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The sorority is a part of the Greek system, which is a part of California State University, Northridge. The sorority does various activities such as community service and helping out with various organizations. Alpha Sigma Theta works with the group of twelve young women with a desire to establish a sorority on the CSUN campus. They felt strongly about this because several had gone through the formal sorority rushes on campus and pledged several non-mainstreamed sororities. Due to the communication barrier they faced, they did not feel included in the sororities and they backed out. These women ended up with a common disappointment, which brought them close together. The idea of founding a mainstreamed sorority where sisters would be able to share total professionally appealed to them.

Several weeks passed and the women’s motivation for establishing a sorority increased. To publicize their goal of setting up a sorority toward the campus community, the women got together and designed T-shirts and wore them to publicize the sorority. They wore the T-shirts on a certain day, Wednesday, May 13, 1987. People on campus started to notice that they were wearing similar T-shirts, and out of curiosity, asked them why. This provided opportunities to explain their goal and it quickly spread around the campus.

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Things changed dramatically as the Fall semester of 1987 began. Only 4 out of twelve women were still interested in establishing a sorority. The rest left for various reasons. The four women who stuck with the goal of setting up the sorority are the Alpha class: Kay Ayala, Lori Hennessey, Susan Motylinski, and Julie Rems.

 

The highlight of the Fall 1987 was when a group of women wanted to become sisters of the new sorority. They formed the Beta Class. During the first meeting of the semester, the sisters elected officers and discussed the sorority’s status. They decided that they wanted to be called Alpha Sigma Theta (AST) after the sorority at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in New York State. To become a part of the CSUN Greek system, they had to write a constitution so they could become a chartered organization on campus. This gave the sisters of opportunity to use various services around campus. Another highlight of the semester was the first annual Christmas Gala at the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity house. (Delta Sigma Phi was a mainstreamed fraternity). Alpha Sigma Theta made an impact on several women, and motivated them to rush in the Spring of 1988. It gave the sisters more support and encouragement to continue their goal of making the sorority successful.