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Zeta
Tau Alpha was founded October 15, 1898, by nine women at the State Female Normal
School in Farmville, Virginia. Only 14-15 years of age, these young women
desired permanence to their friendships and hoped to perpetuate their sisterhood
long after college. Though dedicated to the formation of a Greek-letter group,
the band of nine delayed selecting a formal name. A temporary name of
"???" was taken when, as legend has it, a
member of another group met with the Founders. Raising her eyebrows and forming
her fingers in the shape of a question mark, she asked "Who are you?"
In unison, the group answered "Yes, Who? Who? Who?" Thus, the group
came to be known as
"??
?" while they sought an appropriate Greek name and symbols. During
this time, the group received valuable assistance from two of the members'
brothers - Maud's brother, Plummer Jones, and Frances Yancey Smith's brother
Giles Mebane Smith. Both were students at the college of William and Mary,
members of men's
Greek-letter organizations and knowledgeable of Greek lore. After a year of
careful contemplation, the group chose the formal name, the patron goddess and
the badge.
Creed of Zeta Tau Alpha
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To realize that within our grasp, in Zeta Tau Alpha, lies the opportunity to learn those things which will ever enrich and ennoble our lives; to be true to ourselves, to those within and without our circle; to think in terms of all mankind and our service in the world; to be steadfast, strong, and clean of heart and mind, remembering that since the thought is father to the deed, only that which we would have manifested in our experience should be entertained in thought; to find satisfaction in being, rather than seeming, thus strengthening in us the higher qualities of the spirit; to prepare for service and learn the nobility of serving, thereby earning the right to be served; to seek understanding that we might gain true wisdom; to look for the good in everyone; to see beauty, with its enriching influence; to be humble in success, and without bitterness in defeat; to have the welfare and harmony of the Fraternity at heart, striving ever to make our lives a symphony of high ideals, devotion to the right, the good, and the true, without a discordant note; remembering always that the foundation precept of Zeta Tau Alpha was love, "the greatest of all things." |
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| Shirley Kreasan Strout | ||