Sigma Eta Chi - Success and Demise

Success and Demise

While the date of dissolution is not known, the sorority thrived well into the middle twentieth century. A chapter in Ames, Iowa was meeting in 1948 (Ames Public Library). The Royal Purple Yearbook (Kansas State) of 1948 not only notes the growth of its chapter, but also a special ceremony called Luchnokaia. The yearbook describes the service as happening during one Sunday in Lent. Each member lit a candle from seven candles- the seven representing the seven "great guiding lights" of Christianity. Each member left the church "pledging to live a more consecrated life" (p. 158). The Cornhusker Yearbook of 1958 (Nebraska) lists the president of the sorority (p. 372).

The records of the University of Northern Iowa indicate that Sigma Eta Chi was classified as a Congregational sorority well into the 1950s. However, in the early 1970s, a group with the same name is listed as a service sorority.