SDT Marks 100 Years on UGA Campus
Sigma Delta Tau, the Jewish sorority at the University of Georgia, recently celebrated its centennial.
This year marked a major milestone for the University of Georgia chapter of Sigma Delta Tau, as the Jewish sorority marked its 100th year on the Athens campus. The celebration in April proved, with its turnout of 87 women of all ages, that the friendships and connections made within the organization during the college years can last a lifetime.
Nine women started UGA’s chapter in 1924, making it the sixth chapter to be colonized after SDT’s founding in 1917 at Cornell University. Today, almost 200 UGA students who hail from Georgia and beyond are current chapter sisters, with the pledge classes having grown to more than 60 each year.
These days the “rush” process at UGA, where there are 23 sororities and 36 fraternities, is described as a “very competitive environment,” related UGA SDT chapter advisor Gerilyn Flaxman, herself a SDT sister from the pledge class of 1988.
In earlier years especially, many students found joining a Jewish sorority provided a welcoming and accepting place in the small Southern college town where some felt different for being Jewish. There was a time when SDT, as a Jewish sorority, wasn’t even allowed to recruit at the same time as the others on campus, says Flaxman, whose day job is director of corporate partnerships and account management at the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Judy Altman (SDT pledge class of 1961) shared that in her day, Jewish students weren’t even allowed to join other sororities. “That’s just the way it was,” she said.
For Altman, who grew up in Savannah, joining SDT “was a way of connecting with my Jewish friends. I was always very shy and never thought I knew how to talk to boys. I kind of grew up and matured there in a good way.”
SDT’s very first house was located on Milledge Avenue, known as UGA’s Greek Row, but Altman was among the first to live in the current house, a mid-century modern design finished in 1960 and located on Lumpkin Street. It houses up to 42 women. Altman lived there for three years. Now because SDT has so many more members, most women live in the house just during their sophomore year.
In what would become a family legacy, Judy’s three daughters and granddaughter, Shoshana (pledge class of 2022), would all become SDT sisters.
By the time daughter, Shelly (Katz), was a freshman in 1989, Jewish students had more choices in Greek organizations than Judy had in the early ‘60s. While her mother didn’t pressure her to rush SDT, Katz said, “There was something about being where my mom was that was really appealing to me.” Taking part in the Jewish traditions such as saying hamotzi and celebrating the holidays with her sorority sisters felt comforting and familiar as well.
One of the things Katz loved during her time in the house was something called the “sleeping porch.” Not really a porch at all, it was a large open room filled with beds where most of the women slept. Katz described it as very dark with fans. “It was the best sleep ever,” she recalled. But in 2019, the sleeping porch became a large study room. It was good timing since such a sleeping room with so many people would have become unusable during the COVID pandemic.
As Greek life can provide students with leadership opportunities, Katz, whose career is now that of an event planner, participated on the board and was a Pearl Mom, who assists the Pledge Mom (who then was Gerilyn Flaxman). The next year, Katz became the Pledge Mom helping the recruits through the pledging and initiation process, she explained.
Over time, Greek life has shifted from once a mostly social experience, to today placing greater emphasis on philanthropy and community service. Nationally, SDT supports two organizations: Jewish Women International and Prevent Child Abuse America. Locally, Georgia’s SDT sisters are active in nonprofits such as the Athens homeless shelter and literacy projects for kids.
UGA’s SDT chapter has often raised the most money for the national philanthropy projects, according to Flaxman. Last year, Jenna Schaffer (pledge class of 2021) headed up the effort, a dance competition called the Greek Grind, that raised more than $130,000 for the PCAA.
For her part, Schaffer, a Johns Creek High School graduate and now a rising senior at UGA, knew that she wanted to be part of the active Greek life scene at Georgia, but as somewhat shy, she found the rush process of visiting the many different houses to be somewhat intimidating. Though her mom had been an SDT sister, Schaffer wasn’t sure she wanted a Jewish sorority, but found SDT to be the best fit after all, with it being both welcoming and “a good network of girls both academically and socially.”
After first serving on the general board, Schaffer discovered she had a “passion for planning,” which led to her to become the fall parent coordinator. The next year she was selected for the Executive Board, as vice president of philanthropy.
“One of my favorite parts about college was being in that position and getting the whole sorority interested in community service and giving back while raising a lot of money with everyone’s support,” Schaffer said of her role in the Greek Grind event that raised the record-breaking amount for the preventing child abuse organization.
Flaxman described SDT’s centennial celebration in April as “mindblowing” with such a great showing from women in their 80s down to current members. “People were genuinely happy to be there and reconnect. It was just sheer joy and really sweet,” Flaxman said.
Though many things have changed, Flaxman says, “We’re still home for Jewish women who want a Jewish connection.” Looking ahead, a fundraising campaign has begun to make interior design improvements to the SDT house.
Flaxman encourages SDT alumni to update their information by visiting:
www.sigmadeltatau.org/member-experience/alumnae-members/update-your-information/.
Additionally, as the new school year is soon to begin, Flaxman offers anyone interested in recruitment or SDT to contact: UGASDTVPrecruitment@gmail.com.
comments