Gamma Alpha Omega recruits inaugural members in the following two weeks
By Griffin Brammer, Arts & Entertainment Editor
Xavier has just accepted its first Latina-centered sorority to campus. Gamma Alpha Omega (GAO) applications have started as representatives are set to arrive on campus this coming weekend and beyond for the next two weeks.
GAO was brought to campus, in part, by senior primary education major Maddie Mercado. She worked with Xavier alum Gabriella Salazar and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI).
“I went to an all girls school, and there was already a low Latinx community there, so when I saw that some of my friends went to bigger schools and were getting involved in sororities, I just felt left out,” Mercado said. “I just wanted a different community other than what (Hispanic Organization for Latinx Awareness) offered, so like, why not just start my own that was more female centered?”
GAO will mark the first non-Black cultural Greek life system on campus, something that will change the way Xavier’s Greek life is presented on campus.
“When I used to give tours, people would ask the question (about Greek life) and we’d be like ‘Oh, the only Greek life we have on campus is our Divine Nine chapters for African American and Black students,’” Mercado said. “But now we can say we have multicultural fraternities and sororities.”
“The graduation rate for Latinas is pretty high compared to other ethnicities, but I feel like it’s still not really talked about,” Mercado said. GAO places its emphasis on Latina academic success, as well as honesty, integrity, respect and community. These were all ideals that drew Mercado to GAO specifically.
“In general, it is Latina based, but it’s multicultural. So you can be of any ethnicity and heritage to join,” Mercado said. “(People) hear ‘oh, it’s a latina sorority, I can’t join,’ but I really want this to be a sisterhood.”
“If you are passionate about academic success, you want to foster more close-knit relationships with other women at Xavier, you want a place to share your heritage and just join a community where you know someone is pushing you…We’ll support you every step along the way,” she said.
While being an active member of HOLA, Mercado finds that HOLA does not always impose these same ideals of Latinx community as GAO.
“The thing about HOLA is, sometimes I feel like it’s a battle between whose country is most popular or how many people of that ethnicity or nationality are on campus,” Mercado said.
Also instrumental to the introduction of GAO on campus was Tamara Serrano Chandler, the diversity and inclusion coordinator for the CDI.
Serrano Chandler worked closely with gauging interest and planning recruitment after the university approved GAO’s Xavier chapter.
She focused on how the students would like to see GAO implemented and finding different communities on campus to interact with GAO.
“The fact that (GAO) is rooted in service and academic excellence and connecting with the community, I think it’s something that’s going to help Xavier flourish,” Serrano Chandler said.
Despite Mercado and Salazar bringing up the idea to start the sorority summer of last year, when Salazar was a rising senior, it is currently projected that the sorority will not be set up until next year.
“Because of how long it takes to formally establish a chapter, I wouldn’t be president,” Mercado said, “I’m not even sure if I’ll be a founder.”
The process of getting the sorority set up first involved getting in touch with Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion Ivy Banks.
During these conversations with Banks, Mercado encountered her first setback.
“It was getting to the point where I would look at the CDI schedule and find (Banks) in the CDI, supporting other events. And I would ask them, ‘hey, you’ve gotten my email, can I get this information?’” Mercado said. “That was a year and a half ago… I was just left in the dark about a lot of things.”
Mercado then had to meet with the Board of Trustees, where she experienced another challenge.
Mercado was relieved by support from administration.
“President Hanycz liked the idea. There was no hesitation from her. It was really just the other members. We left the meeting, and we felt really good,” she said.
Mercado, despite being sad she won’t get to see GAO in action, is still hopeful about the impact she’s made.
“If I’m not founder, it would stink a little bit because I started the whole process,” she said. “But at the same time, at least I got to lay a foundation strong enough for other people to pick it up and take off where I left off.”
