The sisters of Alpha Chi Omega have been Real Strong Women on our campus ever since they joined on March 18, 1995.

Alpha Chi Omega is the first musical sorority on our campus making one of their symbols a lyre, along with pearls. The mission statement of Alpha Chi is “Together let us seek the heights.”

Philanthropy chair and sister of Alpha Chi Omega, Casey Middleton, discussed how the chapter’s goal this year was to focus on the importance of sisterhood. They have already achieved this goal in many ways by doing things like hosting a retreat in Big Bear for all of their sisters to spend a weekend together bonding and building stronger relationships.

Just recently, the sisterhood held what is called “Mister Alpha Chi” where they raise around $15,000-$16,000 every year for domestic violence which gets donated to the Center for Community Solutions (CCS). Mister Alpha Chi is a male pageant that spreads awareness of a serious matter in a silly approach in order to educate the campus and the community.

This year’s Mister Alpha Chi went better than previous years because of all the sisters’ participation. They had personal goals and competitions with each other making the amount of money raised more than what they anticipated.

“What I enjoyed about this year’s 12th annual Mr. AXO was having it on campus,” Maddie Jaurigue, President of Alpha Chi, said. “By having it on campus for the first time ever in the USU, we were able to reach out and prompt our philanthropy causing so many different entities, departments and students on campus to attend.”

Other than raise money for those affected by domestic violence, the sisters of Alpha Chi Omega volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club, along with Break the Silence. Their affiliation with Break the Silence is new and they are excited about it because it is more interactive than donating the money they raise for CCS.

Middleton stressed that being in Alpha Chi Omega means “to always have a friend, and to hold yourself to higher standards because you have even more of a reason to better yourself.”

Alpha Chi Omega wants fellow students on campus to understand both the severity of domestic violence and the need to end it. Signs of domestic violence are not always visible on those that are affected by it, however, making the topic socially acceptable to discuss is an important aspect towards ending this epidemic.