Asian Greeks: To be Unique, and to Belong to a Group

THE DAILY BRUIN ONLINE  5/21/2001 Founding Sisters Asians and Pacific Islanders have long been a part of UCLA history, though they often had to fight for that role University Archives Members of Chi Alpha Delta, UCLA's first Asian American sorority, dress up for tea time in 1937. By Marjorie Hernandez Daily Bruin Reporter When Doris Aiso Hoshide began her first year at UCLA in 1929, she was looking for some direction. A new student in a new campus, Hoshide and other women wanted to join sororities, but were not allowed to join because of their Japanese American heritage. "We were more or less on our own, trying to get adjusted to the campus," she said. "We were absolutely strangers during that first year." Since the Panhellenic Constitution did not allow Asians in Greek organizations, Hoshide and other Japanese women decided to take matters into their own hands. They decided to pool their resources and create an environment where incoming Japanese American students could turn for guidance and a source for information. Under the support of former University Dean of Women Helen M. Laughlin, the 14 charter members took on the official name of Chi Alpha Delta, which was recognized as a sorority on April 5, 1929. Before its establishment at the current UCLA campus, the sorority was called the "A.O. Society" on the former Vermont Campus in Santa Monica. Although Japanese women students began attending the university in 1922, the formation of Chi Alpha Delta was the first attempt to formally organize as a sorority. But gaining recognition in the Greek system was not easy. "During my years at UCLA, there was much discrimination on the campus,'"said Kim Hoshide, 1929 graduate and Chi alumna, in a 1994 letter. "Chi Alpha Delta was refused membership in the Panhellenic Congress, therefore, we became a member of the Campus Women Houses." Japanese students largely socialized within their own groups, according to Hoshide. Most Chi social events were conducted with the Bruin Club, the only Japanese men's club at UCLA. Members also participated in tea parties, dances, hikes and trips with other Japanese students from USC. Though she said she first objected the sorority system, Chi Alpha Delta alumna Aki Yamazaki decided to join the only Asian sorority along with her friends, and later became its president in 1942. But anti-Asian sentiments continued to hinder the sorority and its members. According to Yamazaki, who was a second-generation Japanese American, Asian groups were not allowed to have housing near campus. "We weren't accepted – everything was closed to us," Yamazaki said. "None of the Asian groups had housing. Asians just weren't allowed to own property and real estate." During Yamazaki's years at UCLA, the sorority was still unable to secure a position in the Panhellenic Society. Despite these restrictions, though, Chi Alpha Delta still appeared in the Southern Campus yearbooks. "When we looked at the annual, there we were, even if we never participated with the other sororities," she said. University Archives The Pilipino Bruin Club, which was established in 1930, comes together at a banquet, celebrating their heritage. According to Yamazaki, no written part of the Panhellenic constitution restricted Asian Americans from joining the Greek society. As war broke out in December 1942, Yamazaki and 175 Japanese American students and their families were sent to internment camps throughout the country. Just 16 units short of graduating with a bachelors degree in dietetics, Yamazaki was forced to leave her studies and was sent to a temporary camp at the Santa Anita race track. "It was a shock," she said. "You don't expect anything like that. Since you are a citizen, you don't expect to be carted off to a concentration camp. If you had a drop of Japanese blood, you were taken in." Chi Alpha Delta was effectively inactive during the Evacuation Period of 1942 to 1945, but was reorganized in September 1946. Fifty years after her studies were abruptly interrupted, Yamazaki was retroactively awarded her B.A. degree in dietetics in 1992. Even though the end of World War II marked the end of internment of Japanese Americans, members of the Asian American community still encountered hardships in American society. When third-generation Japanese American Margaret Ohara entered UCLA as a freshman in 1958, she was placed in a difficult predicament. According to archive records, Ohara was awarded the $200 Panhellenic scholarship for being the most well-rounded student from her senior class. But Ohara was unprepared for the shock she was about to receive. "To her surprise, she was the only Asian woman present in the Sunday Tea gathering, which consisted of Caucasian women," according to the 1995 archive report. Ohara quickly realized that she was mistaken for an Irish woman because they thought her last name was O'Hara. Although records indicated that the Greek panel "regretted that the woman they chose could not be invited to join any of the Greek society," Ohara decided to organize a second Asian sorority on campus. From her desire to create a sorority that would "give the opportunity for an Asian woman to select as they do on the Greek row," Ohara and eight charter members organized the framework for Theta Kappa Phi. On June 5, 1959, Theta Kappa was recognized as the second Asian sorority at UCLA. Asian fraternities soon followed with the formation of Omega Sigma Tau in1966 and Lambda Phi Epsilon in 1981. Other non-Greek Asian organizations, however, started their own groups on-campus. The co-ed Japanese Nisei Bruin Club reorganized in 1945, while the co-ed Chinese group also organized Epsilon Pi Delta in 1943. Because of the amount of technicalities involved, members of Chi Alpha Delta decided to not peruse membership into the Panhellenic society, and instead joined the UCLA Asian Greek Council along with Theta Kappa Phi sorority, and Lambda Phi Epsilon and Omega Sigma Tau fraternities. One of the oldest Asian American organizations on campus, the Pilipino Bruin Club formed in 1930 and began to "promote good fellowship among themselves and the students of other nationalities," according to the 1931 Southern Campus yearbook. Although appearing in the yearbooks, little recorded information is known about the formation of these earlier student groups. Nevertheless, current groups such as the Nikkei Student Union, the Chinese Student Union and Samahang Pilipino continue the traditions of fostering relationships among members and learning about their culture, while contributing to the community and fighting for social causes. "These organizations reflect a lot of the work our ancestors and alumni have done in raising the consciousness of our members and giving them outlets to get involved and give back to the community," said Samahang Pilipino President Merrick Pascual. According to the UCLA Campus Profile Web site, Asian/Pacific Islanders make up 33.4 percent of students, while Pilipino enrollment is 4.6 percent. As alumni look back at the turbulent start of the first Asian groups at UCLA, many still recall fond memories and the camaraderie they formed with fellow members. "It was a very important to get to know one another those first years," Hoshide said. "Being a Japanese American during that time was tough and we wanted to bring support to each other. We all had a place to go to complain about any discrimination or whatever was on our minds."

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