It’s Sunday afternoon at the Rescue Mission Thrifty Shopper. Whitney Clinkscales sorts through piles of donated shirts, sweaters and T-shirts. She arranges them first by size before setting them on racks as she jams to country music, white headphones hanging from her left ear.

Clinkscales, a junior public relations major, is one of five women volunteering in the store on West Genesee Street in Fairmount. They wear matching red windbreakers with Greek symbols: Delta, Sigma and Theta displayed on the back and Kappa Lambda on the sleeve. Every now and then, one of the women shows the others a fun dress or shirt she finds in the piles and, depending on the response, sets it off to the side.

This is half of the Kappa Lambda chapter of Delta Sigma Theta at Syracuse University. Beginning with a church service and followed by volunteering at two Rescue Mission Thrifty Shopper locations, Sunday marks the start of Fortitude Week: 99th Edition, a weeklong set of events organized by the sorority dedicated to uplifting and empowering the Syracuse campus community.

Delta Sigma Theta is part of the Divine Nine, a group of nine sororities and fraternities founded in the early 1900s — a time when black students were not allowed to join existing sororities and fraternities. SU hosts seven out of the Divine Nine organizations on campus.

Every sorority and fraternity in the Divine Nine organizes a weeklong set of events. This year, Delta Sigma Theta’s week runs from February 19-25. Some of the programs include a forum on the tension between black women and men, a night of celebration and recognition of black womanhood on campus and a ‘Love Connection’ game show night. Each event is open to the entire student population and starts at 7:13 p.m., in honor of the sorority’s founding Jan. 13, 1913.

Clinkscales’ father once told her she would be able to count on one hand the number of college friends she would keep in touch with after graduation.

‘I don’t think he counted on me joining a sorority that has 300,000 people,’ said Clinkscales, one of two vice presidents of the traditionally black sorority on campus.

Although there are 300,000 members nationwide, the Syracuse University chapter only has 10 active members. Unlike other greek organizations, the girls don’t have a house and they don’t participate in rush.

Delta Sigma Theta prides itself on being a public service sorority, not a social one.

People see the sorority as the one who steps and strolls the most, said Ashley Stevens, a senior finance and accounting dual major and president of the sorority.

‘That’s literally less than 1 percent of what we do,’ Stevens added.

Despite having only 10 active members, Delta Sigma Theta has the same responsibilities as larger greek organizations on campus.

‘It’s triple the pressure,’ said Sadé Muhammad, a senior magazine journalism major. ‘Even though I don’t have a leadership position, that doesn’t mean I’m kicking my feet up. It’s still a lot of work. I didn’t necessarily know that going into it, but it’s really made me a better person for it.’

Today, Delta Sigma Theta is not an exclusively black organization. It accepts members from different ethnicities, cultures and backgrounds. The Kappa Lambda chapter has had members from Africa, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and Central America.

‘We don’t just cater to a black audience,’ Clinkscales said.

Every semester, the sorority hosts forums, panels, workshops and seminars open to the entire campus, Clinkscales said.

Last fall, the organization hosted the Total Woman Retreat to help female freshmen, sophomore and transfer students acclimate to campus life, Clinkscales said. One of the activities was a ‘sister circle’ where girls could voice any concerns they had about college life in a nonjudgmental environment.

Every Saturday, the Kappa Lambda chapter participates in two mentoring programs on campus: Delta Academy and C.H.O.I.C.E.S, or Creating Heightened Opportunities in Community, Environment and Self. Nicole Jones-Watkins, an SU alumnus and Delta, created the latter. Both programs aim at empowering young Syracuse women by boosting their self-esteem.

These demanding responsibilities and close bond make friendships outside of the sorority hard to maintain. Lunch dates are missed, leaving non-Delta friends wondering why. But when they see the women putting on forums and working in the community, they get it, Stevens said.

‘That’s how they kind of understand. They’re not necessarily upset about it,’ she said. ‘They see this is what I have to do, and my friends respect that.’

Attracted by the sorority’s dedication to community service, Muhammad joined the sorority in spring 2010.

‘Everyone had a passion before becoming a Delta,’ she said.

After the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, Muhammad and her line sister, Natasha Benjamin, created an organization called H.A.I.T.I. Now. One of their line sisters, Venise Toussaint, is Haitian and had family members affected by the earthquake, Muhammad said.

Toussaint helped pair the organization with an orphanage in Haiti. Since then, H.A.I.T.I. Now has hosted food and supply drives to collect items to send to the orphanage.

Given the sorority’s strong emphasis on public service, Delta Sigma Theta has a highly selective application process.

To gain membership, prospects must meet a minimum GPA requirement of 2.75 unlike other sororities that have a 2.5 requirement. They should have performed at least one consecutive year of community service and submit two letters of recommendation. Membership is a lifelong commitment.

‘I think it holds me to a higher standard,’ Stevens said. ‘I can’t slack off because I don’t have that option.’

The Deltas have become a tight-knit family.

‘We have this deeper bond that is really hard to explain because it’s just something that we feel,’ Clinkscales said. ‘It’s kind of hard to see looking from the outside in.’

The sorority is Stevens’ family away from home, she said. Recently, one of her best friends told her she wanted to become a Delta.

‘Just knowing that I can have that kind of influence on my friends is great,’ Stevens said. ‘I’m winning either way.’

zmintz@syr.edu

Published on February 20, 2012 at 12:00 pm