A girls’ service group on campus is taking on the challenge of transforming into a recognized girls social club. Beloved, which started last year, will continue to exist as Zeta Rho, a social club that was founded at ACU in 1944 and that has not been on campus since 2000.
“It really took off last year. We got a really good group of girls together,” said Shannon Rose, senior biology major from Abilene. “But it turned out that, because of the shifts in power in administration and the changes they brought with pledging, they didn’t want to add another variable to the mix. So, we were encouraged to start as a student organization, and we began Beloved, which is a service club.”
Rose said they have already done service work and fundraisers during their time as an organization, including a Valentine’s Day flower fundraiser benefiting the Red Thread Movement, a non-profit on campus.
“We had in mind that we would work towards being a social club, and we got a core group together, which was essential,” Rose said.
Rose and the other cofounder, Shawna McDanel, started the club because they felt that the ACU campus needed another option when it came to girls’ social clubs. Many clubs have caps that limit admittance, and offering Zeta Rho as another option for girls to look into will enable more girls to get involved on campus, Rose said.
“I dropped out of the second ranking during rushing because I realized that the girls that I would be pledging with in other clubs were not who I wanted to be associated with. It’s not what I really wanted,” said Alysa Isenhower, sophomore family studies major from Abilene. “I felt the need to do something different. Instead of conforming to something, I wanted to help create something.”
Isenhower said she thinks Zeta Rho is profound because, throughout ACU’s history, it keeps coming back. She said good things never truly die.
“When I first heard about the club, I felt it was something that I had been looking for,” said Tara Lowe, sophomore elementary education major from Springtown. “The fact that we’re finding ourselves in Christ instead of in club is a big part of why I wanted to be a part of this, because I think it’s important to not lose sight of that in a social club.”
Since Beloved started as a service project, service is going to remain a big part of Zeta Rho activities, Lowe said. The main roadblock that Zeta Rho has faced is finding on-campus sponsors for the club.
“I feel advisors would be proud of us if they are involved with us,” Lowe said.
The group’s next meeting is Nov. 16th at 9 p.m. in the Shore Art Gallery. For more information, contact Rose at ser08a@acu.edu.
