Alpha Gamma Delta

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The fraternity is located at Nebraska Wesleyan University

Yesterday I posted a photo of another view of this fraternity. In my dialog I questioned why Alpha Gamma Delta referred to itself as a fraternity when it was obviously a women's organization. In the comments Jill said

I can answer that! I am a member of this Fraternity and this question is often asked. When the organization was founded in 1904, the professor that advised our eleven founders suggested that we should be a Fraternity instead of a sorority because we are a Greek-letter organization, and the root of Fraternity is a Greek word, while the root of sorority is Latin.

In light of that I decided to include the history of Alpha Gamma Delta

Alpha Gamma Delta was officially founded on May 30, 1904 at the home of Dr. Wellesley Perry Coddington, a professor at Syracuse University who was instrumental in the early development of Alpha Gamma Delta. Each of the Fraternity's 11 founders were progressive women who selflessly contributed to the foundation and growth of Alpha Gamma Delta. Since the founding, collegiate chapters have been installed at 181 colleges and universities across North America and more than 145,000 women have become Alpha Gam sisters. Guided by our Purpose, Alpha Gamma Deltas are impacting our communities and contributing to the world's work.

On that web page there is a photo of the eleven founding women which I think is kind of neat.

Alpha Gamma Delta

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The sorority/fraternity is located at Nebraska Wesleyan University

Alpha Gamma Delta

Alpha Gamma Delta is an international women’s fraternity that promotes academic excellence, philanthropic giving, ongoing leadership and personal development and above all, a spirit of loving sisterhood. Guided by our Purpose, Alpha Gamma Deltas strive to attain a higher standard, thereby improving their lives, the lives of those around them and the communities in which they live. Together, we continually work to inspire the woman and impact the world.

I am perplexed by the terminology used by the Alpha Gamma Delta site. They are obviously a women's organization, but throughout the site they refer to themselves as a fraternity. I always thought fraternities were for men and sororities for women. So I looked it up in my dictionary and the definitions confirmed what I thought. Thinking perhaps my dictionary might be outdated in this politically correct world, I looked both words up in the Merriam Webster Dictionary on line. Same thing. So I remain baffled and perplexed....