The Numinous Nu Phi Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, at Rhodes College hosted a celebration of their chartering on Nov. 30 in the Spence Wilson Room. This historic event is especially notable for Rhodes College since this was the first chartering of a sorority on campus in over 20 years. It also symbolizes the ever changing racial and ethnic demographic on campus since Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., is an historically African American Greek Letter Organization.

In 2017, Jada Myricks ’19 and AnDrea Hargrove ’19 joined Zeta Phi Beta, inc. “My mom was a major reason why I wanted to become a Zeta,” Hargrove said. “My mom, Carolyn Jones-Hargrove, was a Zeta at Illinois State University class of ’83, and when I grew up she took me to a lot of events and I saw that with her and her sisters that she became Zetas with, they literally became sisters, they go traveling together and they can ask each other for anything, she’s been a Zeta for 35 years and they still keep in close contact.”

On Nov. 2,the new Nu Phi chapter at Rhodes College was finally chartered, and on Nov. 9, they inducted new members: Ericka James ’19, Cinthya Bolanos ‘20 and Jacke Jiang ’21.

“This school was integrated 50-60 years ago, so the fact that black students are able to congregate, do service, and establish a whole charter is pretty incredible, on top of just the daily struggle of black students. It’s just a beautiful thing that we were able to come together and bring Zeta to this campus since we were the only school in Memphis that did not have a chapter,” Myricks said.

The Numinous Nu Phi Chapter exemplifies the Rhodes College mission of inclusivity, while also serving the Memphis community through the organization’s initiatives.

“We deal a lot with pregnant women and children, and a lot of the women in my family have a history of miscarriages and things like that, so, the particular service sites that Zeta helps out for that particular community, that was what really drew me in,” James ’19 said.

When the Zeta’s were able to officially charter at Rhodes College, they were also able to pick the word Numinous to describe the values of Nu Phi.

“I’ve always wanted to be a part of a sisterhood, and Zeta’s values really reflect what I value, so we chose the word Numinous to reflect that,” Jiang ’21 said.

On why the chapter chose the name, Bolanos ’20 said, “I decided to go Zeta because I really liked their values of Service, Scholarship, Sisterhood and Finer Womanhood. Numinous, to me, means to be inspired, and we really want that to be what our chapter is known for, we want to be able to inspire people on campus, especially with having such a diverse sorority as we do, so we want that name to be what guides our way going forward.”