Delta Delta Delta - Cornell University

Cornell Alpha Beta Alumnae Alpha Beta Data Fall 2021 Fall 2021 STAY ACTIVE IN THE SISTERHOOD T he state of the chapter is tremendous. As you'll see in the columns from current chapter President Claire Meakem '22, Delta Links Chairman Cristina Shaul '91, and Property Committee Chairman Robyn Secord '85, we have had a busy, and very successful, year despite the limitations posed by COVID-19. While it has been a challenging year for the House Corporation Board, it may have been one of the most satisfying years to be a board member. To elaborate, the impact of the programs initiated by the House Corporation over the past several years has been critical to the mission of Tri Delta and the stability and the growth of the chapter. The satisfaction of knowing you are making a difference, creating new friendships, and renewing connections with old friends has been extremely gratifying throughout these trying times. After spending a few hours at the house this past weekend, I noticed that the primary differences between 50 years ago and today were the masks covering our faces and the cell phones in our hands. Otherwise, it could have been any year; the feeling of energy and camaraderie was the same, and it felt good. I would encourage more recent graduates to think about participating in committees and the House Corporation Board as part of your ongoing networking efforts. Not only will you benefit, but your input on how to build the initiatives toward supporting the current sisterhood and alumnae will also be a gift that keeps giving to all. Please consider joining us on a House Corporation committee and/or the board. Have some fun and make a difference! Please reach out to Nominating Chair Marianne Passarelli '82 at marianne.passarelli@yale.edu or me at jafoxmsw@aol.com to let us know of your interest. Delta Love, Judy Fox '72 President House Corporation jafoxmsw@aol.com CHANGE IN LEGACY POLICY T ri Delta National has formally eliminated the policy that supported legacies receiving invitations for at least two rounds and a guaranteed bid if invited to the final round. This change is part of their effort to increase diversity and inclusion. For the past five years, each chapter has had the ability to set their own policies, and at that time, our chapter chose to discontinue the legacy policy. Additionally, Cornell does not collect that information when women register for recruitment. The fact that this information has not been fully communicated to the larger Tri Delta community has resulted in disappointment and some feelings of betrayal. It is hard to address the emotional response, as each of us experiences these changes differently. It is a challenging time for associations such as ours to deal with the misperceptions and stereotypes of the Greek system. If you wish for the chapter to easily identify someone you think would be a good member of Alpha Beta, it has been suggested you send a note to the Recruitment Chairman Annie Rogers '23 at ar745@cornell.edu. We must trust the sisterhood to consider how each candidate can best contribute to the current membership of the chapter. O ur House Property Committee continued to support the house facilities this past year as ongoing maintenance work and equipment replacements were thoughtfully planned. After two years, 55 custom storm window installations, and $95,000 spent, our window restoration project was completed mid-winter. Although supply chain issues related to COVID-19 delayed the work, the investment is a welcomed improvement to deter drafts and maintain the window frames. In addition to our window installation project, a total of 15 frames were painstakingly repaired last year under stringent historical guidelines. Next on our agenda, we plan to take on window painting once contractors are relieved from COVID-19 scheduling woes. With the assistance of an independent property evaluation, we deliberately worked on project planning over the past six years. From these evaluations, we compiled items for our long-term renovation plans, which include updating kitchen equipment and the heating system boiler. UPDATE ON MAJOR CHAPTER HOUSE PROJECTS (Continued on page 2) Join us on Sunday, November 14, at 11 a.m. EST for our annual meeting via Zoom. You will need to provide your own mimosas, but we will bring the party for that morning. Email alphabetaHC@gmail.com, and we will send you the Zoom link and phone numbers to join.

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