Chi Alpha Delta

Chi Alpha Delta was founded in 1928 at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) by Helen Tomio Mizuhara and Alyce Asahi.[1] The sorority originally had 14 Japanese-American students.[2] On April 5, 1929, the sorority was officially recognized by UCLA.[3] In 2002, the sorority had 65 members, of which less than 10% are Japanese.[2]

The sorority was founded due to racism and segregation.[3] The 14 Japanese-American students were rejected from a Panhellenic Greek sorority, so they decided to form one for the Japanese women and those of other Asian descents.[2] These women created Chis because they felt the need for "a same-sex, same-race organization in order to feel at home in the university."[3] Throughout the years Chis have accepted women of all Asian into its sisterhood in hopes that its original purpose would not be forgotten but passed on from one generation to the next.

In the 1940s, during the yearly Faculty Tea, members wore kimonos and used Japanese styles to fix up their hair. During the 1940s, members were primarily second-generation Japanese Americans who conversed in English.[4] From 1942 to 1945, the sorority was rendered inactive due to World War II. In 1946, after the war, Chi Alpha Delta was reorganized.

Members of the sorority celebrate their Asian-American identity through food and fashion with traditions such as cooking foods from different countries and hosting fashion shows to recruit new members.[5]

Chi Alpha Delta's official colors are Lavender for graciousness and Green for thoughtfulness. These colors come from their sorority flower, Wisteria.

The sorority's main philanthropy is with the Center for Pacific Asian Family, a women's shelter that assists women who are affected by domestic violence or sexual assault. By extending the strength of sisterhood, Chis seek to empower other women in the Asian American community.

• You Heard it First - 1998 Daily Bruin
• Greek System Seeks Members - 1998 Daily Bruin
• Founding Sisters - 2001 Daily Bruin
• Fashionable fundraiser fosters cancer research - 2001 Daily Bruin
• Nurturing UCLA Women's Asian Roots and U.S. Lives - LA Times
• A Greek Odyssey - 2003 Daily Bruin
• Greek life’s fall recruitment to start Zero Week - 2007 Daily Bruin

• Lee, Jennifer; Zhou, Min (2004). Asian American youth: culture, identity, and ethnicity. New York: Routledge. p. 106. ISBN 0-415-94668-9. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
• Lim, Shirley Jennifer (2006). A Feeling of Belonging: Asian American Women's Public Culture, 1930-1960. New York: New York University Press. p. 11. ISBN 0-8147-5193-8. Retrieved 22 March 2009.

• Official website
• Chi Alpha Delta Alumnae