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  Second-year biology student Katie Siemens puts on lipstick as she gets ready to return to campus for an afternoon class.

By Matt Goulding

Daily Bruin Contributor

When Katie Siemens, first arrived at UCLA she found herself overwhelmed by the size of the school.

Alone, confused and in search of a niche, the a second-year biology student found the Delta Gamma Sorority a comforting refuge from the intimidating numbers of the university.

“UCLA is a big campus with so many opportunities,” Siemens said. “The Greek system showed me all the avenues available to me. With the Greek system, I didn’t feel lost anymore.”

Siemens joined Delta Gamma during the fall of her first year and is now one of 57 girls living in the house on Hilgard Avenue.

“I was really worried about leaving my friends from home, but I found girls here who I immediately related with,” she said. “Living with so many girls, whenever I want to do something, there is always someone there.”

Her sorority sisters, however, aren’t the only ones providing support for Siemens in the house.

“Our house mom does so much for us,” she said. “She buys us cold medicine whenever we’re sick. She even made us a big mound of sushi last weekend.”

Just being a part of the house, though, wasn’t enough for Siemens. Looking to get involved with the Greek system at a higher level, she joined the UCLA branch of the National Panhellenic Council, the governing body of sororities across the country, and serves as its vice president this year.

  COURTNEY STEWART Katie Siemens, right, surrounds herself with food and friends at Delta Gamma, her sorority house on Hilgard Avenue. “I wanted to do something for the entire system,” said Siemens. “It’s given me the opportunity to be proud about what I’m involved in.”

While she saw her position in the sorority as fulfilling, Siemens said she grows frustrated with the some of the stereotypes with which she and her sisters are constantly branded.

“It really annoys me that we have such a bad reputation on this campus,” she said. “I took offense to a lot of those columns that were written in The Bruin by former sorority girls. You really have to make an effort to know what we’re all about.”

Siemens was referring to a submission titled “Systematic Sisterhood Promotes Intolerance,” by Kirra Steel in The Bruin last fall. In it, Steel called the Greek system “an elitist institution.” She also said sororities and fraternities “promote racism, hate and social inequity.”

As vice president of the council, Siemens is responsible for passing rush and house laws, participating in judicial hearings, and in general making the sorority system a respectable force on this campus. She wanted to show that being part of the Greek system involves more than the stereotypical party-going.

“I want to get the Greek system more involved on campus,” Siemens said. “We need to use our numbers to do good things.”

In an effort to reach out to the Los Angeles community, every sorority at UCLA takes on one major area for philanthropy. Members of Delta Gamma have chosen the Blind Children Center, and with the money raised through charity events, they seek to provide financial support for the children.

Determined to make an impact, Siemens’s involvement in the Greek system doesn’t stop here. She also serves as a representative for GAMMA, Greeks Advocating Mature Management of Alcohol, which looks to combat a problem not singular to the Greek population but prevalent in many college campuses.

Many students at UCLA associate fraternities and sororities with heavy alcohol consumption, and Siemens said she looks to dispel this belief.

“It’s like a risk management group. We want to make sure that everyone is properly educated about the effects of alcohol,” Siemens said. “It’s not that drinking is a problem, it’s making sure that all of the rules are followed.”

This means making sure that all fraternity parties are Bring Your Own Beer (B.Y.O.B.), that proper identification is presented by those drinking, and that partygoers act in a responsible manner.

Saving reputation or not, Siemens remains focused on her goals within the Greek system and excited about the prospects within Delta Gamma.

“People around me are so motivated. It’s inspiring to live with 57 girls who all have a goal,” Siemens said. “It makes it easier to come home to people who understand what I’m trying to do.”