Bake sale benefits go to found USC chapter of Sigma Iota Alpha
The second floor of Russell House was bustling with students Tuesday as they visited an array of Valentine’s Day–themed information tables giving away swag and selling treats. Among the tables was a group of young women holding a bake sale to fund the creation of a Latina sorority chapter on USC’s campus.
“Sigma Iota Alpha is a Latin-based, not a Latin-exclusive, sorority,” said Alexandra Mora, a second-year biology student running the table. “If we were able to fundraise this money and get everything, it would be the first Sigma Iota Alpha in the state of South Carolina.”
The chapter, which would accept Latinas and non-Latinas alike, would also be the first Latina-based sorority at USC, according to Mora. She said the only other representation of a Latina-based sorority in the state is at the College of Charleston, but that it has “sort of died out.”
“The fraternity Phi Iota Alpha just started on campus, which is our Latino fraternity, so we would be able to work with them and spread diversity around campus and just start something new and make something really big for USC,” Mora said over the upbeat Latino music playing from the information table, which hosted a number of baked goodies for sale, including chocolate-covered strawberries, brownies, cake pops, pie and a Latino cake called tres leches.
In order to begin the process of establishing an official chapter of Sigma Iota Alpha, Mora says the women of the interest group must first raise the proper funds.
“We can start whenever we raise the $1,000,” Mora said. “We have bake sales. We’re going to have an empanada sale, which is like a meat cake. We’re also going to sell plates of food coming up next week. We were thinking about doing a salsa workshop. We’re also looking for any sponsors or donations.”
The biggest contribution to the organization’s fundraiser so far has come from Allison Buryk, a fourth-year nursing student.
“We’ve gotten a couple of donations,” said Katherine Quiceno, a first-year biology and theater student in the interest group. “And a close friend of ours, actually — she’s Italian, and she’s very interested in our sorority — donated like a couple hundred dollars to us.”
The women trying to establish a chapter of Sigma Iota Alpha believe that the addition of Latino representation in Fraternity and Sorority Life would be beneficial to students at USC.
“We have to spread the awareness of Latino culture,” Quiceno said. “Also, we’re trying to break the stereotypes that people have about Latinos and that Latinos have about other people because that’s our main thing: to make everybody come together.”
Buryk, the only non-Latina of the interest group and donator of $400, says the sorority supports “strongly independent women achieving academic excellence,” as well as philanthropy.
Those interested in joining Sigma Iota Alpha’s interest group are encouraged to send an email to sosia@mailbox.sc.edu.
“Right now, our interest group has 11 people in it, and we’re trying to get as many people as we can,” Quiceno said.