PRINTER'S NO. 989
No. 119 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY WASHINGTON AND KITCHEN, MAY 8, 2007
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, MAY 8, 2007
A RESOLUTION
1 Honoring Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority by designating May 22, 2007,
2 as "Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Day" in Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, In 1908, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority became America's
4 first Greek-letter organization established by black college
5 women; and
6 WHEREAS, The sorority's roots date back to Howard University,
7 Washington, D.C., where the idea for formation was conceived by
8 Ethel Hedgeman Lyle of St. Louis, Missouri, who viewed the
9 sorority as an instrument for enriching the social and
10 intellectual aspects of college life by providing mental
11 stimulation through interaction with friends and associates; and
12 WHEREAS, Through the years, the sorority's function has
13 become more complex, branching out and becoming the channel
14 through which selected college-trained women improved the
15 socioeconomic conditions in their city, state, nation and the
16 world; and
17 WHEREAS, In a world in which materialism is pervasive and
1 technology and competition have decreased the need for
2 collaboration and cooperation, it is critical to have an
3 association that cuts across racial, international, physical and
4 social barriers to help individuals and communities develop and
5 maintain constructive relationships with others; and
6 WHEREAS, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is that vital
7 organization, a sisterhood composed of women who have
8 consciously chosen this affiliation as a means of self-
9 fulfillment through volunteer service, cultivating and
10 encouraging high scholastic and ethical standards, promoting
11 unity and friendship among college women, alleviating problems
12 concerning girls and women, maintaining a progressive interest
13 in college life and serving all mankind through a nucleus of
14 more than 150,000 women in the United States, the Caribbean,
15 Europe and Africa; therefore be it
16 RESOLVED, That the Senate honor the Alpha Kappa Alpha
17 Sorority by designating May 22, 2007, as "Alpha Kappa Alpha
18 Sorority Day" in Pennsylvania.
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