SAO and KYX greek life rooted in Christian faith

Sigma Alpha Omega and Kappa Upsilon Chi are just like any other sorority or fraternity at GCSU, except unlike other Greek affiliations SAO and KYX are centered around Christianity.

SAO:

Abby Bryant, president of SAO and a senior marketing major, thoroughly enjoys being a part of SAO and the common bond in Christ that helps form the sisterhood.

“SAO was my calling,” Bryant said. “My favorite part about SAO is the joy that is this sorority. SAO is very unique.”

One thing that makes SAO unique is their weekly Bible study where they worship, read passages and then discuss them. Along with Bible studies, SAO also holds big events like their annual Ovarian Cancer Walk. They are also participating in Operation Christmas Child, which is a joint project with KYX.

Another great aspect of SAO is the strong bond between all of the sisters. Anna Winkler, a junior nursing major, is really grateful for the friends she has made from being in SAO.

“I’m happy to have found a good group of girls who will hold me accountable for my actions and who I always have fun with,” Winkler said.

Bryant feels the same way, but she did not always have her mind set on SAO. Eventually she realized that regular recruitment was not for her and after hearing about SAO during her junior year of high school she decided that particular sorority was right for her.

“I really grew to appreciate SAO,” Bryant said. “I’m so comfortable with the sisters; I’ve known them for three years. They’re such an incredible support system.”

KYX:

It all started in 2001 when four guys sent letters out trying to get a Christian fraternity started; Kappa Upsilon Chi was the only one to respond. They were a pledge-ship in the summer and brothers in the Fall.

Like SAO, KYX is also Christian based, but they do plenty of Greek things. Despite what some people may think, they do not function like a church whatsoever. They host different events and cookouts and every semester they do a different service project. Dayne Sullivan, newly elected president of KYX and a senior community health major, explained why KYX does not focus on just one service project like other fraternities.

“We try to mix it up with what service projects we do so we hit the entire community,” Sullivan said.

Unfortunately KYX does not host a philanthropic event because of their low number of brothers. Sullivan hopes to gain more members in the near future and wants people to recognize that KYX is so much more than what some people may think.

“A lot of guys think, ‘Ya, I’m a Christian, but I don’t want to feel like I’m going to church.’ It’s not like that,” Sullivan stated. “KYX gives you a chance to grow with leadership and to meet great guys.”

Sullivan and Andrew Burton, an active KYX member and a senior English literature major, put extra emphasis on the ways that KYX changed them. Both of them agree that joining KYX was one of the best decisions they have ever made.

“I would not be who I am today without (the brothers),” Burton said. “We’re very close. I can say that I genuinely know each brother, their past and their hopes and dreams.”

KYX’s biggest focus right now is simply bringing their number of members back up and Sullivan wants all potential members to realize how much of a difference KYX makes in each brother’s life. Their goal is to make it so each brother graduates a better person because of KYX.

Their fraternity motto is “as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another,” a verse from Proverbs.

It means a lot to KYX and to Sullivan as well.

“To me it means you sharpen each other through personal motivation, accountability and constructive criticism,” Sullivan said.

Posted by Anna Morris on Oct 1 2010. Filed under Close Up, Special Sections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.