Zeta Mu Epsilon

Zeta Mu Epsilon was an American junior collegiate sorority. It was established in 1921 at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. The sorority chartered at least fifteen chapters before going defunct. It was a member of the National Junior College Panhellenic.

History

Zeta Mu Epsilon sorority was established on February 29, 1921, at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. Its founders adopted the sorority's constitution, bylaws, coat of arms, and ritual. It was established as a social sorority for junior colleges. Its purpose was "to ensure true friendship, to strive to attain the high ideals as symbolized by our pins and the further in every way the interest of our Alma Mater, always doing something for others, through our influence, building up the morale of the student body, and above all, the encouragement of better womanhood." By 1923, it had established a chapter house at 8 College Avenue.
In 1927, Zeta Mu Epsilon became a national sorority with the establishment of chapters at Logan College in Russellville, Kentucky; Greenbrier College in Lewisburg, West Virginia; and Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi. It was admitted to the National Junior College Panhellenic in March 26, 1927. At the time, it was the oldest member of the council.
The sorority's officers were elected at national conventions held biennially in June on even-numbered years. The sorority held a national convention in June 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri.
A chapter was chartered at the Greenville Women's College in 1928, Millersburg College in 1930, and Blackstone College for Girls and the College of Marshall. The sorority also established the Kansas City Alumnae Chapter. The chapter at Logan College closed with the college in 1931. This was followed by the closure of the Belhaven College chapter in 1932 and Greenville's Women's College in 1936.
In 1939, Zeta Mu Epsilon had initiated 700 members and chartered eight collegiate chapters and three alumnae chapters, with five collegiate chapters being inactive. The sorority held its tenth biennial convention in Washington, D.C. in June 1938. Also in 1938, the Alpha chapter at Stephens College closed. However, at least four additional chapters were chartered between 1939 and 1949. In 1949, its Grand Chapter was located in West Virginia.
The last known chapter to be chartered at Brandywine Junior College on January 15, 1967. That chapter hosted the nineteenth biennial convention of Zeta Mu Epsilon in April 1967. The sorority last chapter closed in the 1980s.

Symbols

Zeta Mu Epsilon's motto was Zeamus Mura Emosa. The sorority's colors were violet or lavender and silver. Its flower was the lilac or the violet. Its jewels were the diamond and the pearl.
The sorority's badge was gold and set with pearls; it had an optional guard featuring the Greek letter of the member's chapter. Its coat of arms included non-heraldic emblems on a shield, with a motto below.
Zeta Mu Epsilon's magazine was The Evergreen.

Activities

Zeta Mu Epsilon's members participated in various social events. They also participated in singing contests and inter-sorority basketball. At the College of Marshall, it sponsored the college's annual football dinner and held the annual Kollege Kapers variety show. The sorority's charitable activities included purchasing books for the campus library and creating a scholarship fund for students in need.

Chapters

Collegiate chapters

Following are the known collegiate chapters of Zeta Mu Epsilon, with inactive chapters and institutions indicated in italics.

Chapter	Charter date and range	Institution	Location	Status
Alpha	– 1938; active in 1949	Stephens College	Columbia, Missouri	Withdrew
Beta	–1931	Logan College	Russellville, Kentucky	Inactive
Gamma	–c. 1972	Greenbrier College	Lewisburg, West Virginia	Inactive
Delta	–1932	Belhaven College	Jackson, Mississippi	Inactive
Epsilon	–1936	Greenville Woman's College	Greenville, South Carolina	Inactive
Zeta	– 193x ?	Millersburg College	Millersburg, Kentucky	Inactive
Eta	– 1943	Blackstone College for Girls	Blackstone, Virginia	Inactive
Lambda	–after 1939	College of Marshall	Marshall, Texas	Inactive
Theta	– March 11, 1967	Rider University	Lawrence Township, New Jersey	Withdrew
Iota	–1961	Tennessee Wesleyan College	Athens, Tennessee	Withdrew
Kappa	–1950	Potomac State College	Keyser, West Virginia	Inactive
Mu	– 1959	Morris Harvey College	Charleston, West Virginia	Inactive
Omega				Inactive
Lambda	– 19xx ?	Trenton Junior College	Trenton, Missouri	Inactive
		Berkeley Junior College Secretarial School	East Orange, New Jersey	Inactive
Sigma	– 198x ?	Brandywine Junior College	Wilmington, Delaware	Inactive

Alumnae chapters

Following is an incomplete list of the alumnae chapters of Zeta Mu Epsilon.

Chapter	Charter date and range	Collegiate affiliation	Location	Status
Kansas City Alumnae Chapter	?		Kansas City, Missouri	Inactive
Charleston Alumnae Chapter		Morris Harvey College	Charleston, West Virginia	Inactive
Knoxville Alumnae Chapter		Tennessee Wesleyan College	Knoxville, Tennessee	Inactive
Chattanooga Alumnae Chapter	195x ?		Chattanooga, Tennessee	Inactive
Alpha Theta Alumnae Chapter		Rider University	Trenton, New Jersey	Inactive