By: Areej Ali
Nu Omega Zeta is a Black-focused sorority at McMaster that aims to support and enrich the Black community on campus and in Hamilton.
While the sorority was founded in September 2011, plans to launch Nu Omega Zeta were in the works months before the sorority’s founding date.
The seven Nu Omega Zeta founders first looked to Black Greek organizations in the United States, which provided a good perspective on how they should establish their own chapter.
For instance, today, the sorority pairs up new members with a ‘Big Sister’ who provides guidance and support.
The founding members first looked for an executive board and then created the symbols, guidelines and pillars that the sorority would stand for.
According to Eno Antai, the current president of Nu Omega Zeta, members do not need to identify as Black in order to join the sorority.
Nevertheless, the group is Black-focused, aspiring to “promote the growth and enrichment of Black undergraduate students and to enhance their education through the strengthening of the relationships within the Black community.”
In particular, Nu Omega Zeta stands for “Sisterhood, Volunteerism and Knowledge.”
Over the few years, members of the sorority have volunteered at Empowerment Squared, a Hamilton-based charity that seeks to empower marginalized and newcomer communities in Hamilton.
The sorority also runs campus events such as “Chance on Campus,” a one-day event that gives grade 10 and 11 students the opportunity to experience post-secondary life at McMaster and learn about the university’s organizations and academic and financial resources.
“When I look back and think why I wanted to join Nu Omega Zeta, I remember feeling very isolated and alone on campus in my first year,” said Gabriela Roberta, a member of the sorority.
“I had no intentions of joining a sorority. However, Nu Omega Zeta was the first and only organization to reach out to me and make me feel as though my fears are not only my own,” said Roberts.
Roberts added that the sorority immersed her in a community of women that truly understood her struggles and concerns.
She strongly feels that Nu Omega Zeta has been a transformative life experience.
For Jet'aime Fray, another member of Nu Omega Zeta, the sorority means sisterhood. Fray explains that the sorority has allowed for her to create long lasting friendships and has given her a unique opportunity to volunteer in Hamilton.
“In a society that refuses to acknowledge Black women, having a space that allows you to be unapologetically who you are and celebrates you is very needed,” said Antai, who feels that the space Nu Omega Zeta provides to acknowledge Black women is much needed and can give many students a home away from home.
Julianne Providence joined Nu Omega Zeta for precisely this reason.
“I saw it as a space where I could belong. I had seen the ladies on campus and admired the connections they had with each other,” said Providence.
Omega Zeta hosts a number of initiatives throughout the year, including rush events, parties, relationship summits, workshops, networking events about education and support in the Black community and a ‘World AIDS Day’ panel discussion.
Students interested in attending these events or becoming a part of the sorority can get more information on Nu Omega Zeta’s website.
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Sarah O’Connor
Staff Reporter
I have always been a lover of mythology; it is a small hobby that began when I was little, collecting and reading books about Greek and Roman mythology.
Since then my interest has grown, and along with Greek and Roman I have begun reading more on Celtic, Norse and Native American mythologies. A few years ago I purchased a book that contained Greek, Norse, Celtic, as well as Egypt and West Asian mythology.
Skimming through the section I recognized familiar names: Adam, Eve, Abraham. At that time I foolishly thought that perhaps in the past these Biblical characters would simply be stories to some people.
But then I learned about the God Graveyard.
The God Graveyard was set up first by students of the University of North Georgia Skeptics Society and then by the group Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics at the University of Wisconsin. The second featured over 200 graves dedicated to once believed in gods who have since “died” and been forgotten. Such gods mentioned are Pluto, Anubis, Zhurong, Loki, as well as a number of others.
I wasn’t horrified by the God Graveyard like many people were. I was interested and I began to think about what linked mythology and Catholicism. I began to find many comparisons between the two in the stories they tell.
Both have creation stories: in Norse mythology the story is of when Odin and his brothers killed the first giant Ymir and constructed the world from his corpse. In the Bible there is the book of Genesis that explains how God created the world in seven days.
Both contain examples of divine intervention, especially with women, who give birth to children. A popular motif in many mythology stories, the best known is probably Greek mythology with Zeus and his many interactions with mortal women. Some of the children produced from these relationships were Hercules and Helen of Troy. In the Christian religion this is shown through Mary’s Immaculate Conception with Jesus Christ.
Both contain stories have significant animals: Celtic mythology have a number of symbolic animals that portray both good and bad such as the hound, deer/stag, boar and many other animals. Similarly the Bible has, to name a few, the dove, serpent, fish and lamb.
These three examples are only some of many comparisons that can be found between the two which leads to the question: how long can a religion survive? And what is it that kills a god?
Is it lack of follows or is it peer pressure? Or perhaps is it a combination of the two?
Christianity has been around for thousands of years and in the past and present has attempted to convert people away from their religion. My father has told me that growing up in the 60’s his teachers would tell students that if they did not convert one person to Christianity they would not get into Heaven.
If someone were to say they were followers of Zeus or Odin nowadays society would mock and shun them. But just because Greek, Norse and other religions have been term “mythologies” today does that make them any less valid than Christianity?
So what is the life span of a religion? Looking at the pictures of the many “dead” gods, I can’t help but wonder if one day soon the figures of Christianity will one day lay among Athena and Freya, a myth that we foolish people of the past believed in.
