Sigma Phi Omega

American collegiate Asian interest sorority

Sigma Phi Omega (ΣΦΩ), also known as Sigmas, is an Asian American interest sorority founded at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California

Sigma Phi Omega was founded at the University of Southern California in 1949, and is the oldest Asian American sorority at USC and UT Austin and third oldest Asian sorority in the United States. It was originally established as a social organization for Japanese and Japanese American women at USC and has since then come to consist of a diverse membership of women hailing from numerous racial and cultural backgrounds.

At its beginning, the founding mothers of Sigma Phi Omega were invited by Chi Alpha Delta, an Asian American sorority from UCLA, to become one of their chapters. Chi Alpha Delta had been chartered in 1928 at UCLA, but was rendered inactive between 1942 and 1945 because the majority of its members were unable to attend UCLA due to World War II. After the end of the war, the sorority was reorganized in 1946. However, the founding mothers decided to start their own organization. The Greek letters were chosen at random and were not used by any other existing College fraternities or sororities at that time. The Greek letters were, however, being used by a national high school fraternity. Although the Sigmas did not originate as a sorority, one could speculate that the choosing of Greek letters was a public way of voicing an unsatisfactory opinion about the treatment of Asian Americans, specifically Japanese Americans, by the campus and Greek organizations.

There are annual conventions held each summer as well as Mid year Retreat, where sisters from different chapters gather to bring orders of business as well as bond. These conventions and retreats are hosted by the chapters in rotations.