University Of Tulsa Honors Sorority With Tree Dedication Ceremony

The University of Tulsa is honoring its oldest historically Black sorority in a unique way.

Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha said they planted this tree on sorority row because they want people to see the history and the impact they've made on campus.

Erica McAlester is a senior at TU and a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.

She wanted to join because she said she was inspired by other AKA women.

"I was just blown away by seeing phenomenal, Black women in pink and green, but not only were they dressed nice, they were also performing and doing things in the community," said McAlester.

AKA has been at TU since 1974, but its members have never had a house on campus.

Anika Wilson Starling, the Midwestern Regional Director for Alpha Kappa Alpha, said this tree is the first marker the sorority will have at TU.

"It is important for us to lay our footprint and the embellishment on campuses and so for us, it is most important that we take the pleasure and the pride to be on campuses that are not historically Black colleges and universities," said Wilson Starling.

Wilson Starling said this sorority has changed her life and hopes it will continue to do the same for other women who will join AKA.

"For my college experience, it was important because I had a legacy that I was able to follow, and women that were able to pour into me the blessing of what it was like to be an Alpha Kappa Alpha woman," said Wilson Starling.

McAlester hopes as the tree grows, it will be a representation of the sorority’s effect on campus and on its members.

"I think this tree is a good representation of what we're doing but I think it's a start of what we're doing,” said McAlester. “So as this tree is in its blooming stages on campus, it kind of also represents the Greek Life on TU's campus.”

TU said in the future, they will also plant trees to honor the other historically Black sororities and fraternities on campus.