They act like a bona fide sorority. Instead of clapping they snap. Their executive board leads discussions about their philanthropy. They practice a secret handshake and learn special songs. And now they’re mingling with the ranks of the legitimate Greek system by donning a sorority girl/fraternity guy necessity: the T-shirt.
But Zeta Zeta Zeta, or Tri Zeta, isn’t your typical sorority or fraternity.
Tri Zeta is a pseudo-fraternity that “encourages excellence through superior sleep.” It’s something college students never seem to get enough of, and Tri Zeta aims to boldly — if not humorously — promote more of it. The mock fraternity, which includes both males and females, is open to anyone “regardless of race, gender or sleeping-orientation.”
“Now is an important time for Tri Zeta, especially around daylight-savings time when sleep is so hard to come by,” said McCormick sophomore Drew Dragstrem, one of the co-founders of Tri Zeta.
On Sunday night Tri Zeta hosted a “T-Zeta T-Shirt Par-T” to pass out its first T-shirts.
Twenty people lounged around what the Tri Zetas call “the house” — actually, the fourth-floor Allison Hall triple of sophomore co-founders and executive board members Dragstrem, Cody Hansen and Blair Heuer.
The executives answered the phone with a ready “Tri Zeta” as members called the room to be let upstairs. The screen saver on Hansen’s computer features a swirling “ZZZ.”
As the Tri Zetas filtered in, they enthusiastically put on their new burgundy T-shirts with “ZZZ” printed across the front in bold white lettering. The back of the shirt displays Tri Zeta’s motto: “Vive bene, dormi melius,” Latin for “live well, sleep better.”
The co-founders first had the idea for Tri Zeta last year as an alternative for people who were not interested in sorority or fraternity life. They envisioned a house covered in carpet squares for optimum napping facilities, fully stocked with juice and cookies for snack time.
The trio decided to launch Tri Zeta during Winter Quarter, hosting a rush party during sorority recruitment.
About 30 people attended the party and the executive board utilized a “sorority-esque” point system. Each person received a score from one to five and a one word description such as “aloof,” “tall,” “spunky” or “girlfriend.”
Proud of her “girlfriend” label, Weinberg sophomore Melissa Tague joked, “All these months of dating someone on exec have finally paid off.”
Heuer said the group modeled its recruitment process after real-world examples.
“Our rush party was basically a rip-off of what we heard about sorority rush,” said Heuer, a Weinberg sophomore. “Drew and I shared the ideas behind our fraternity and made it seem really serious. We sent e-mails to anyone who expressed interest, telling them they’d gotten a bid.”
After all the members arrived Sunday for the T-Shirt Part-T, the Tri Zetas got down to business. They had “sleep habits sharing time” and complained that their professors aren’t supportive of the fraternity and its ideals.
“We need to show them that not everyone who sleeps is a monster,” said Matt Ryd, a Weinberg freshman. “There are just a few bad eggs.”
While a few members searched for bargains on carpet squares on Heuer’s computer, the Tri Zetas swayed and belted out their original song with the lyrics: “On our futon, you’ll feel at home. You’ll never have to be alone.”
Justin Hwang, a Music sophomore, accompanied the members on the acoustic guitar.
Arguably the most important aspect of fraternity and sorority life is philanthropy work, and ZZZ is no different.
“Our main philanthropy is to provide carpet squares, crackers and juice to underprivileged kids,” Heuer said. “Kids with carpet squares go on to be leaders.”
On a campus notorious for chronic studying, Tri Zeta aims to provide a valuable service. Incorporating positions such as minstrel of lullabies, director of homeland security (defending the room from noise) and sleep ambassadors covering every part of campus, founders hope you can rest easy knowing Tri Zeta is looking out for you.
As long as NU students suffer from sleep deprivation, the members of Tri Zeta will continue to encourage sleep. But next year the founders said they probably won’t be living in “the house.”
“The house may be off campus next year,” Heuer said. “Tri Zeta is the next Kappa Sig.”
