Symbols

Purpose: The purpose of Zeta Tau Alpha is to intensify friendship, promote happiness among its members, to perform such deeds, and to mould such opinions as will conduce to the building up of a purer, nobler womanhood in the world.

Open Motto: "Seek the Noblest"

Creed: "To realize that within our grasp, in Zeta Tau Alpha, lies the opportunity to learn those things which will ever enrich and ennoble our lives; to be true to ourselves, to those within and without our circle; to think in terms of all mankind and our service in the world; to be steadfast, strong and clean of heart and mind, remembering that since the thought is father to the deed, only that which we would have manifested in our experience should be entertained in thought; to find satisfaction in being, rather than seeming, thus strengthening in us the higher qualities of the spirit; to prepare for service and learn the nobility of serving, thereby earning the right to be served; to seek understanding that we might gain true wisdom; to look for the good in everyone; to see beauty with its enriching influence; to be humble in success and without bitterness in defeat; to have the welfare and harmony of the Fraternity at heart, striving ever to make our lives a symphony of high ideals, devotion to the right, the good and the true, without a discordant note; remembering always that the foundation precept of Zeta Tau Alpha was love, 'the greatest of all things."' -- Shirley Kreasan Scott

Colors: Steel Gray and Turquoise Blue

Badge – The badge of the Fraternity is a small, black, enameled shield super-imposed upon a gold shield, bearing a five pointed crown with the letters ZTA arranged around it, and below it the word “Themis” in Greek.

Coat of Arms (Crest) – Only initiated members may use this in any manner, which is dignified and in good taste. The ritualistic meaning of the Coat of Arms is secret and is revealed to each member at the time of her Initiation.

Crown – The five-pointed Crown is an official symbol of the Fraternity. The significance of the five points is revealed to each member upon her Initiation. Many examples of crown artwork can be found within ZTA, and all are acceptable as long as the crown contains exactly five points.

Pledge Pin – This pin is a silver carpenter’s square enameled in turquoise, to be worn by all duly pledged new members of the Fraternity.

Strawberry – In the late 1800s, an admirer of one of ZTA’s Founders, Mary Campbell Jones (Batte), sent her a gift of strawberries. The scrumptious present prompted the group of nine friends to host their first purely social gathering and to become officially recognized as a campus organization.

Flower – The flower of the Fraternity, chosen by Founder Ruby Leigh Orgain, is the white violet. Its symbolic meaning is explained in the Initiation Service.

The Founders of Zeta Tau Alpha: Frances Yancey Smith, Ruby Leigh Orgain, Ethel Coleman Van Name, Della Lewis Hundley, Alice Bland Coleman, Helen M Crafford, Alice Grey Welsh, Maud Jones Horner, and Mary Jones Batte.