The History of KDS Founder’s Day: How the SLU-Originated Organization Came To Be
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference”
– Robert Frost
When the national chapter refused to let an Asian American woman join the St. Lawrence University branch of Kappa Delta, the current members broke off to form a new, local sorority: Kappa Delta Sigma. Founder’s Day takes place on Feb. 22 each year to recognize and celebrate the bravery that the KDS sisters demonstrated by standing up to injustice within their organization.
“It’s important for people to know that they can found something,” says Paula Gaidusek Lesko ’69, founding secretary of KDS. “I think the average person doesn’t think of themselves necessarily in that kind of role, and I don’t think we did either for a long time.”
Following the civil rights movement, the southern-based National Kappa Delta maintained the requirement that members be Christian, and more importantly, white. Due to a miscommunication during elections, the SLU chapter of KD was already on probation at the start of spring rush in 1969. One of the conditions of probation was that a national membership advisor attend the final bid session and approve each potential new member before a bid was offered.
The advisor refused to approve Lydia Minatoya ’72 because her Asian American identity did not match the white-only membership policy. Given the chapter had unanimously voted that Minatoya’s kindness and character would be a great addition to the KD sisterhood, and after warning members about their possible expulsion from nationals, the sorority turned in their bid card to the school in the name of their house address, 53 Park St., instead of as Kappa Delta.
“What could be wrong about wanting to have someone be part of our organization because we liked her?” says founding president Lynda Croker Moran ’69.
In a letter to the sorority’s alumni, the KDS sisters detailed their decision to break with the national chapter. “We simply felt that in order to be true to ourselves and those around us, we had to stand up for our beliefs,” they wrote.
“To walk away from it [Kappa Delta], not only for yourself, but to make the judgment that something else would be better for another group of people who you have only known for a little while but felt like that bond that you were forming of sisterhood with them, gave you the ability to at least believe that they would want to go in the same direction of having integrity and making the right choices,” says Lesko.
The KDS sisterhood continues to be defined by the eternal laughter echoing through the halls; the genuine compassion for each other; the heartwarming hugs delivered after a hard day; the movie nights on the blue couch. KDS focuses not on the individual, but rather the growth and connection that can be experienced in a group.
“I’ve had the pleasure of being able to meet a lot of the members in the last few years, the current members, and I have to say, I always feel that connection that I felt way back,” says Moran. “I think to myself, this is because we’ve kind of chosen each other all along the way, and that’s why I think it’s still there. I’m very grateful that it is [still there]; it’s shocking and it’s wonderful.”
The halls of 53 Park St. have certainly changed since 1969. Sisters can be seen scrolling through social media on their phone or typing away on a personal laptop. But, no matter how much time passes, the laughter and joy remain.
“It was great, it was such a fun place to live,” Linda Brown Killen ’69 reminisces about her time living in the house.
Bailey Smith ’27 recalls hearing her mom, Christina Dock ’94, talk about fond memories from her time in KDS. “I remember her saying how no matter what she wanted to do or where she wanted to go, someone would be down to do it with her,” says Smith.
The KD sisters did not extend a bid to Minatoya to make a political statement. They did it because each woman believed Minatoya would be a perfect addition to their sisterhood.
“You know what it was about? It was about laughter, I think,” Moran recalls noticing when she first met Minatoya. “I remember her being so cheerful and making me laugh and laughing with me.”
“We did it because we really liked Lydia,” says Moran. “It had nothing to do with trying to change the world or anything.”
“It was because we wanted Lydia, not because we were trying to do something,” Killen agrees.
Julissa Antonio ’26 remembers feeling a sense of genuine belonging when she first walked into 53 Park St. during house tours her sophomore year. Antonio is one of two black women in KDS, but never feels excluded from the sisterhood.
“I’ve never once been in this house and thought, ‘oh, no one is the same race as me’ and I’ve never thought I feel different,” says Antonio. “I’ve always thought I belong here, these are my friends, regardless of anything, and no one’s ever made me feel otherwise. Especially at SLU, there’s a lot of places where, sadly, students of color feel that way.”
Now serving as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chair on the executive board, Antonio cherishes the opportunity to be a part of an organization that was founded on diversity.
“Equality, dignity and access were principles driving the founding of KDS – ideas often met with rage and resistance in 1960s America. Since then, much has changed in society; yet that anger remains,” said Minatoya. “Each of us is able – in actions small and large, in every generation and in every day – to support inclusion over exclusion, justice over injustice, humanity over inhumanity. The challenges may seem formidable, the struggle long, but the work is meaningful and the reward profound.”
56 years later, the composite of the 1969 KDS class hangs on the wall in the back date room. The founder’s portraits smile at current sisters, who might be laughing together or grinding on a homework assignment for a class that afternoon. The friendships in the KDS sorority were never meant to be based on external appearance – it just took a brave group of young women to break away from the organization that taught them it was.
“I think it shows it was not about the organization, it was about the sisterhood – the people,” Lesko says.
- Banner photo – founding class of KDS
- KDS sisters hanging out on the roof of the 53 Park residence
- KDS sisters jumping for joy
- KDS sisters on bid day – SLU Archives
- An old image of the KDS house at 53 Park Street
- Another, more contemporary, visual of the KDS house
- Current KDS members posing with fall 2024 on bid day in September