Saturday, October 24, 2009

Yay free brunch!

Happy Family Weekend everyone! As I write to you, I am sitting on my couch, stuffed from Phi Sig's annual Parents' Brunch. This year it was catered by Cream and Sugar :)

During Family Weekend, Greek houses all over campus open their doors to members' parents. At Phi Sigma Sigma, we hold a brunch before the football game.

With all the rain, here's hoping the Quakers can come out against the Bulldogs! Unfortunately for me, parent-less (though I gave them plenty of grief for not coming) and work-laden, I am about to head out into the rain myself, not to the game but to the library.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Kristin's Story


I'd like to personally invite everyone to join AXO and TriDelta's as we present Kristin's Story, this Wednesday, October 21st, a mother's tale of her daughter's rape and suicide. Kristin, an member of Alpha Chi Omega, was raped by a friend in 1995. Afraid to tell anyone of the event, she spiraled into depression before committing suicide. Her TriDelta mother, Andrea Cooper, now travels to college campuses to discuss depression and rape--two prevalent issues in college life. This event is a great example of how two sororities can come together for a great cause. Penn is lucky that we have both chapters here are on campus and are able to have Ms. Cooper come speak with us. So please come, tomorrow, at 7:30 in Meyerson B1. Freshmen women welcome.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Cookies and Committees

It seems that midterm season has officially begun, bringing with it the requisite caffeine induced all nighters in the basement of Van Pelt.  I hope everyone is surviving; it will all be over soon... hopefully.  

Junk food is one thing that always makes my study nights a little bit easier to handle.  I think most people agree, which is why last week the SDT scholarship committee (a group of sophomores who signed up to help the rest of us survive midterms and finals) decided to have an Insomnia cookies study break.  Word was spread through the SDT listerv, and sophomores gathered quickly in our chapter room anxiously awaiting double chocolate chunk and white macadamia nut heaven.  Unfortunately, the doorbell wasn't ringing with our huge cookie delivery.  I called over to Insomnia and they informed me that the oven was backed up.  Of course, once I told them that we had 40 hungry girls begging for cookies, they promised the order would arrive asap.  And they didn't disappoint- the cookies arrived warm and delicious, and I don't think I've ever seen anything devoured so quickly.

Now that I've spent an entire paragraph raving about Insomnia Cookies, I realized you are probably still really confused about what a scholarship committee is.  Basically our sorority is run by an executive board, which includes our president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, social chair, vice president of new member education, vice president of recruitment, and panhellenic delegate.  In addition to this board, our vice president oversees a variety of sub-committees made up of the sophomore class to help everyone get more involved in the sorority.  A couple examples of these committees are: the late night committee, which helps plan our annual fundraiser for Prevent Child Abuse America, our sisterhood committee, which among other things brings cupcakes to every chapter meeting for members' birthdays, and family relations committee, which plans a brunch at our house to welcome parents over family weekend.  Perhaps our health and social awareness committee can plan a nice workout session to help me burn off all these cookies and cupcakes the other committees have been providing?  Is it coincidence ∑∆T actually spells EAT?

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

For the good, and the bad

There is so much written on this blog to do with exciting things happening in the Panhellenic community. And while there are many exciting philanthropy, social, and sisterhood events going on all the time, there are also some not so happy things that happen.

Last Wednesday, the Penn community came together to remember Lindsey Goldhagen, a Phi Sigma Sigma sister who passed away on the 30th of August. I won't go into what an amazing person Lindsey was and how much she'll be missed because the DP did a great job of that already, but I would like to talk about the amazing amount of support my chapter received following our loss.

We received numerous cards and letters of support not only from chapters within Phi Sigma Sigma, but also from chapters at Penn and their national organizations. For two weeks we had so many bouquets of flowers, we had no clue where we would put another one if it were delivered. In particular, the card sent by Alpha Chi Omega comforted me most. The last line read, "During times like these, it is good to know we are all sisters, no matter the letters!"

To the sisters of Alpha Chi Omega and all the other chapters who sent us their sympathies: thank you. Your words have helped our hearts to heal.

And to the brothers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon: I am so sorry for the loss of your brother, Kenneth. I know what its like to lose a friend you've shared such special times with. My sisters and I are here for you if you need someone to talk to.

Rena Rowan Ribbon Run!

Hopefully you guys have gotten a chance to take a look at the pictures below from the Rena Rowan Ribbon Run.  The race was organized by panhel, so I think it's a great example of the fact that when you join a sorority, you don't just become a member of that chapter, you become part of a larger community at Penn.  There was representation from all different sororities on campus at the race, to support the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness month, and also the Panhellenic Council.  

As community service chair, I helped to remind members of my pledge class to register for the event and motivated them to wake up and get out of bed on a Sunday morning (not always an easy task!).  Some of us walked (yes I was part of the large group left in the back as the serious runners sped ahead), some ran (very impressive!), and some did a combination of the two.  Luckily we all made it back for brunch at our house after!  Every Sunday we have brunch at the house and I know that it's my, and many members of my pledge class's, favorite part of the week.  The promise of food definitely makes the prospect of waking up on a Sunday morning a little bit easier!

Monday, October 5, 2009

Chapter

Today, I've decided to address one of the most mysterious aspects of sorority life (to the outsider's eye): chapter. Until I attended my first chapter, I was curious. What do I expect? What happens? Are there weird rituals performed in the dark?
Allow me to enlighten you. First of all, everything in chapter takes place in the light, in a highly un-threatening room in Hunstman Hall on Sunday nights. (Each house has a different location and night, but I'm fairly certain the lights on are on no matter what sorority you are in). For Tridelta, OC meets first, which is the panel of girls who hold various positions. I show up, every Sunday, at 8:30, prepared to discuss my position and anything that has happened in the past week or any upcoming events. This week, not much was going on with Philanthropy, so I could remain in my Sunday stupor, but our Social Chairs talked about our upcoming crush party (eek!!) and MDC (member development chair) discussed our Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?. These are dinners in which you are told a meeting time, but that's it...who in the sorority will be at your restaurant? This is probably the most mysterious Tridelta ever gets.
After this, we broke into our TEAMS, which consist of a few different positions. I'm on PR (public relations) team, along with the social chairs, VP PR, and Risk Management chair, among others. We discuss general goals, and then settle back into our seats while the rest of the sisters arrive at 9 for chapter.
Basically, chapter is where we bring everyone together, making announcements for the weeks to come, talking about events in the past, and give little awards (like Officer of the Week) to sisters who have worked hard that week. Occasionally, we'll have outside speakers come in to give presentations about various things, such as St. Jude. We also celebrate birthdays, pass around food (this week el presidente Ashley passed around White Cheddar Popcorn and Starbursts), and sometimes have visitors from fraternities (singing a cappella, perhaps?). We also pass around an empty skippy jar, and you put your name inside if you haven't skipped class this week. One name is chosen, and she gets a starbucks card! (Moral: Don't Skip Class, Get Free Coffee). So, while also being a forum for announcements, chapter is also a way for us to all be together, once a week, and just relax. However, it is mandatory, and if you miss more than a certain number you're in a wee bit of trouble. But it's always pretty fun, so it's not a chore to show up every Sunday.
I hope that's answered some of your questions about chapter and what it entails, feel free to comment with any further questions!
peace out from my bed (where I am resting off a food coma...my brother took me to a late pod lunch and we got two appetizers, two mains, and two desserts...errrr),
volp(e)s (people have been asking me, should they use the "e" when spelling volp(e)s? I dunno, up to you)

Ribbon Run Success

The Rena Rowan Ribbon Run was a huge success this year! Panhellenic thanks all of the runners and walkers for participating. Registration
Rena Rowan, whom the Breast Center is named after, with the Quaker

Alex Delfiner, Panhellenic's VP Administration and the race organizer helping the Quaker prepare to run.

MGC volunteers before the race began

Altogether, the event was able to raise over $4000 for the Rena Rowan Breast Center. We are so pleased to be able to make such a significant contribution to the Center's support for women with breast cancer.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Thanks for Attending!


Sigma Kappa's Quizzo went great! The chapter thanks everyone who attended. They were able to raise more than $5,400 for the Alzheimer's Research/the Sigma Kappa Foundation.