Alpha Chi Omega Presents: Alphatraz

     Every semester the women of Alpha Chi Omega put on a fabulous philanthropy event. This past September, they hosted their famous Alphatraz event to raise awareness for domestic violence.

        Each fall semester Alpha Chi sells "warrants" for students to put their friends in jail. In order for the students to get out of jail they have to earn a "bail". Each warrant requests the participants to raise a bail of at least $10. "Prisoners" are given a cup that they need to fill by getting passing students to donate. Prisoners get creative on ways to earn bail. This past year some of the favorites were: twerking, offering dates, and singing.
          The proceeds from the event will be donated to CAPSA (community abuse prevention service agency). CAPSA is a safe haven for victims of domestic violence. As stated on their website their mission is, “to provide a safe, caring, and confidential shelter, advocacy, and support for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault; and to reduce incidents of abuse through prevention education.” To learn more about CAPSA you can go to their website to learn more. 

          The money will go toward two scholarships for a re-entry student who has been a victim of domestic violence. At the end of the event, the ladies of Alpha Chi Omega were excited to announce that they raised over $2,000 for their two re-entry scholarships.

"Help us out!"

Alpha Chi sisters and Sigma Chi brothers in the jail

Theta Nu Xi Founders Week 2013

   Theta Nu Xi’s founder’s day is on April 11. To commemorate this significant day, the Epsilon Chapter at Utah State University decided to celebrate Founders’ week. Founders’ week was from April 8 – April 12, 2013. Each day was a representation of their tenets, which are the things on which their sorority was founded on. 

  

Monday was Leadership Day: 

To celebrate Leadership, Theta Nu Xi had professor Matt Sanders speak about “The Traits of a Leader”. This event was held in a classroom at the Engineering building, and was very empowering to the chapter members.

 "It was great to see the sisters engaged and asking questions and learning to become greater leaders." -Aminata Meite President

Tuesday was Scholarship Day:

The women held a scholarship fair at the TSC Sunburst Lounge. They had the following offices have booths at the event; Financial Aid office, office of Academic resources, and Study Abroad office. The Epsilon Chapter also held a booth for the Epsilon Scholarship they hand out every semester. The purpose of this day was to get as many people’s questions answered as well as get them enlightened on all the opportunities that are out there at Utah State University.

Wednesday was Multiculturalism Day:  

To celebrate Multiculturalism, Theta Nu Xi had a showcase from the different clubs at Utah State University. They had the African Student Association, the Dominican Student Association, the Polynesian Student Union, the Latino Student Union, and the Epsilon Chapter perform. The purpose of this event was to give a glimpse at different clubs and cultures here at Utah State University.

Thursday was Service Day:

To celebrate Service, they held two service events: Celebrity Server and Butterflies for service. For celebrity server, they sold tickets to golden corral and members of the epsilon chapter were the waitresses for a specific section of Golden Corral. The profits raised were shared with Golden Corral, but the main portion of their profits went to the Girls For A Change Foundation, which is the sororities philanthropy. Butterflies for service was an event were they made origami butterflies and sent them over to St. Jude’s Research Hospital. The purpose of this event was to give back to our community in any way possible.

Friday was Sisterhood Day and the Annual Step Show:

 The Step Show is co-hosted with Psi Sigma Phi Fraternity. This Step show consisted of  the different Greek Organizations on campus as well as the Black student Union. The profits raised at this event were shared with Psi Sigma Phi and their part of the proceeds went to the English Learning Center. 

"This was a sisterhood event because all the sisters participated in this event as well as alumni. After the event, we had our sisterhood bonding at our annual formal." -Theta Nu Xi sister

  Overall, Theta Nu Xi's founders week was a success and is something everyone can look forward to in April this next semester!

Kappa Delta Convention

At the beginning of July Brooke Lawley, Kappa Delta President, had an amazing opportunity to attend Kappa Delta Sorority’s 60^th National Biennial Convention in Boston. National convention is held every other year in order to conduct the national business of the sorority and to give all Kappa Delta sisters a central place to meet up, learn new things, reminisce on memories from the past and create new memories that will last a lifetime.  It was a week filled with a lot of learning, many new faces, little sleep and tons of fun!

 Brooke attended convention as the voting delegate and was lucky enough to have another sister there with me. Chealsey Leach was selected to serve as a Convention Page and had a wonderful experience doing so. Brooke said, “It was humbling to be around so many different generations of sisters from all across the country that share a common bond of sisterhood that ties them all together.”

 One of the most exciting parts about it was that Brooke met their National Council and could really see how dedicated and passionate they are about the organization and their service. The highlight of the week was definitely the awards banquet where collegiate and alumni chapters and individuals were recognized for their progress and achievements throughout the last biennium. The Beta Delta chapter, here at Utah State University, was thrilled and honored to receive the Merit Award which is given to chapters that meet a number of criteria to be considered in the top 10% of Kappa Delta chapters nationwide. Beta Delta has never received the Merit Award before but it’s always something that they  have strived to achieve. Brooke and Chealsey were also proud to receive awards for Recruitment Excellence, Academic Excellence,

Panhellenic Excellence and Top Membership Score. As chapter president Brooke could not be more proud of her Council and every single girl in their chapter for putting the hard work, time and dedication in to get their chapter to where it is now. Brooke said, “I’m thankful to lead such an amazing group of women and I’m also thankful for the guidance that we receive from our Chapter Advisor, Judy Lawton.”

 The Kappa Delta’s are excited for a new school year and new opportunities to strengthen their own sisterhood and their relationships within the Greek Community. We are so proud of our Beta Delta chapter here at Utah State University, keep up the hard work and we look forward to all the amazing new things their chapter will do this year. 

Summer of Fun for Diane Meifert

     Diane Meifert is an Alpha Chi Omega and this summer she has gone to Paris, France and Chambery, France. Diane got to go to these cities for her study abroad program through Utah State University. Her main goal while here was to become a more proficient French speaker. Also she was able to add this to her list of countries she has been to. Diane has been to France, Switzerland, Italy, and England.

     While there Diane was immersed into a new and different culture which was exciting for her. She said, “I learned something new every day about the French people and their ways.”  Another way she experienced the culture was by seeing all the amazing landmarks and just by walking the streets. While in Chambery she experienced canyoneering and paragliding. Diane had an amazing experience and loved every minute of it. 

Summer Fun for Trent Morrison

High Ropes Course

Trent Morrison is a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon here at Utah State University. This summer Trent received an amazing opportunity to go to Ruck Leadership Institute. At this leadership event only the top 150 undergraduates of SigEp are selected through an application process, Trent was one of those selected. The leadership weekend was in Richmond, Virginia and is one of the six Sigma Phi Epsilon’s member exclusive leadership events. Ruck leadership Institute is designed as a personal leadership experience.

First Composite

Trent’s plans for the leadership weekend include; learning more about his leadership capabilities and how to better impact his Greek life experience. Trent said, “I’m excited to be in the top 150 brothers from across the nation.” He also mentioned that he is excited to learn more about other traditions chapters have as well as differences and similarities his own chapter has compared to others.

One thing Trent loved was that the leadership weekend was in a beautiful setting and that he got to see the beautiful outdoors of Virginia. Another thing that Trent enjoyed was walking on the campus where his Fraternity was founded. Trent really got to learn about SigEp in a different capacity and has gained so much more knowledge about his Fraternity.  

Summer Adventures of Samantha Burrow

Group Picture

Samantha Burrows is a Greek woman in our community and this summer she has gone to Vietnam, China, and South Korea. Sam went to these places to participate in a study abroad program through the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at USU.  As a part of the program, her and a group of students traveled throughout Asia for a month and visited 30 businesses.  These businesses were both multinational companies and companies that solely operated in one of the Asian countries they visited.  In addition to their professional visits, they had the opportunity to explore cultural sites such as the Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam, the Great Wall in China, and the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea.

On her trip Sam was looking forward to the opportunity to share this experience with like-minded Utah State students.  She had the opportunity to travel with incredible individuals on this trip; their knowledge and insight enhanced her experience and helped her learn a great deal about herself.  She also looked forward to the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City because she loves Mulan so much!  

Tai Chi 

A goal Sam had on this trip was to learn more about the nature of international business, discover opportunities available to her in the region, and partake in a kind of personal discovery as she submerged herself in an unfamiliar and sometimes uncomfortable setting. While in Asia Sam tried a lot of interesting food...most of the things she will probably never know what they were.  She did try a fish that was simply fried whole-skin, bones, eyes, and all.  Another thing Sam ate was donkey which at the time she ate it she was unaware of what it really was. Overall she tried new things and fully submerged herself.

Lastly, Sam enjoyed the opportunity to visit three countries that are at various stages of economic development.  The context set by exploring an undeveloped, a developing, and a developed country all in one trip was an incredible learning opportunity.  She said, “It was powerful to have access to a trip that provided insight and information on international developing economies.”

Kappa Delta Shamrock Week

Kappa Delta had their annual Shamrock Week February 28^th-March 2^nd.  During this week, they raised a total of $3,545 where 80% of these proceeds went to the Cache Child and Family Support Center and 20% went to Prevent Child Abuse America. The Cache Child and Family Support Center provides a facility that offers tools and support services to help parents in the community successfully raise their children. Prevent Child Abuse America builds awareness, by providing education and inspiring people to get involved in the effort to prevent the abuse and neglect of the nation's children. Throughout the week they helped raise awareness of these causes at the events.

     Kappa Delta started off the week on Thursday with their Pancakes and Pinwheels breakfast which was on the Taggart Student Center Patio. They made pancakes and sold them with hot chocolate and a pinwheel for $5. The ladies continued this on Friday as well.They chose to sell pinwheels because they are the new symbol for Prevent Child Abuse America and they stand as an uplifting reminder of childhood and the bright futures all children deserve. To find out more information about the pinwheel campaign you can visit: www.pinwheelsforprevention.org.

     KD’s Sweet on Shamrock Bake-Off was Kappa Delta’s major event, held the Saturday of in the Taggart Student Center Sunburst Lounges.

At the bake-off, they had members of different organizations on campus bake goods to enter in the competition. People paid $3 a ticket to attend and taste baked goods, enjoy music, play games, and take pictures in a photo booth. Jacob Scott, Ryan Johnson, and Heidi Smith were the judges and spent a lot of time tasting and picking a winner. The winner of the bake-off was was Pi Kappa Alpha.

Eating Disorder Awareness Week

     Our Panhellenic Council for the Greek community (pictured below) put on an Eating Disorder Awareness week the week of March 4-8.

Our Panhellenic Council wanted to put on this week because they felt as though eating disorders are a big issue for many and wanted to bring attention to the cause. To get the week started, the ladies released a video talking about eating disorders, the statistics, and what we should be doing now. 

The Greek women on campus got involved by passing out bows to wear throughout the week to raise awareness.  While passing out the bows, they explained to people what they were for, brought attention to the cause, and talked about eating disorders and how they are out there. Over the course of the week the women were wearing the bows as a reminder that you should be kind to yourself and others.

On Wednesday during the week, there was an Eating Disorder Awareness panel where people could participate in an open discussion and have questions answered about eating disorders. Sitting on the panel was Brooke Parker- a dietitian for Utah State University. Brooke has specialized in eating disorders for nine years and works with local therapists and physicians in caring for out-patient eating disorder individuals. Another guest was Kelly Morse who helps with the therapy aspect of eating disorders. She has a master’s degree in her field and has been practicing in a variety of specialties to give greater understanding, expertise, and effectiveness to the therapeutic process. The third member on the board was Eri Bentley who works for the Universities Counseling and Psychological service. She is a licensed Psychologist and helps individuals in therapy who have had problems with eating disorders.  

Another activity that was organized during the week was an Instagram campaign.

 During the week, the sorority women were asked to create “I am” statements or statements promoting a positive body image and take a picture with the statements. All of the pictures can be found on Instagram with the hashtag #bekindtoyourself. This was a very effective tool because it got many of the women thinking about positive ideas they had to offer and helped to get the word out.

The week was a success and many people are now aware of eating disorders and the effects they can have on people. The women learned many concepts from this week, but the main one being that you need to be kind to yourself and others and that a weight does not define who you are.