Chapter Advisor Monthly Winter 2013, Issue 2
Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life Update March marks the end of a successful winter quarter in Fraternity and Sorority Life and the start of spring at Northwestern! All of our councils have new executive boards and are well on their way to accomplishing the goals developed at the start of their terms. Chapters are busy transitioning leaders and welcoming new initiates into chapter programs, educational initiatives, and service and philanthropy projects. Spring quarter is around the corner and brings with it many exciting events both campus-wide and within the fraternity and sorority community. In this issue: Intake Update Greek Leadership Retreat Dance Marathon Honor Society Initiations Social Justice in Fraternity & Sorority Life Important Dates and Upcoming Events If you have suggestions for future articles or topics, please contact Maggie Heffernan at MargaretHeffernan@northwestern.edu.
Winter 2013 Intake Report Congratulations to Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc., Omega Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc., Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Inc., Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority, Inc., and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. for their successful winter quarter intakes. Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc. welcomed four women into their chapter; Omega Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc. welcomed four men into their chapter; Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Inc. welcomed three women, and Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority, Inc. welcomed six women. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. welcomed four women. We are excited to welcome 17 new students into the MGC community and four women into NPHC this winter!
Greek Leadership Retreat The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life’s annual Greek th Leadership Retreat (GLR) will be held April 13-14 in Burlington, WI. Council officers and chapter presidents from all councils are expected to attend GLR. Participants will explore a variety of topics relevant to their leadership within the community including the current strengths and weaknesses and what they can do as leaders to move the community forward over the next year.
MGC Vice President of Operations, Yomaira Silva, and MGC President, John Castellanos with Vice President for Student Affairs, Patricia TellesIrvin at the Annual MGC Banquet on February 28th. This year’s banquet was a celebration of growth and community.
Dance Marathon The Northwestern fraternity and sorority community has a longstanding tradition of strong participation in the Northwestern University Dance Marathon (NUDM). This year, NUDM raised $1,214,632 for the Danny Did Foundation and the Evanston Community Foundation. This is a record amount of money raised through NUDM, and the third consecutive year that DM has raised more than $1,000,000. NUDM 2013 also topped 1,000 dancers for the first time in DM’s 39 year history. We would like to congratulate all of the fraternity and sorority men and women involved in the remarkable effort. Greek organizations contributed to this total in a significant way. Greeks raised nearly half a million dollars, funds raised totaled $487,488. Delta Gamma and Zeta Beta Tau were recognized as the top large-group fundraisers, raising over $134,000 and $1,321 per dancer. Delta Delta Delta and Sigma Alpha Epsilon were recognized as the top-medium group fundraisers and Kappa Alpha Theta as the top smallgroup. The executive co-chairs for NUDM 2013 were Delta Delta Delta, Katie Amys and Pi Kappa Alpha, Matt Larsen. The two worked tirelessly to bring about Northwestern’s most successful DM to date. The Northwestern fraternity and sorority community looks forward to NUDM 2014. The Danny Did Foundation is a Chicago-based organization that seeks to raise awareness about Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) and provide families with seizure monitors. Danny Did was founded in January 2010 after its namesake, 4-year-old Danny Stanton, died in his sleep following a seizure.
OFSL Welcomes New Program Assistant The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life is excited to welcome a new staff member this spring; Hallie Moberg joined the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life as the new Program Assistant. Hallie will serve as the program assistant for the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution. In her role, Hallie will serve as support staff for OFSL, assisting with academic reports, event and program logistics, rosters, and daily office functions. Hallie graduated from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana with a Bachelor of Arts in Conflict Studies and French. She is a member of Alpha Chi Omega and currently serves as the Gamma chapter’s (Northwestern) Risk Management Advisor. Welcome, Hallie!
Traveling Consultants The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life would like to congratulate Shelby Lopez and Sophie Friedman for being hired as traveling consultants for 2013-2014. Shelby served as Delta Gamma’s VP for Membership Education and Chapter President. Shelby will travel for Delta Gamma as a Collegiate Development Consultant. Sophie is a member of Gamma Phi Beta and has served the Panhellenic community as the VP of Programming and the VP of Membership. Sophie will travel for Gamma Phi Beta as a Collegiate Leadership Consultant. Sophie and Shelby have contributed greatly to the fraternity and sorority community during their undergraduate career. We are so proud of all that they have accomplished and look forward to their futures. Congratulations, Shelby and Sophie!
AFLV Conference
Important Dates and Upcoming Events
The Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values (AFLV) hosted their annual Central Fraternal Leadership Conference in conjunction with the National Black Greek Leadership Conference February 7th-10th in Indianapolis, Indiana. The coinciding events bring more than 2,000 fraternity and sorority leaders together for a unique networking, idea sharing, and leadership development opportunity. This year, Northwestern was able to send 21 community leaders to the conference; eight men from the IFC executive board, three members of the MGC executive board, two women from NPHC, and eight women from the Panhellenic executive board. The students spent three days in Indianapolis connecting with one another and sharing ideas with students from across the country.
It is important that chapter advisors are aware of what is going on within the fraternity and sorority community and the greater Northwestern campus community. Please encourage chapter members to participate in community events and attend relevant campus programming. If you have questions about a specific event, please contact an OFSL staff member or speak with your chapter president. As changes are made to this schedule, we will be sure to update advisors via future newsletters or email correspondence.
During the awards luncheon on Friday afternoon, the Panhellenic Association was awarded the Gamma Phi Beta Panhellenic Community Impact Award. The Award is given to a college Panhellenic and recognizes programs that promote the Greek community positively to students, faculty, and administrators as well as members of the local community. Gamma Phi Beta recognizes one college Panhellenic participating in the Central Fraternal Leadership Conference for successfully planning and implementing a program that positively enhances the Greek image. Northwestern’s Panhellenic Association was awarded a $250 grant and certificate for their work with the “…And I am Greek” campaign. During the closing banquet on Saturday night, the Interfraternity Council (IFC) was recognized for outstanding achievement in Council Management. Panhellenic was recognized for outstanding achievement in Membership Recruitment. This is the first year that IFC applied for awards, and Panhellenic’s first since 2009. The Multicultural Greek Council was recognized in five categories: Academic Achievement, Community Service, Council Management, Leadership and Educational Development, and Membership Recruitment. MGC was also named a finalist for MGC Council of the Year. We congratulate our students and councils for their successes this year!
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April 2 - Start of Spring Quarter th April 13-14 - Greek Leadership Retreat th st nd April 16/17 - May 21 -22 - Greek Emerging Leaders Class (applications will be available early April) st April 21 - Greek Scene th May 9 - May Sing th May 16 - Order of Omega Greek Awards
Council presidents John Castellanos (Multicultural Greek Council), Monika Buska (Panhellenic), and John Cowgill (Interfraternity Council) with their awards from this year’s conference.
Greek Emerging Leaders Greek Emerging Leaders is a six week, non-credit course which meets once a week creating conversation on topics such as leadership, communication, values, and issues in our chapters. The class is facilitated by an OFSL staff member and a student who is a graduate of the program. This spring, we are offering three sections of Greek Emerging Leaders. The general Greek Emerging Leaders course will offer a section on Tuesday and Wednesday each from 6:00-7:30pm. There will be a third section, th new this spring, specifically for new initiates in the Panhellenic community. All sections will start the week of April 15 and students can choose which section they prefer. Participants have the opportunity to learn about themselves and their leadership styles and make connections with other rising leaders. The new section for Panhellenic women will focus on specific challenges within the Panhellenic community, women’s leadership development, and shared values amongst organizations within the National Panhellenic Conference. nd
Newer members and new initiates will receive the application on April 2 . Chapter presidents will also be notified once registration is life. Please encourage newer members and newly initiated members to participate! Recommended qualities of the Greek Emerging Leaders participants include: Committed to assuming both positional and non-positional leadership opportunities Newly initiated member of your chapter (within the last 12 months) Willing and eager to explore leadership and its role within our community At the end of the Greek Emerging Leaders course, we hope students are able to: Articulate a personal value and belief system Build relationships with members of other chapters Act in congruence with personal values and belief system and those of both their organization and the Northwestern fraternity and sorority community Demonstrate willingness to scrutinize and confront personal values, beliefs, and actions of their members when they are not congruent with those of the organization or the Northwestern fraternity and sorority community Understand the importance of identifying individuals to lead their team and assist them in moving their vision forward Analyze and understand the issues facing their organizations/council Set an example by behaving in ways that are consistent with shared values
Honor Society Initiations Members of Northwestern’s Fraternity and Sorority community have an opportunity to join Greek Honor Societies. Membership in the honor societies is offered to the best and brightest within the community. Qualifications include GPA, leadership qualities and experiences, and commitment to fraternity and sorority life. OFSL would like to congratulate all new initiates. Order of Omega Natalie Furlett, Center for Student Involvement Heather Nystedt, Northwestern Alumni Association Judy Pedersen, Kappa Alpha Theta House Director Ani Ajith, Delta Tau Delta Taylor Dilbeck, Delta Zeta Julia Greenberger, Kappa Kappa Gamma Rho Lambda Dr. Julie Payne Kirchmeier, Student Auxiliary Services Becca Abara, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Kim Alters, Alpha Chi Omega Catherine Althaus, Gamma Phi Beta Maddie Amos, Kappa Kappa Gamma Emily Blumberg, Delta Gamma Melissa Brown, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Zoe Damacela, Delta Delta Delta Katie Funderburg, Zeta Tau Alpha Carolyn Huang, Kappa Kappa Gamma Hannah Hudson, Kappa Kappa Gamma
Charley Pincombe, Gamma Phi Beta Lucia Radder, Kappa Alpha Theta Lauren Sadowsky, Zeta Tau Alpha Kathryn Thomas, Delta Gamma Jamie Valente, Zeta Tau Alpha
Allison Hung, Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority, Inc. Brittany Jones, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Mary Fay Karras, Zeta Tau Alpha Roopali Kulkarni, Kappa Delta Chloe Logan, Delta Zeta Soad Mana, Sigma Lambda Gamma Sorority, Inc. Danielle Nash, Pi Beta Phi Lauren Pollack, Gamma Phi Beta Tegan Reyes, Kappa Delta Kathryn Thomas, Delta Gamma Sam Zabell, Delta Gamma
If members of your chapter were initiated into Order of Omega and/or Rho Lambda this winter, please take a moment to congratulate them on their accomplishments. The students initiated into these honor societies represent the most talented students in our community in academics, service, leadership, and commitment to fraternal values.
Social Justice Adapted from a presentation by Vernon A. Wall and Betty Jeanne Taylor, Ph.D. for the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors
Month Day Social Justice hasYear become a trending topic within Student Affairs and Fraternity and Sorority Life in recent years. This summer, Northwestern’s Division of Student Affairs named Social Justice as one of the Division’s values. We hope that chapter advisors and undergraduate members will be partners in this area; we can work collectively as a community to create a socially just experience for all members. The Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors (AFA) has also begun to explore Social Justice and how it relates to working with fraternal organizations. AFA provides resources to professionals and advisors within the field; below is some of AFA’s work on Social Justice and some real-life application to fraternal organizations. Social justice is a process and a goal: “The goal of social justice education is full and equal participation of all groups in a society that is mutually shaped to meet their needs. Social justice includes a vision of society that is equitable and all members are physically and psychologically safe and secure.” Levels and Types of Oppression Oppression is a key concept of social justice. It is important for individuals to understand “oppression” and how it applies to us personally before we can begin to consider oppression in our work. People of all identities, regardless of target/agent status, are affected by these systems. Oppression can occur on many levels: Individual Unconscious/conscious Attitudes Beliefs Socialization Individual behaviors Interpersonal interactions
Institutional Housing Education Legal system Religion Medical/mental health services Gender conformity Language
Societal Values/norms/needs Media Standards of beauty Holidays Gender roles Societal expectations Definition of “normal”
Beyond oppression, there are six key social justice concepts that we can apply to our work with fraternal organizations: Individual identity and group membership: We are shaped by who we are as individual people but also by the groups we belong to; group membership can shape our ideas, beliefs, and values. Dominant and subordinated group identities: Dominant groups have access to power and they are the decisionmakers; they are seen as “normal”. Subordinated groups, on the other hand, are denied access to power and are asked to adapt to the rules and decisions set by the dominant group. There are eight primary dominant and subordinated group identities: Race, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, nationality, and ableness. Equality versus equity: Equality means everyone gets the same outcome without regard to individual differences. Equity means everyone gets the same quality of outcome, one that meets their individual needs. Intent versus impact: Sometimes what an individual says or does may seem harmless, but we never know the impact that our actions, words, or decisions might have on another being. “Service” versus “service learning”: Service is a significant piece of the fraternal experience. We must consider whether students are learning through the service and work that they are doing. Born bias-free: We are all born bias-free; our perceptions, attitudes, ideologies, and biases are a result of our environment. How might the fraternal environment contribute to the development of biases? Critical Points for the Profession: We must consider privilege in every aspect; how does privilege or oppression relate to our founding principles, values-based leadership, recruitment/intake, risk management, or unity? As chapter advisors, you have the opportunity to work with student leaders in your chapters to assess the climate and the experience of dominant and subordinated groups within your organization. Students can be leaders in this work, but they may need a mentor along the way. The first step in social justice work includes personal work and reflection; individuals need to understand their own identities and what they bring to the group before they can begin to understand the experience of others. What can you do, as an advisor, to work with your students as they explore their personal identities and group membership? Those committed to social justice believe that we each can each make a difference in creating a just, equitable, and inclusive Northwestern and fraternal experience.
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