Volume 5, Issue 3 - November 2009

November 2009

Greek Community Newsletter

UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT

Volume 5, Issue 3

Fat Talk Free Week UConn observed national Fat Talk Free Week FROM October 19-23, 2009 .

This annual event is sponsored by Delta Delta Delta sorority to help sorority members and all women establish and maintain a positive body image. Fat Talk Free Week is a national week of observation that encourages women to not talk negatively about their own or others’ bodies. Fat Talk Free Week promotes a healthy ideal, rather than the thin ideal, which is emulated by media, culture and so many women around the world. The healthy ideal focuses on health rather than weight

or size. During Fat Talk Free Week, the Panhellenic group UNITE worked to promote this message on the UConn campus. UNITE in conjunction with SHAPE and the Women’s Center held tabling in the Student Union to educate passersby about Fat Talk Free Week, national Love Your Body Day, and the healthy ideal for women.

UNITE collected signatures of women who pledged to halt Fat Talk for the week and signed the Fat Talk Free Promise. The women of UNITE are extremely pleased with the great re-

sponse from the community. Although this was one week of observation, we are encouraged to halt Fat Talk every day!

Book Club!

The Fraternity and Sorority Book Club will meet on Wednesday, November 12th from 4:00 PM-5:00pm in Room 320 of the Student Union. The club will be discussing “Goat: A Memoir”

by Brad Land. This book is

about his true life experiences of being hazed while pledging a fraternity at Clemson University. Join the club at this first discussion! For more information, please contact crystel.maldonado@uconn.edu.

Inside this issue: Upcoming Philanthropies

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Greek Charity Ball, Theta’s Kats and Bats

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Greek Leadership INTD, HuskyTHON

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Mock Trial, Senior Spotlight, Career Services

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Greek of the Month

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Homecoming 2009 Alternative Spring Breaks

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Visit the OFSL Website! www.greeklife.uconn.edu

Upcoming Philanthropies Phi Sigma Rho’s Rock Out for the Cure One Hour To Madness, a 90's cover band will be playing in the Student Union Ballroom on December 3rd.

All proceeds from this concert go to the American Cancer Society. Tickets will be sold at the door for $5 per person or $50 per organization.

Doors open at 7pm and the band starts playing at 7:30pm. It is the

first time the chapter will be hosting an event like this, so please come and show your support!

SAE’s Powderpuff Football Tourney Alpha Phi’s Karaoke Phi-ver On November 14th, Sigma Alpha Epsilon will be hosting their annual Powderpuff Football philanthropy event. Each sorority will be given the opportunity to practice and prepare for the big football event and be coached by fraternity volunteers in preparation for the tournament. The proceeds from this event will be donated to CCMC and HuskyTHON on behalf of SAE. Everyone is truly excited for this fall tradition!

Alpha Phi will be hosting their third annual Karaoke Phi-ver on Wednesday, November 11th at 7 PM in the Student Union Theater. Karaoke Phi-ver is a karaoke competition between different campus organizations. The night will feature acts judged on talent and entertainment. The winners will receive prizes and door prizes will also be given away. All the proceeds from Karaoke Phi-ver go to their philanthropy, Cardiac Care.

TKE’s Charity Concert Tau Kappa Epsilon will be having its 3rd annual Charity Concert on Tuesday November 3rd in the Student Union Ballroom. The show will feature the bands Deadlights, Fire First, My Heart to Joy, and more. Doors will open at 7pm, and the show will begin at 7:30. Admission will be $1 with a Page 2

Canned good or non-perishable food item or $5 without a food donation. The event will benefit the local food cellars and soup kitchens in the Willimantic area. Coca Cola will be sponsoring the event and providing beverages.

G R E E K C O M M U NI T Y N E W S L E T T E R

Greek Charity Ball The Panhellenic Council will host its annual All-Greek Charity Ball on November 8, 2009. All proceeds from this event will benefit HuskyTHON. The event will take place from 4-7 PM in the Rome Ballroom. Tickets cost $10 with a canned good and $15 without a canned good. Members of all chapters are encouraged to attend!

Check out this opportunity!

Spring 2010 INTD1820: Introduction to Greek Leadership Are you a 1st or 2nd year student who was initiated in S’09 or F’09?

Ready to take your Greek leadership to the next level?

Save the Date!

Apply today: www.greeklife.uconn.edu

November 8th, 2009

Applications Due 11/6/09 to: crystel.maldonado@uconn.edu

Congratulations to the newest initiates of Order of Omega: Elyssa Shildneck, Matthew Perrault, Lauren Gall, Kenneth Knowles, David Wanik, Andrew Price-Porter, Andrew Millerd, Rachel Ardise, Rachel Raccuia, Jessica Lurie, Christina Stefanides, Katie Sudik, Emily Fields, Mary Dunster, Stephanie Jorge, Jillian Aronson, Katherine Cunningham, Allison Meese, Amy Israel, Katherine Lee, Ashley Vrabely, Rose Tran, John Varca, Katherine Ruiz, Aleah Edwards, Sarah Guillemette, Melanie Brunner, Angelo Saba. Special initiates: Crystel Maldonado and Brittney Yancy

HuskyTHON Dancer Week 2009 November 9th-14th HuskyTHON Art for Kids Day Tuesday 11/10/09 Student Union 10AM-2PM HuskyTHON Pasta Dinner Thursday 11/12/09 5PM-7PM Storrs Congregational Church

HuskyTHON Service Day at CCMC Friday 11/13/09 Time TBA HuskyTHON Spin-a-Thon Saturday 11/14/09 Putnam Refectory Bodywise 10AM-8PM

Theta’s Kats and Bats — A Homerun!

On October 25, 2009, the sisters of Kappa Alpha Theta held their annual softball tournament, Kats and Bats. This yearly event benefits Kappa Alpha Theta’s philanthropy, CASA. CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates and is an organization which helps children going through the foster care system. This year’s event was a great N O V E M B E R 20 0 9

success. There were many teams in attendance, great food, and everyone had a blast. In the men’s competition, Kappa Sigma took the championship. For the women’s competition, Pi Beta Phi won first place. Congratulations and thank you to all who attended!

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Pi Phi & Beta Host Mock Trial On Sunday October 25th, Pi Beta Phi and Beta Theta Pi conducted a risk management mock trial. Modeled after the Panhellenic Council’s "Something of Value" workshop, a case was presented involving liability issues that face fraternities and sororities, specifically in regards to the repercussions involved with alcohol poisoning. The case was presented by two sisters of Pi Beta Phi who were the acting prosecutor

and acting defense attorney. They questioned witnesses and then the case was opened to the audience which was broken up into small groups. There was a list of questions asked concerning liability which the juries discussed. The verdict of each group was then presented to the entire audience and a group-wide discussion was held.

Both Pi Beta Phi and Beta Theta Pi

would like to thank all those who participated in the event!

Spotlight on Seniors We hope all seniors enjoyed the special senior kick off event on Friday, October 30th. There are still opportunities for seniors to get their official Greek senior t-shirt and enjoy events scheduled just for you!

Tuesday, November 17th at 8pm the Senior Engagement Committee will be hosting a Greeks-only resume writing workshop in the Student Union Ball-

room. Come to this special event, nity just for fraternity and sorority hosted by Career Services to get genmembers, and is open to any Greek eral advice about writing a resume, student, with a special emphasis on insight on how you can seniors. Round up a include your Greek exfew of your brothers or FRATERNITY & SORORITY perience in your resume sisters and come to this in a marketable way, and special event.

RESUME WRITING WORKHOP get your resume critiqued Tuesday, November 17th 8pm Question? Contact

by Career Services staff.

Lindsay Sell at Student Union Ballroom This is a special opportulindsay.sell@uconn.edu

Career Services November's here and before you take a break for turkey, family, and friends, Career Services would like to encourage you all to take advantage of their upcoming presentations: Tuesday, 11/3 Using e-Media for Internships 5:00-6:00pm CUE 134

Wednesday, 11/11 Fall Graduate School Fair 1:00-3:00pm at Eastern Connecticut State University *All majors welcome to attend For more information visit: www.easternct.edu/ career

Thursday, 11/5 Molecular & Cell Biology Career Day 3:30pm6:00pm Biology/Physics Building Rm 131

Thursday, 11/12 Job Searching in Difficult Economic Times 5:006:00pm CUE 134

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Monday, 11/16 Finding an Internship 4:00-5:00pm SU 104 For additional information on Career Services Events be sure to visit: career.uconn.edu

Carrer Services is located in CUE room 217.

G R E E K C O M M U NI T Y N E W S L E T T E R

Greek of The Month Congratulations to November’s Greeks of the Month, Meghan Williams of Delta Gamma and Laura Vargo of Pi Beta Phi! Meghan Williams has always been an active member in the Greek community. So far this semester Meghan has really stood out for all of the effort she has put into her organization, Delta Gamma.

Meghan represents the most positive qualities of the four pillars of Greek life, and served as a Panhellenic Recruitment Counselor. She uses her leadership skills serving as DG’s Director of New Members, a member of DG’s Honor Board, and also as the Homecoming Chair. On top of all this Meghan still participates in philanthropic events, including Delta Chi’s Chocolate Pudding Tug-O-War, Pi Beta Phi’s Arrowspike, Kappa

Sigma’s Knockout Tournament, Delta Zeta’s Musical Chairs, and Kappa Alpha Theta’s Kats and Bats. Although Meghan is busy with her leadership and service opportunities, she still maintains a very high GPA in her Communication Disorders major. Meghan is also a member of Order of Omega which offers membership to the top 3% of the Greek community for scholarship and leadership standards. Through the Order of Omega Meghan has taught Greek 101 for our Greek new members for the past two semesters. Overall, Meghan is truly a role model to her chapter and the greater Greek community.

Meghan Williams of Delta Gamma

Laura Vargo is an outstanding sorority member. She goes above and beyond in her position of Vice President of Administration for Pi Beta Phi. She is a leader in the chapter, organizing and garnering support for events. As VP Administration, she does a lot of work for the chapter. Laura also serves as Pi Phi’s risk manager working with risk policy and standards.

During HuskyTHON last year, she was the heart and soul of the Pi Phi team, keeping everyone’s morale up. She is also a great listener and always there for her sisters and even those outside the chapter. She is a true model of sisterhood and is always there for every

single woman in the sorority. She also believes in high scholarship and as an individualized European Studies major has made the Dean’s List, is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, a national honors society, and plans to study abroad in Florence, Italy in the spring of 2010.

She also participates in many community service activities outside of the chapter and is involved with Community Outreach. Laura is genuine, cares about others before herself, and optimistic about everything. She is not just an outstanding Greek but an outstanding member of the UConn community.

Laura Vargo of Pi Beta Phi Page 5

G R E E K C O M M U NI T Y N E W S L E T T E R

Homecoming 2009: A Spoonful of Fun! Homecoming 2009 definitely proved to be “A Spoonful of Fun!” This year brought a ton of fun and imagination to the UConn tradition of Homecoming. From the banner displays to the big reveal of the floats at the Homecoming Parade, each and every team put a huge amount of effort, work and creativity into this year’s cereal theme, A Spoonful of Fun. Kappa Sigma and Delta Zeta won first place for the Banner category with their banner depicting their cereal, Rice Krispies and UConn spirit. Alpha Epsilon Phi and Sigma Chi took first place in the float competition with their Cocoa Puffs float, complete with the mascot, Sonny the Cuckoo Bird who was “cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs” at the Homecoming Parade. At the Homecoming Pageant, Liz Stolow of Kappa Alpha Theta

claimed the honor of Homecoming Queen, making the entire Greek community proud! At Lip Sync, the musical finale of Homecoming Week , Kappa Kappa Gamma, Delta Chi, and Beta Theta Pi won first place for their musical song and dance storyline of Fruity Pebbles and the Homecoming Game. The overall winners of Homecoming 2009 for the Greeks were Kappa Kappa Gamma, Delta Chi and Beta Theta Pi with Fruity Pebbles. Each and every team did a phenomenal job throughout the week and everyone’s hard work truly made Homecoming 2009 “a spoonful of fun”. Homecoming concluded at the Homecoming football game with a 38-25 victory over Louisville. Go Huskies!

Check out the Homecoming website!

Alpha Epsilon Phi & Sigma Chi Cocoa Puffs Float—1st Place

TKE, SAE & Pi Beta Phi’s Cookie Crisp Float

Kappa Sigma & Delta Zeta’s Rice Krispies Float

Alpha Epsilon Pi and Alpha Phi’s Cap’n Crunch Float

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G R E E K C O M M U NI T Y N E W S L E T T E R

Zeta Beta Tau & Kappa Alpha Theta’s Wheaties Float

Pi Kappa Alpha, Delta Gamma, & Phi Sigma Rho’s Life Float

Kappa Kappa Gamma, Delta Chi, and Beta Theta Pi’s Fruity Pebbles Float

Homecoming Queen Liz Stolow of Kappa Alpha Theta and Homecoming King Kevin McQuade of Phi Sigma Pi

Members of Alpha Phi pose together before their Cap’n Crunch lip sync performance.

Members of Kappa Kappa Gamma in costume for their Fruity Pebbles lip sync performance.

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G R E E K C O M M U NI T Y N E W S L E T T E R

Alternative Spring Breaks Alternative spring breaks are service learning experiences offered through Community Outreach. These opportunities increase understanding of important social issues, prepare students to take social action and provide an opportunity for selfgrowth. Alternative spring breaks are a once in a lifetime opportunity to give back to the community in a huge way. The three aspects of an alternative spring break are strong direct service, education, and reflection. These trips build character and self-esteem and even help improve a resume! For more information on alternative spring

breaks, visit www.volunteer.uconn.edu.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH INFORMATION SESSION ON SPRING ALTERNATIVE BREAK TRIPS Wednesday, November 4th 7:00pm in room 317 SU

Deadlines Approaching!

The following week-long trips for March 6-14, 2010 have application deadlines on November 7, 2009. Fill out your application today!

MGC and UConn PIRG Homelessness Sleep Out Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 Dow Field, 7 PM All members of the Greek community are encouraged to attend!

Philadelphia, PA Topic: Healthcare New Orleans, LA Topic: Disaster Relief Pine Ridge, SD Topic: Native American Culture & the Culture of Poverty Hartford, CT Topic: LGBTQIQ Social Activism and Well Being

Have your organization featured in the next Greek Community Newsletter!

To submit an article or event information from your organization for future newsletters, email Victoria Costello at student01059@ad.uconn.edu Submissions are due by the 15th of the month for information to appear in the following month’s issue.

Greek of the Month Nomination forms are available online!

Please submit by the 15th of the month. www.greeklife.uconn.edu Email applications to Brittney Yancy at brittney.yancy@uconn.edu N O V E M B E R 20 0 9

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