PANHELLENIC SPOTLIGHT: Outstanding Greek Woman: Ariella Weintraub

    
      Serving as Slope Media’s President has been one of the most rewarding
experiences during my time at Cornell. I first got involved with Slope Media group
as a writer for the magazine. I quickly picked up a radio show (Rockapella – where I
interviewed A cappella groups on campus) my second semester freshmen year and
started to get more involved in the organization. Starting my sophomore year I was
named the Arts and Entertainment Editorial Director where I was in charge of all
Arts and Entertainment Content. Some of my first projects included covering “After
Hours” at the Johnson Museum, and setting up an interview with the Second City
Improv Group when they visited the State Street Theater.
     In the middle of my sophomore year I became the Vice President of Content
overseeing the implementation of the Green Department (which covers sustainable
activities on campus) and the creation of Slope’s photography department. It was
exciting to see so much growth in the organization, not just in departments but in
it’s contributing members.
     By the middle of my junior year, I had been elected as the President of Slope
and was so excited to take over as the head of the organization. I had so many
ideas of how to improve Slope Media and was excited to start working with the
new executive board. Two sorority sisters also joined me on my e-board when
Shari became the new green director and Emily became the new VP of Radio. If
you can believe it or not, Slope (happily) consumes a lot of my time, and is often
all I talk about. Whenever asks me how I’m doing my automatic response is “Slope
is doing great!” Though my sisters understand how much I love Slope, they can
never really understand just what I go through on a day-to-day basis in running
Slope. It was exciting for Shari and Emily to see first hand how much Slope means
to me, understand the work that goes into it and help me run such a wonderful
organization.
     This year as President has been an incredibly exciting one for Slope. I was
proud to launch Slope’s inaugural Slope Speaker Series and bring Ryan Silbert ’02
(Oscar-Winning Producer) back to campus for a meet and greet for Slopers and
interested students. We have also increased the sense of community in Slope by
streamlining and combining meetings and having more social events (a lot of ideas
were definitely taken from my time as sisterhood chair at Alpha Xi Delta!). I am so
proud of where the organization has come, and am almost sad to pass it over to the
next President this coming January. However, I know they will go on to do great
things and cannot wait to see where they take the organization.
     It also warms my heart to see my sisters of Alpha Xi Delta get involved and be
the ones to make announcements during our “Brags, Boasts and Reminders” portion
of chapter. Finally, sisters don’t have to hear me boast about Slope for the 100th
time. Instead Eileen will tell girls to tune into her “rock episode” of her radio show
on Monday, or Sarah will tell girls to attend our web training session. Above all, the
support I receive from my sisters at events means the world to me. Having them
come out in droves to Slope Radio Live, or to Slope’s latest magazine launch party is
so supportive, and not to mention, a ton of fun!

Kappa Kappa Gamma Wins Powderpuff Tournament!

Fighting through a cold and snowy weekend, Kappa Kappa Gamma has emerged victorious as the winner of the Cornell Intramural Sports Department's first ever Powderpuff Flag Football Tournament. Having navigating through a tournament field of five sororities and one women's team, Kappa edged out Wreckin' Cru in the championship game with a 20-19 victory. For her tenacity and performance on the field, Laura Caty of Kappa was named the tournament MVP.

Kappa Kappa Gamma, Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Phi, Phi Sigma Sigma, Delta Delta Delta, and Wreckin' Cru participated in the inaugural tournament, which took place on a cold and muddy afternoon at Jessup Fields this past Saturday. The event, designed to encourage female participation in competitive Intramural Sports, featured a variety of community and campus sponsors. "I have nothing but thanks for the staff who organized the event, all of our fantastic participants, our various sponsors including Papa John's, WVBR, and Touchdown the Bear, Andrea Dutcher for her support in making this tournament happen, and of course our student staff and officials," remarked Intramural Sports Director Jeremy Pickard. Plans are now coming into place for a similar tournament to be hosted in the spring semester.

Designer of the Panhellenic Logo - Lydia Gallo '14

This is the first in a series of entries that will highlight Panhellenic women doing great things on the Cornell campus. We thought it would be appropriate to begin with Lydia Gallo ‘14, a newly initiated sister of Alpha Chi Omega. A talented graphic designer, you have already seen a few of Lydia’s creation: the Panhellenic and Recyclemania logos. 

Lydia attended a vocational high school based in Communications and Design, where she took a number of graphic design and visual communications courses in high school. This fostered her love of photography, drawing, painting, design, and all things creative! Already a Human Ecology Ambassador, Lydia is a freshman in the College of Human Ecology majoring in Design and Environmental Analysis – Interior Design. Lydia is happy to be part of the tight-knit community that makes up Cornell. According to Lydia, “Everyone is so proud and happy to be at Cornell. I really do love Cornell’s campus and the city of Ithaca itself, it’s beautiful! So many opportunities, and so many others to share them with.” In the future, Lydia is looking to be a designer for an architectural firm, where she will have the opportunity to work on residential and commercial buildings, possibly hotels and restaurants, and sustainable building design.

As a newly initiated member of Alpha Chi Omega, Lydia has already become a big part of our Greek community, lending her design talents to the Panhellenic Council. Regarding her involvement in the Greek community, Lydia says “Immediately having a group of sisters that are always there for you was an awesome feeling straight from the start.”

The Panhellenic Council is grateful to Lydia’s contribution to our community, and we look forward to seeing her future accomplishments!

Panhellenic Blood Drive With the Red Cross

On Wednesday March 9th, Cornell Panhellenic and IFC co-sponsored a
blood drive organized by the Red Cross.  Many women from the
Panhellenic community came to help work the registration table, serve
post-donation snacks, and make sure the donors were comfortable and
informed.  We surpassed our donation goal and throughout the day, the
Red Cross collected 54 units of donated blood!  Even more remarkable
is that more than half of the donors were first-timers. Considering
that every donation can save up to three lives, this successful drive
will help to save 162 lives.  The Cornell Panhellenic Association will
sponsor their next blood drive in the fall semester.

Panhellenic Council Supports READ

The Cornell Panhellenic Council assisted the Tompkins Public Library with their READ Poster event on February 12th in honor of library lovers month! Women from the Panhellenic community spent the day at the library, helping the cause in any way possible.  The event allowed members of the community to star in their own poster to promote their support of their library.  Every year, the event raises substantial funds for the library and they were happy to have our help! The Panhellenic women who participated, such as the members of Alpha Chi Omega (below) enjoyed the opportunity to engage with the Ithaca community. We are looking forward to more philanthropy events in the Tompkins County area in the upcoming months!

Cornell Panhellenic Unveils Facebook, Twitter, and Blog!

Welcome to Cornell's Panhellenic Blog!

In an effort to increase communication within the Panhellenic Council, the 2011 Executive Board has unveiled a number of social media outlets, providing members with the opportunity to read about and comment on any number of Panhellenic news.

Stay in touch with the Board via our new Facebook page, our Twitter feed, by reading this blog, or via email at cornellpanhellenic@gmail.com!