How do you clean the kitchen while reciting poetry to inspire your fellow fraternity brothers or sorority sisters? How can you prevent your friends from getting sick at a party? What constitutes hazing?
The answers to these questions and more were discussed at the A.D. White Leadership Conference and Delta Series for new members of the Greek community this weekend, sponsored by the Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Association and Multicultural Greek Letter Council.
The conference invited all incoming fraternity and sorority officers to enhance their knowledge as new leaders of Cornell’s Greek community.
Some Greek leaders learned about liability issues in a question and answer session entitled “Sex, Drugs: Legal Liabilities,” while others discussed the risks and benefits of Facebook to the Greek system. The conference also offered presidential training sessions and discussions regarding hazing and the judicial process.
“The main purpose of this conference is to bring all of the new leaders of the Greek community together on one day to expose them to educational programs that will prepare them for their leadership jobs for the next year,” said Morgan Tucker ’07, outgoing executive vice president of the Panhellenic Association and co-chair of Delta Series and A.D. White Conference.
Sameer Mittal ’07, outgoing executive vice president of the Interfraternity Council, and Tarae Howell ’07, outgoing executive vice president of the Multicultural Greek Letter Council, were co-chairs with Tucker.
“I think it was a great success. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet the new leaders and get them started off for another great year,” said Tucker. “The A.D. White conference gave us the opportunity to explain the things that we do and the policies we’ve made. Each session hopefully enhanced their abilities to be strong leaders not only in the organizations but in the University,” he continued.
Over 400 student leaders attended sessions on a wide range of topics. Most students attended the programs that applied to their specific positions.
Marielle Mindlin ’09, sister of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority, said, “Some aspects of the day were very useful to my position. The financial officer training session was helpful because as the V.P. Finance, I’ve had to take on a lot of responsibility. The tips about what to include in our financial reports were beneficial.”
When asked about the other sessions she attended, Mindlin said, “They were not very helpful. There were only a few topics that related to my specific job, so I had to go to other sessions that had nothing to do with my position in the sorority.”
Several other attendees shared similar sentiments and felt that the program should have focused more on the responsibilities of specific executive positions.
The Delta Series for new members took place on Sunday for over 750 students. It also addressed several issues and expectations for the new members’ initiation into Greek life.
“I feel that the conference was a great way to welcome all of our new Greek members and give them educational tools that will help them for the next four years. We told them our policies and gave them the bigger picture about all of the councils,” Mittal said.
Alcohol awareness, new member education, academic success, career development, and the implications of the use of Facebook were some topics discussed throughout the day.
“We wanted every house to get a sampling of all the different topics that may arise during the new member process,” said Mittal. “We provided the new members with a lot of good information and hopefully they will take this information back to their chapters.”
Travis Apgar, associate dean of students, was the keynote speaker for both conferences. He called on leaders from Greek organizations to work with him to not only make Cornell’s Greek system the largest Greek community in the country, but the best.
Apgar stressed that the Greek system must function as a cohesive unit. In his address to the new members, he spoke about the benefits and risks of partaking in the new member process.
“The point was to introduce us to Greek life and show us that being Greek comes with responsibilities,” said Adam Phillips ’10, a new member of Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity. “I think [Apgar’s speech] was a powerful address against hazing.”
“It was an interesting perspective to hear from someone who was on the other side of the whole process,” said Phillips, commenting on Apgar’s discussion about hazing. “I think [the conference] would have been more effective for the brothers to come and talk about how pledging really can affect us. It made me realize that this is real and we are all going through it together,” he continued.
Skylar Hochberg ’10, a new member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, said, “The only valuable part I thought was when the associate dean spoke about hazing issues. It opened my eyes to some of the stuff that can happen and made me more aware of what could potentially be going on.”
Hochberg continued, “I think they could have made the conference into an hour or so because it was way too long. A lot of the issues they talked about could have taken place within our house itself, like the rules regarding what should be done at parties.”
The Delta Series may not have been the most effective way of imparting information on the new members. One student even reported attending the conference drunk three years ago as a freshman student.
vice president of the Interfraternity Council, and Tarae Howell ’07, outgoing executive vice president of the Multicultural Greek Letter Council, were co-chairs with Tucker.
“I think it was a great success. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet the new leaders and get them started off for another great year,” said Tucker. “The A.D. White conference gave us the opportunity to explain the things that we do and the policies we’ve made. Each session hopefully enhanced their abilities to be strong leaders not only in the organizations but in the University,” she continued.
Over 400 student leaders attended sessions on a wide range of topics, but most students attended the programs that applied to their specific positions.
Marielle Mindlin ’09, a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority, said, “Some aspects of the day were very useful to my position. The financial officer training session was helpful because as the V.P. Finance, I’ve had to take on a lot of responsibility. The tips about what to include in our financial reports were beneficial.”
When asked about the other sessions she attended, Mindlin said, “They were not very helpful. There were only a few topics that related to my specific job, so I had to go to other sessions that had nothing to do with my position in the sorority.”
Several other attendees shared similar sentiments and felt that the program should have focused more on the responsibilities of specific executive positions.
The Delta Series for new members took place on Sunday for over 750 students. It also addressed several issues and expectations for the new members’ initiation into Greek life.
“I feel that the conference was a great way to welcome all of our new Greek members and give them educational tools that will help them for the next four years. We told them our policies and gave them the bigger picture about all of the councils,” Mittal said.
Alcohol awareness, new member education, academic success, career development and the implications of the use of Facebook were some topics discussed throughout the day.
“We wanted every house to get a sampling of all the different topics that may arise during the new member process,” said Mittal. “We provided the new members with a lot of good information and hopefully they will take this information back to their chapters.”
Travis Apgar, associate dean of students, was the keynote speaker for both conferences. He called on leaders from Greek organizations to work with him to not only make Cornell’s Greek system the largest Greek community in the country, but the best.
Apgar stressed that the Greek system must function as a cohesive unit. In his address to the new members, he spoke about the benefits and risks of partaking in the new member process.
“The point was to introduce us to Greek life and show us that being Greek comes with responsibilities,” said Adam Phillips ’10, a new member of Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity. “I think [Apgar’s speech] was a powerful address against hazing.”
“It was an interesting perspective to hear from someone who was on the other side of the whole process,” said Phillips, commenting on Apgar’s discussion about hazing. “I think [the conference] would have been more effective for the brothers to come and talk about how pledging really can affect us. It made me realize that this is real and we are all going through it together,” he continued.
Skylar Hochberg ’10, a new member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, said, “The only valuable part I thought was when the associate dean spoke about hazing issues. It opened my eyes to some of the stuff that can happen and made me more aware of what could potentially be going on.”
Hochberg continued, “I think they could have made the conference into an hour or so because it was way too long. A lot of the issues they talked about could have taken place within our house itself, like the rules regarding what should be done at parties.”