COLUMNS
April Issue
The University of Maryland, College Park
Spring 2015
Sigma Kappa Member Continues
Passion for Terp Thon
By Alex Stoller, ∑K
Growing up outside of
Philadelphia, all of Katie
Vogel’s friends went to
Pennsylvania State University. In choosing not
to follow their lead and
come to Maryland instead, she knew she was
missing out on THON, the
college’s IFC/Panhellenic
46-hour dance marathon.
Luckily for Vogel, she
found Terp Thon, Maryland’s own 12-hour dance
marathon. This year, she
served her second year as
one of 100 internal members and a fundraising
committee captain.
“It’s made me feel like
I’m actually doing something with my time and I
am part of a worthy cause
on campus,” she said. “I’m
making a difference in
many children’s lives and
I’ve realized this is what I
want to do with my life.”
Vogel is one of many
internal members in the
Greek community. On
March 7, she joined over
2,000 students in fulfilling a pledge to stand from
noon to midnight. The end
result was $604,318.24
for the kids of Children’s
Miracle Network Hospitals. Members of the
Greek community raised
over 70 percent of the
money.
“It makes me proud to
be a member of a Greek
organization,” Vogel said.
“I have enjoyed watching everyone else participate. It is something that
I share with not only my
friends, but my sisters.”
This year, Vogel is a junior psychology major
and the vice president
of programing for Sigma
Kappa’s Beta Zeta chapter
here on campus. Next year,
she plans to continue her
time with Terp Thon as an
internal member, again
making miracles and raising as much money for the
kids as she can.
“I really look forward to
being a member for another year and hope to be
a morale dancer,” she said.
“I know if I’m as energetic
now about Terp Thon in
the off season, I can push
people to keep dancing in
the future.
Photo from Katie Vogel, pictured left
Kappa Alpha Theta Collects 200
Prom Dresses for CASA and DSS
By Rebecca Sachs, ΔΦE
Kappa Alpha Theta has been working hard to support their national philanthropy, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and the Prince George’s County Department of Social Services. CASA is an organization of volunteers that
aims to support children dealing with abuse and neglect while going through the justice system to ensure that they
are taken care of properly and placed in safe foster homes. According to their website, CASA helped 238,000 abused
children find permanent homes just last year. In their efforts to support CASA and Prince George’s County Department
of Social Services, Kappa Alpha Theta has conducted a prom dress drive to donate to the young girls in these organizations. These girls are or once were in foster homes and may not be able to afford a prom dress, so the dress drive is the
perfect way to give these young ladies the opportunity to find a dress they love and build them up with confidence. Giving girls the chance to feel beautiful is a valuable experience and it embodies our goal as sorority women-- to inspire
and encourage other women to have confidence. Kappa Alpha Theta has received donations from many individuals,
but over 40 of the dresses came from Kelsey’s Kloset Boutique in Laurel. When all of the dresses have been collected,
the women of Kappa Alpha Theta will be personally donating the dresses at the two organizations they are supporting.
This is an inspiring and eye-opening project in our community that we should all be proud of.
Questions? Comments? Email Sara at [email protected]
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2014-2015 Panhellenic Executive Board
President - Vikk Shepelev
Vice President of Judicial Affairs - Olivia Collins
Vice President of External Affairs - Kaley Smith
Vice President of Recruitment - Meaghan Pfeiffer
Vice President of Administrative Affairs - Lauren Keyes
Vice President of Social Responsibility - Noelle Roy
Vice President of Community Excellence - Lauren Watson
Vice President of Public Relations -Sara Goodwin
Vice President of Membership Development -Cara McNellis
Alpha Sigma Phi Against Human Trafficking
By Ariana Braia, AOΠ
Human trafficking is a widely overlooked issue that the
brothers of Alpha Sigma Phi
bravely chose to shed light on.
More than 20 brothers have
undergone the necessary
training to help identify and
assist victims of human trafficking in the Maryland area.
As a result, the Epsilon Delta
chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi
recently became the first nationally recognized fraternity
to be a “Safe Haven” against
human trafficking.
The Safe Haven Campaign
raises awareness about hu-
man trafficking and educates
the public about its prevalence
in the U.S. The study series
that the brothers completed
to be deemed a safe haven included four training sessions
that describe the signs of human trafficking, and demonstrate how to be an effective
“upstander.”
“Human trafficking is not a
Greek Life issue, it’s a human
issue,” says senior Zack Anstett. “The men of Alpha Sig
are taking grassroots efforts
in changing the ‘us versus
them’ mentality to an ‘us and
them’ mentality.”
Anstett points out how underrated the concern of human trafficking is, and why
the fraternity is working to
promote both the equality
and protection of these victims.
Junior Kodiak Carb became
involved with the campaign
after discussing potential
community service pursuits
with Anstett. “We thought
that by pushing to establish a
fraternity as a Safe Haven, not
only would we be educating
the fraternity, but also might
encourage involvement by
anyone else in the community
who happened to hear,” Carb
explains. He hopes to increase
awareness around campus,
and spark compassion among
those who care about this issue.
The brothers of Alpha Sigma Phi have proven their integrity, as well as their dedication to the greater Maryland
community by investing their
time and efforts into such a
large and meaningful cause.
If you or someone you know
wants to get involved with the
safe haven campaign, contact
Kodiak Carb at kcarb@umd.
edu.
NPHC & UGC Chapter Spotlight
AΦA
By Alex Gianotti, KΔ
The upcoming month of
April is an exciting month for
the brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Sunday,
April 19th through Sunday,
April 26th is Alpha Week.
This week is packed full of
fun and exciting events for
anyone on campus. A few of
the events include a church
service, laser tag, and the Alpha-Sigma Bowl. To close out
Alpha Week, there is a Miss
Black and Gold Pageant in
the Stamp Colony Ballroom at
5:00 pm on April 26th. Alpha
Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. was
founded on December 4, 1906
as the first intercollegiate
Greek-letter fraternity established for African-Americans.
It has supplied voice and vision to the struggle of African-Americans and people of
color around the world. The
Iota Zeta chapter was char-
Editor: Bailey Hayek
Adviser: Kahlin McKeown
umdpha.com
tered here at the University
of Maryland, College Park in
1974 by ten brothers. These
ten brothers are also known
as The Ten Sons of the Phoenix. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., develops leaders,
promotes brotherhood and
academic excellence, while
providing service and advocacy for our communities.
The objectives of Alpha Phi
Alpha, Inc. are to stimulate
the ambition of its members;
to prepare them for the greatest usefulness in the causes of
humanity, freedom, and dignity of the individual; to encourage the highest and noblest form of manhood; and to
aid down-trodden humanity
in its efforts to achieve higher
social, economic and intellectual status. To see a detailed list of the schedule for
the week, visit www.izalphas.
com/the-programs.html.
∑ ΨZ
By Sam Hamburger, AXΩ
The Multicultural Greek
Community consists of various ambitious chapters that
are dedicated to getting involved and bettering the surrounding communities. I had
the pleasure of briefly talking
with Vivien Xie, an involved
and proud sister of Sigma Psi
Zeta, Inc. Xie spoke of her life
changing experiences as a sister of Sigma Psi Zeta, Inc., as
well as all the endless opportunities and life long relationships that she has encountered
as a member.
Xie also spoke about the relationship that the University
of Maryland’s Sigma Psi Zeta,
Inc., chapter has with the other 29 chapters that are located
at different schools around the
country. Sigma Psi Zeta, Inc.,
gives sisters the opportunity
to travel to places such as Philadelphia and New York City to
foster very close relationships
with other sisters all over the
country.
Sigma Psi Zeta, Inc., is very
involved with their philanthropy by combating violence
against women through getting
involved in events that support
survivors of domestic violence
and sexual assault. Their annual SPEAK Out Against Violence
charity dinner is coming up on
April 10th from 7:30-9:30PM
located in the Stamp Colony
Ballroom. I strongly urge all
members of the Panhellenic
community to go out and support Sigma Psi Zeta, Inc., while
simultaneously
supporting
survivors as they are honored
and advocates and survivors
who are speaking about their
experiences with the issue.
Sigma Psi Zeta, Inc., is one
of the ten chapters within the
Maryland Multicultural Greek
Community.
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