Being in a sorority or fraternity as a general member, we often do not see more than chapter, socials and our own executive board. What we tend to forget is what goes on behind the scenes to keep Greek life up and running. This past week the University of Wisconsin Madison’s Panhellenic Association, Interfraternity Council, Multicultural Greek Council and the National Panhellenic Council went to Indianapolis for the Association of Fraternal Leaders and Values Conference (AFLV).
One of the main goals of the conference was to inspire members of Greek communities across the United States to have strong ethical values and live up to the full potential that each chapter holds. This is important, as Greek communities can be seen as having a negative and cliché reputation due to the idea that chapters are filled with hazing, too much partying, women whose biggest concern is how they look in life, and men whose only interest is looking at those women. Thanks to Hollywood, and how it portrays sorority and fraternity life in the movies, many people often forget the lifelong friendships and charity work that comes from the strong men and women in different chapters around the world.
It is important for the University of Wisconsin-Madison to attend events such as the AFLV. The many guest speakers at the conference highlighted different issues, offering solutions for situations such as stereotypes and hazing. These speakers encouraged the attendees to come out of the conference as stronger leaders to come back and teach their communities. Breakout sessions ranged from Social Justice: The Act of Responsibility to ‘YOLO -- You Only Lead Once, and they each taught members of the council about different social issues.
The UW Panhellenic Association works hard to maintain a positive reputation of Greek life on campus and was granted an award for outstanding Public Relations and Council Management. This award honors the efforts that each Panhellenic member puts into the council, her individual chapter and the Greek community as a whole.
The Panhellenic Association, Interfraternity Council, Multicultural Greek Council and the National Panhellenic Council are ready to help the UW-Madison Greek community improve. Thank you to Sarah Scheuer, the public relations and communications leader on the Panhellenic Board for the information about the Association of Fraternal Leaders and Values Conference. The rest of the Greek community cannot wait to see what new knowledge the Council will bring to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
