Panhellenic Media Kit

3130 Student Center | Auburn, Alabama 36849

Media Kit Gabrielle Hoyt Writing for PR Dr. Smith May 5, 2011


Tab l e o f Con t en t s Auburn Panhellenic Fact Sheet ............................................................................................................ 1

Feature on Panhellenic President Meredith Maclean ............................................................ 2-‐5

Press Releases ...................................................................................................................................... 6-‐13

Local Press Release ........................................................................................................................... 6-‐8 National Press Release ................................................................................................................. 9-‐11 Email Press Release .................................................................................................................... 12-‐13

Broadcast Releases ......................................................................................................................... 14-‐16

60-‐Second Broadcast Release ................................................................................................ 14-‐15 30-‐Second Broadcast Release ....................................................................................................... 16

Position Paper ................................................................................................................................... 17-‐19


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FACT SHEET

• Auburn Panhellenic is the governing body of Auburn University’s 17 Panhellenic sororities, and

is a chapter of the National Panhellenic Conference.

• Auburn Panhellenic was founded in 1929 when Auburn had only two sororities. • One in every three Auburn women is a member of a Panhellenic sorority. • With 3,295 members, Panhellenic is the largest women’s organization at Auburn.

• Panhellenic sororities are housed in The Village student dorms built in 2009. Each sorority has

a chapter room for meetings, 46 bedrooms and common rooms.

• For the past 30 years, Panhellenic women have held a higher grade point average than the all-‐women and all-‐Auburn GPA.

• Each year, Panhellenic donates more than $50,000 to local and national charities. • Greek Sing, an inter-‐sorority dance competition hosted by Panhellenic, raises more than

$25,000 each year to Auburn’s Habitat for Humanity chapter, Tiger Habitat.

• Greek Week, a unity week between Auburn’s three Greek councils (Panhellenic, Interfraternity Council and National Pan-‐Hellenic Council), donates approximately $15,000 each year to the Boys & Girls Club of Auburn.

• Each Panhellenic sorority hosts philanthropic events. In spring 2011 alone, sororities raised more than $115,000 for charities around the country.

• Panhellenic hosts recruitment each fall in which more than 1,200 women participate. The week-‐long recruitment concludes with "bid day," where nearly 1,000 women accept invitations to pledge a sorority.

• Panhellenic is run by Jill Moore, the Panhellenic adviser and associate director of Greek Life, and a five-‐member Panhellenic Executive Board.

• Panhellenic women are a part of virtually every organization on campus including Student Government Association executive members, War Eagle Girls, Camp War Eagle counselors, student recruiters and the current Miss Auburn and Miss Homecoming.

• The 17 Panhellenic sororities are Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Xi Delta, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Delta Zeta, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Phi Mu, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Kappa and Zeta Tau Alpha.


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FEATURE RELEASE [Date Here] Contact Information Jill Moore, Associate Director of Greek Life Office: (334) 844-‐4600 Email: [email protected]

MEREDITH MACLEAN – STUDENT, WOMAN, PRESIDENT

The Victories and Struggles of Auburn’s Most Powerful Female Student

AUBURN, Ala. – When you’re in charge of the largest women’s organization at Auburn

University, sometimes you need to “be a man.” Meredith MacLean, the president of Auburn

University National Panhellenic Conference (Panhellenic), not only knows how to work

harder than the boys, but does it with the grace of an Auburn woman.

MacLean came to Auburn in fall 2008 as a supply chain management major. Before

classes started, MacLean excitedly went through sorority recruitment. “Coming from

Chattanooga, Tenn. I went to an all-‐girls high school and figured sorority life would fill the

gap that my now co-‐ed education left,” said MacLean. She decided to pledge Delta Delta

Delta sorority, also known as Tri-‐Delta.

By the next spring, MacLean was asked to serve as vice president of finance for Tri-‐

Delta. “I was a self-‐conscious, out-‐of-‐state person who really didn’t know anybody,”

confessed MacLean. “I’m really slow to make friends so being vice president of finance you

don’t really work with people, you work with numbers. It’s a really nice job because you

gain a lot of confidence in what you’re doing by yourself.”

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The next year, MacLean decided to run for a Panhellenic executive office. These five

positions work directly under the Office of Greek Life and serve as the main officers in

charge of all 17 Panhellenic sororities. “I thought vice president of finance over all of

Panhellenic would be a great for me because I could still do what I really knew I was good

at, and I could relax within my own sorority,” said MacLean.

It only made sense. MacLean has always described herself as a Panhellenic woman,

not an individual sorority woman. She lives in a house with eight girls from all different

sororities. “I am the type of person who literally views every sorority as equal,” she said.

The position was the same, but the numbers were a lot larger. “I would write checks

for $40,000 or $45,000, or I would get $5,000 cash out of the bank,” said MacLean. “And

that is cool whether you’re a 50-‐year-‐old business man or a 12-‐year-‐old girl. That is a lot of

money.”

MacLean also remembers the day she wrote a check for Habitat for Humanity after

Panhellenic’s largest yearly philanthropic event, Greek Sing. “I was literally holding a house

in my hands,” she said. “And those are those sobering moments when you think, ‘you’re

doing something.’”

Throughout the year, MacLean consistently received advice from her older, fellow

executive officers. “In my first term the other officers kept telling me, ‘If only you were here

next year,’ or, ‘If only there was someone here next year to tell them to do this better,’” said

MacLean. “Imperfection with the possibility of perfection really motivates me. I really

wanted to be president to just share my experiences of the year before and to stretch

myself.”

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So MacLean ran for Panhellenic president. She was elected unanimously by a

delegate from each of the 17 sororities.

“Now I don’t even look at the checks. It’s given me a whole new set of skills that I

didn’t think I had,” said MacLean.

The primary responsibility of the Panhellenic president is to keep communication

between the student and administrative sides of Panhellenic, oversee the Panhellenic

Executive Board and hold weekly meetings with the 17 sorority presidents.

“As Panhellenic president I only have to work with 17 people while the individual

sorority presidents have to work with 200 people,” said MacLean. “They care for the well-‐

being of the 200 girls on a daily basis and they literally are the mom’s of the 200 girls. I feel

like I am the mom, but more than that I am the queen of administration.”

One of MacLean’s biggest struggles is the balancing all of her titles. “You have to

remember that you’re a student, a daughter, a sister, a friend and that you are actually a

member of a sorority,” said MacLean. “Remembering that you are not the director of Greek

Life or the adviser to Panhellenic, but somehow you fit in the middle and you are being

pulled in ten different directions.”

MacLean said it is most hard to remember that she is going to Auburn to be a

student. She recalled a time in which she needed to miss class for a lunch meeting with Jay

Jacobs, Auburn’s athletic director. Her professor, who did not approve of the absence,

reminded her that she, in fact, is a student. “I need to remind myself I’m not the president of

the United States,” MacLean joked.

Regardless, MacLean admires how the Office of Greek Life, especially Panhellenic,

gives a lot of power to the students. “I think that we have the most powerful student body

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group in Auburn,” she said. “Panhellenic has 3,300 motivated people who do what you say,

who want to be involved and who want to put suggestions in suggestion boxes.”

MacLean has loved her time as Panhellenic president, and within that time she has

noticed that the community of Panhellenic women is a lot closer than she thought.

“When we lost Jessica Foshee and Mary Beth Goodner this year, I hurt with the girls

who actually knew her. And when one sorority is successful, I feel just as excited,” MacLean

said. “I know I’m not the only one who felt this way.”

Whether it’s keeping the peace between 17 sororities and their presidents or

handling the administrative duties of the largest women’s organization at Auburn, MacLean

is a hard worker, student and sorority member. Although it can be stressful at times, she

knows how to make humor out her hectic schedule. Her most recent tweet: “Leaving school

and it’s still light outside – What a great day!!”

Auburn Panhellenic is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference and is the

governing body of the 17 sororities of Auburn University. Recognizing that Panhellenic

represents the Greek community, its members strive through thought, word and action to

uphold the traditions, fine standards and values long held by Auburn women. Panhellenic

stands for academic excellence, social responsibility, leadership and service to Auburn’s

campus and community.

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NEWS RELEASE May 5, 2011 Contact Information FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jill Moore, Associate Director of Greek Life Office: (334) 844-‐4600 Email: [email protected]

GREEK SING RAISES MORE THAN $25,000 FOR HABITAT FOR HUMANITY Yearly Dance Competition Puts the “Fun” in Fundraising

AUBURN, Ala. – Alpha Gamma Delta sorority was awarded first place for the third-‐straight

year at the 30th annual Panhellenic Greek Sing dance competition. The contest between the

17 Auburn Panhellenic sororities took place Tuesday night and benefits local Habitat for

Humanity chapter, Tiger Habitat.

More than $25,000 was raised for Tiger Habitat through T-‐shirt, ticket sales and

DVD sales. This highly-‐anticipated event showcased sorority women in three and a half

minute dances each with a theme, props and backdrop. Alpha Gamma Delta’s dance titled

“Alpha Gam Knockout,” which featured songs about boxing and fighting, won the

competition making this the sorority’s third-‐straight title.

“We felt so blessed to have won Greek Sing for the third time. We had been

preparing since January, and we just wanted to do our best on the night of Greek Sing,” said

Alpha Gamma Delta Greek Sing choreographer, Dori Dobbs. “We were so surprised when

they called out our name for first place because everyone's routines were very strong. It

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was such an honor, and even more of an honor to have raised so much money for such a

wonderful cause.”

In second place was Chi Omega’s “Wall Street”, Alpha Delta Pi’s “ADSpy” came in

third place and Alpha Omicron Pi’s “A Walk in AOPi’s Shoes” received fourth place. Phi Mu’s

“Escape” won the Creativity Award which is given to the best background, props and

costumes and Alpha Xi Delta’s “Rumors and Gossip” won the President’s Choice Award, as

voted on by the 17 sorority presidents and the Panhellenic president.

Although the awards were the climax of the night, the focus throughout the

performances was on Habitat for Humanity. “The mission of Habitat is so great, and I love

that as Panhellenic women we can make a difference and an impact for a deserving family,”

said Becca Bargainer, director of Greek Sing.

Bargainer, along with Johnny Blakenship, president of Auburn Interfraternity

Council, hosted the event.

For the first year, the competition took place in the Auburn Arena, the new

basketball arena at Auburn University. Panhellenic also purchased a new dance floor to

accommodate the arena. “The floor is much safer than the stage we used in the past,” said

Bargainer. “It is also much better to dance on and the performers loved it.”

Auburn University’s high definition video screen in the Auburn Arena was also

utilized for the event. Panhellenic teamed up with Eagle Eye TV, the student-‐run television

station on Auburn’s campus, to bring a larger-‐than-‐life element to the night of dancing.

Before each sorority’s routine, a short clip about the dance was aired, much like popular TV

dance shows. The video screen also gave advertisers a place to reach thousands of

Panhellenic women, which raised even more money for Tiger Habitat.

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“The dances were also streamed live online for parents and friends across the world

to watch,” said Bargainer. “We wanted everyone who supports Panhellenic and Habitat for

Humanity to be able to enjoy the show, no matter how far away they were from Auburn.”







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NEWS RELEASE [DATE HERE] Contact Information FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jill Moore, Associate Director of Greek Life Office: (334) 844-‐4600 Email: [email protected]

AUBURN UNIVERISTY’S PANHELLENIC RECRUITMENT SCHEDULE ANNOUCNED Recruitment Week Will Take Place in August

AUBURN, Ala. – Bring out the dresses and smiles! Auburn’s National Panhellenic

Conference (Panhellenic), the governing board of Auburn’s 17 sororities, announced today

that sorority recruitment will be held Aug. 8 to Aug. 14, 2011. Panhellenic is expecting

1,200 women, mostly incoming freshman, to take a part in the activities. Upcoming

sophomores, juniors and seniors are also welcome to participate in recruitment.

Recruitment officially starts Aug. 8 with Ice Water Teas which are short and casual

parties which last 25 minutes. Each potential new member (PNM) will attend 17 parties

over two days, one hosted by each sorority. All parties are hosted in the chapter rooms of

each sorority in the Village Dorms at Auburn University.

The next round is Philanthropy Day, Aug. 10 and Aug. 11. PNM’s will attend up to 12

parties where they will learn the philanthropic efforts of each sorority and the events they

host in order to raise funds for local and national charities.

Skit Day is on Aug. 12 where PNM’s will attend up to seven parties. The sorority

women will perform a skit and then discuss the on-‐campus involvement within each

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sorority. Preference Day is Aug. 13 and the PNM’s will attend up to three parties. After

Preference Day, the PNM’s will rank their remaining sororities.

Finally, Aug. 14 will be Bid Day. Each PNM will open her bid at 10 a.m. and go to a

brunch hosted by the sorority that extended her an invitation.

“Bid Day is the most exciting,” said Meredith MacLean, Panhellenic president. “After

a long and stressful week, the girls finally know where they will call their new ‘home away

from home.’”

The PNM’s going through the recruitment process will not be alone. Panhellenic has

been training more than 80 recruitment counselors, called Pi Chi’s, to be the mothers,

advisers and friends of the PNM’s. Each Pi Chi has disaffiliated from her own sorority to be

neutral and non-‐biased. No Pi Chi will have contact with her sorority starting Aug. 4 in

order to ensure the fair recruitment of each PNM.

“The most important thing is that the girls going through recruitment have a

‘mommy’ they can talk to throughout the week,” said Christina Huckaby, Panhellenic vice

president for recruitment. “That’s why we have Pi Chi’s. The girls will need someone to talk

to while making important and hard decisions. It’s a stressful week, and all the girls need

someone to be there for them.”

Auburn Panhellenic consistently hosts one of the most successful recruitment weeks

in the region. “I think our recruitment goes so well because everyone is on an equal playing

field,” said MacLean. “Each sorority is housed in a chapter room in the Village, not in a

sorority house around campus. There is no ‘bad’ or ‘great’ chapter room, they are all new,

spacious and beautifully decorated.”

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Subject: It’s All “Greek Week” for Auburn! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE A Step Show and Greek Olympics Will Be Added to This Year’s Events AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn’s National Panhellenic Conference (Panhellenic), Interfraternity Council (IFC) and National Pan-‐Hellenic Council (NPHC) announced the 2011 Greek Week Schedule today. Greek Week will kick-‐off Sunday, Oct. 9 and will last through Thursday, Oct. 13. Winners of Greek Week will be announced Oct. 15 at the Auburn vs. Florida football game. “The purpose of Greek Week is to bring together the three Greek councils and show campus what being Greek is all about,” said Stacy Shockley, director of Greek Week. All proceeds of Greek Week will benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Auburn. “Last year we raised $15,000 for Boys & Girls Club, and this year we want to raise even more,” Shockley said. The 17 Panhellenic sororities, 28 IFC fraternities and five NPHC organizations will be divided into six teams, all named by color. The teams will compete for points throughout the week in hopes of being crowned Greek Week winners. Team dinners will take place on Sunday, Oct. 9, at 6:30 p.m., hosted by a fraternity from each team. The annual Service Luncheon will take place on Monday at 11 a.m. at the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house. All Auburn police officers, firefighters and service workers are invited to attend. Throughout the day, all Greek members are encouraged to wear their Greek letters. Monday evening will be Miss Greek Week. “Miss Greek Week is a pageant where each Panhellenic and NPHC sorority can nominate one woman to represent what being an Auburn Greek woman is all about,” said Savannah Thompson, Miss Greek Week director. The pageant will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the Student Activities Center. On Tuesday, members are encouraged to wear their team colors. That evening, there will be a cook-‐off between fraternities, a step-‐style dance competition and Greek Olympics field competitions. These activities will begin at 4 p.m. in the green space outside of the Student Center at Auburn University. On Wednesday each IFC and NPHC fraternity will setup a carnival booth where any Auburn student can buy tickets to play games. Beginning at 3 p.m., children from the Boys & Girls

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club will come to Auburn’s campus to play carnival games as well. Throughout the day, members will wear their Olympic-‐themed Greek Week T-‐shirts. Thursday will be the new member barbecue. All the new members from Panhellenic, IFC and NPHC fraternities are encouraged to eat, mix and mingle. The nighttime activity will be bowling at the local lanes. If you have any more questions regarding Greek Week or Panhellenic activities, please contact Jill Moore at (334) 844-‐4600 or at [email protected]. ###

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Auburn University Panhellenic Total Time :60 Greek Sing Dance Competition Jill Moore, Producer ANNOUNCER: THE KICKS WILL BE HIGH, LEAPS WILL FLY AND DANCES WILL BE TO DIE

FOR DURING THE ANNUAL PAN-‐HELL-‐EN-‐IC GREEK SING DANCE COMPETITION. EACH

SPRING THE 17 SORORITIES OF AUBURN PAN-‐HELL-‐EN-‐IC PERFORM DANCES TO

DIFFERENT THEMES. THE TWO THOUSAND 11 GREEK SING COMPETITION WILL TAKE

PLACE APRIL SEVENTH IN THE NEW AUBURN ARENA AT SIX THIRTY P-‐M. DOORS WILL

OPEN AT FIVE THIRTY. TICKETS WILL BE SOLD ON THE CONCOURSE FROM TEN TO TWO

ON MONDAY APRIL SIXTH AND TUESDAY APRIL SEVENTH FOR FIVE DOLLARS. TICKETS

ARE SIX DOLLARS AT THE DOOR. ALL PROCEEDS GO TO TIGER HABITAT, AUBURN’S

CHAPTER OF HABITAT FOR HUMANITY. ALL AUBURN STUDENTS AND MEMBERS OF THE

COMMUNITY ARE INVITED TO COME TO THIS FUN AND ENTERTAINING SPECTACLE

ALWAYS PRAISED AS THE BEST EVENT OF THE YEAR. PAN-‐HELL-‐EN-‐IC PRESIDENT

MEREDITH MAC-‐LEAN

MacLean: Greek Sing is going to be the greatest ever this year. I am so excited to see

what all the girls have done. They have been working so hard for January and love

performing for the community and all of their sorority sisters. Not only is Greek Sing

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a fun time, but giving back to the community and Habitat for Humanity make the

whole night amazing.

ANNOUNCER: SO COME ON OUT TO THE AUBURN ARENA TUESDAY APRIL SEVENTH AND

HAVE A GREAT TIME WITH AUBURN PAN-‐HELL-‐EN-‐IC’S GREEK SING.

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Auburn University Panhellenic Total Time :30 Scholarship Recipients Jill Moore, Producer ANNOUNCER: AUBURN PAN-‐HELL-‐EN-‐IC GAVE OUT THREE SCHOLARSHIPS WORTH FIVE

HUNDRED DOLLARS EACH AT THE ANNUAL PAN-‐HELL-‐EN-‐IC CONVOCATION LAST

TUESDAY. EACH RECIPIENT HAD A HIGH G-‐P-‐A, WAS INVOLVED IN THEIR SORORITY AND

ON CAMPUS, AND SHOWED LEADERSHIP QUALITIES. THE KATHARINE COOPER KAY-‐TER

SCHOLARSHIP WHICH RECOGNIZES THE MOST INVOLVED WOMAN ON AUBURN’S

CAMPUS WENT TO ERIN MC-‐CREER-‐EY. THE DEBROAH LEE SHAW SCHOLARSHIP FOR

THE STUDENT MOST INVOLVED IN GREEK LIFE WENT TO CHRISTINA WILL-‐MAN. LASTLY

THE PAN-‐HELL-‐EN-‐IC SCHOLARSHIP FOR THE MOST DESERVING WOMAN SHOWING

FINANCIAL NEED WENT TO MEREDITH JONES. PAN-‐HELL-‐EN-‐IC CONGRATULATES ALL

THE WINNERS AND CONTINUES TO PROMOTE THE ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE OF PAN-‐

HELL-‐EN-‐IC WOMEN ON AUBURN’S CAMPUS.


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AUBURN PANHELLENIC STRICTLY ENFORCES “ZERO TOLERANCE” FOR HAZING

Auburn University’s National Panhellenic Conference (Panhellenic) in association

with the Office of Greek Life and the Division of Student Affairs reinforces the “zero

tolerance” policy for all hazing incidents. Panhellenic is in support of all legislation and

regulations making hazing illegal and adheres to all policies made by Auburn University

regarding hazing. Auburn University’s anti-‐hazing policy was originally adopted in April

1989, was amended in February 2001 and was last revised in May 2011.

Panhellenic recognizes that while hazing affects all organizations and clubs, Greek

life is especially subjected to hazing incidents. Auburn incorporates Alabama’s Hazing

Statute in its Anti-‐Hazing Policy and recognizes that hazing occurs in the context of gaining

or maintaining membership in an organization, as is often in Greek-‐letter organizations.

There are several more actions that are defined as hazing by Panhellenic and

Auburn University. Definitions of hazing include:

• Any group or individual action or activity that inflicts physical harm, mental harm or

discomfort, or which may demean, disgrace, humiliate or degrade any person,

regardless of location

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• Any conduct that represents a threat to a student’s health or safety, including any

brutality of a physical nature or forced physical activity that could adversely affect

the physical and mental health or safety of a student

• Any forced or expected conduct that could result in embarrassment or adversely

affect the mental health or dignity of a student

• Any action or situation that recklessly, by design or unintentionally, endangers the

mental and physical health or safety of a student for any purpose including,

initiation or admission into the affiliation with any student group or organization

“Hazing has no place in any university’s culture,” said Auburn University President

Jay Gogue, “but especially at a place like Auburn, which prides itself on treating people well,

being respectful and valuing integrity, all of which is called out in the Auburn Creed and in

direct opposition to what hazing signifies.”

Panhellenic takes personal responsibility in educating its members on what hazing

is, and what to do when hazing occurs. While hazing is most commonly recognized as

physical harm, such as paddling to new members, subtle, non-‐physical hazing does occur.

Examples of subtle hazing include enforcing dress codes, conducting initiations

intended to humiliate, enforcing designated driver duties, requiring new members to

perform various personal favors for upperclassmen, implementing an extreme schedule of

events, and requiring new members to carry items or reserve seats for upperclassmen.

In addition to educating members on defining and recognizing hazing, Panhellenic

teaches members that it is the duty of a witness to report hazing. In fact, it is illegal in

Alabama to be aware of hazing and not reporting the crime.

According to the national hazing study, Hazing in View: College Students at Risk,

several statistics show the harm hazing does, even beyond Greek communities. Fifty-‐five

percent of college students involved in clubs, teams and organizations experience hazing. It

occurs in, and extends beyond, varsity athletics and Greek-‐letter organizations and includes

behaviors that are abusive, dangerous and potentially illegal. Alcohol consumption,

humiliation, isolation, sleep-‐deprivation and sex acts are hazing practices common across

various types of student organizations.

Panhellenic believes students submit to hazing because they desire acceptance by

others, are afraid to resist or feel a need to prove to themselves or others that they are

worthy or tough. These motives reflect conformity, fear and insecurity.

Although Panhellenic respects traditions, tradition does not justify subjecting new

members to hazing. Just because a member or alumni was hazed does not mean that new

members should be hazed. Panhellenic believes it takes only one year to stop the cycle of

hazing.

Panhellenic requires all members to adhere to the anti-‐hazing policy. Any

suggestion, complaint or report of hazing by a Panhellenic sorority will be thoroughly

investigated and any chapter found guilty will be harshly punished. Panhellenic sororities

are about sisterhood, scholarship, philanthropy and well-‐being, not about brutal tactics

such as hazing.

Panhellenic asks all members of Greek life and the community to report any hazing

to 334-‐844-‐4564 or contact any administrator in the Office of Student Affairs and Office of

Greek Life.

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Documents

Panhellenic Media Kit