This week’s Campus Celebrity is senior Paige Jones, President of Sorority Council. With majors in Marketing and Management and minors in French and Sport & Entertainment Management, along with involvement in other leadership positions around campus and a part-time job, it is safe to say that Paige has her hands full! However, the time that she spends leading Sorority Council and, therefore, a large portion of our Greek community here at USC, is already making a huge difference.
What exactly is Sorority Council?
Sorority Council is a group of 11 women elected to serve the USC Greek community in a variety of aspects ranging from programming and conduct to scholarship and philanthropy. The women elected to executive offices of Sorority Council come from a variety of chapters and serve as a liaisons between University Administration and our Greek community.
What does SoCo do throughout the year?
Council members do everything from planning Greek Week, co-chairing Greek Conduct Board hearings, running sorority recruitment, and so much more. Sorority Council meets on a weekly basis with chapter presidents and delegates from each of the Carolina sororities, including representatives from the National Pan-Hellenic Council and the Multicultural Greek Board. These meetings provide time for chapter leaders to share announcements and to discuss issues we are facing as a community.
What made you want to be President of Sorority Council?
Last fall, our community was faced with a tragedy that left one of our new members critically injured when she was hit by a stray bullet just off-campus. As a chapter president at the time, I knew it was our duty as a close-knit community to step up and support her in any way we could. A committee consisting of chapter presidents and Sorority Council members planned a free concert on-campus in an attempt to keep students out of the crime-ridden downtown area while showing our full support for our injured Panhellenic sister. The event, deemed “Not So Thirsty Thursday,” received local media attention and reached well beyond the Greek community. Over 2,700 students came out to the event to show their support which sparked conversation between students, the Columbia Police Department, University Administration, and local bar owners.
It was that night I knew I wanted to be President of Sorority Council. Witnessing the impact that members of our community could have on our campus but more importantly in our community and beyond, I knew it would be an honor to serve on Sorority Council. And I thought – why stop here? If we can make an impact here, who is to say we can’t make an impact on the incredibly relevant issue of sexual assault? What about hazing? I wanted to keep pushing Carolina Greeks to face these issues head on and I knew this position would put me in a strong place to do so.
It is clear that Paige is on her way to doing big things – not only within Sorority Council and the Greek community, but in her life in general. We can’t wait to see Paige follow her dreams of moving to a big city to work in an advertising agency after graduation!