This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Columbia Barnard chapter.
The Columbia University Panhellenic Council grabbed campus attention a couple weeks ago with its widely publicized Panhellenic Powderpuff Football Fundraiser. The fundraiser sought to raise money for the Panhellenic Scholarship Fund, a new initiative to aid Panhellenic women in paying their dues.
The council announced this week that the event raised $2,300–a successful first step in the Scholarship Fund’s goal. The board released a statement this week detailing what the Fund hopes to do going forward. “Members of all class years from the five National Panhellenic Conference chapters on
campus (Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Omicron Pi, Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Sigma Delta Tau) will be eligible to apply for scholarships. All proceeds from Panhellenic’s fundraising initiatives, such as the annual Powderpuff Football Fundraiser, will directly benefit the Scholarship Fund.
The Panhellenic Council Executive Board and Chapter Delegates will select scholarship recipients through a completely anonymous application review system; one member of the Executive Board will fully remove herself from the selection process in order to compile all applications and ensure that they are entirely anonymous upon assessment. Applicants will be evaluated on the basis of their leadership and/or working experience, community involvement, academic performance, and need, as well as two letters of recommendation from peers within the Panhellenic community. The number and denominations of scholarships awarded in a given semester will be dependent upon the amount of applicants selected and available funds for that semester. With the introduction of the Scholarship Fund, the Panhellenic Council Executive Board is thrilled to be taking one big step towards achieving its ultimate goal of helping to make the many benefits of sorority life accessible to all women interested in being a part of Columbia’s vibrant
Panhellenic community.”