St. Louis, Missouri
December 2-4, 2011

Aside from important council business that will be discussed, conference highlights include: panel with University Administrators; Social Events for attendees, and a taste of St. Louis!

Lodging Options

$163 for 2 nights Dec. 2 & 3

Share Hotel Room: Organizations that choose this option will get be paired with another organization (each organization gets 1 Full size Bed). Organizations can indicate pairing requests if they have made arrangements with another org

OR

$265 for 2 nights Dec. 2 & 3
Organization’s Hotel Room: Organizations that choose this option will get a room with two double beds

OR

Book Own Room: Organization will secure it’s own accommodations in St. Louis.

Conference Fee

$60/person
The conference fee is to be paid by each member attending the conference. The conference fee includes conference materials, social events, and some meal.

Travel Costs

Organizations will need to make their own travel arrangements, and pay for that separately. The hotel has free parking for guests, should you choose to drive-in or rent a car. However, please note that once you arrive at the hotel, the planned events and meetings will be taking place within walking distance. Airport shuttle service information will be provided in future correspondence.

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The current National Director of Philanthropy, Jennie Davis and current National  President, Joanna Garcia, spoke about introducing an event to the sisterhood that would give sisters, undergraduate and alumnae, the opportunity to support the national philanthropy at a truly national level.

October was deemed the month of the National Philanthropy Breast Cancer Awareness Event for Gamma Eta Sorority, Inc. in 2009 and was warmly welcomed by the sisterhood and received a great amount of support from both undergraduate and alumnae sisters. Over 50 sisters contributed their time, money and efforts to this cause so dear to the history and heart of Gamma Eta Sorority, Inc. An estimated $500 was contributed to the Susan G. Komen Foundation on behalf of Gamma Eta Sorority, Inc.

This year marks the 2nd Annual National Philanthropy Breast Cancer Awareness Event of Gamma Eta Sorority, Inc. Davis is looking forward to another great year of support and the relations that it will build among sisters, alumna and current.

Normally, chapters have held conventions at their local universities, hosting sisters in dorms and holding meetings in lecture halls and classrooms. This year, sisters stayed at the Hampton Inn Tropicana near the Las Vegas Strip where the meetings were also held, a convention first.

“One thing I really liked about convention this year, was the hotel that it was held in,” says Amanda Laney, National Secretary, “From a national board perspective it was a lot easier to have everything held in the same place as we were already staying, that made it much easier to keep all the business on schedule!”

This year was the second time that convention has been held in a city where there is no DXP chapter. Last year, the sisters of the Gamma Associate Chapter hosted the 11th annual National Convention in Memphis, TN.

“Since the only other convention I went to was local, I really enjoyed traveling and experiencing a new town!  It is always a wonderful feeling to explore a new city, see landmarks and tourist traps, and see, first hand, how different locales in the USA offer different and wonderful things!” says Tara Pflomm, Gamma Associate Chapter President.

Something unique at this year’s convention was the group community service project. A speaker was brought in to share her experience about being HIV positive, since the DXP service initiative for the past school year had been Keep A Child Alive, an organization that helps children with HIV and AIDS. Sisters were split into groups and made books that would educate children on the topic of AIDS. The winning group wrote, We Still Love Aiden, a book about a boy living with AIDS, and will have their book published. All proceeds from the book will be donated to Keep A Child Alive.

Another highlight of the weekend was meeting sisters from other chapters across the country and mingling with them. During their free time, DXP sisters were able to visit the attractions of Las Vegas. A lot of sisters visited the famous Las Vegas Strip and took in the sights with sisters they had just met, from other chapters.

“I love interacting with sorors from different chapters. Talking about the differences, hearing about their experience but still being able to get along and vibe so easily. It’s great,” says Tiffany Reese, Kappa Associate Chapter.

“Getting to know sisters from across the country was wonderful. We usually live so far away that getting together is often rather difficult and doesn’t happen as often as (I think) it should,” says Nicki Adams, Sigma Associate Chapter.

Lea Madry, a founding sister of the Phi Chapter, was awarded the annual scholarship for her accomplishments in academics and extracurricular activities. A senior at The Ohio State University, Madry has been involved in about 17 organizations, committees and programs throughout her college career, holding several leadership positions.

With such dedication to these organizations, Madry still managed to find time to study although she sometimes had to give up a little sleep in order to manage.

“I’m a first generation college student and I grew up very much aware of the struggle my family went through to just so we could have the basic necessities. I’ve never forgotten what that was like. Because of this, I feel that I am just so fortunate to be able to be in college, to serve others, to enrich my community and to be able to look forward to the future that giving up a little sleep, not having a lot of down time and being pretty busy is hardly a sacrifice – it’s a gift,” Madry said.

Madry was busiest during her sophomore and junior years when she was also involved in bringing Delta Xi Phi to the Ohio State campus. She is one of eleven sisters who established the Phi Chapter on March 7, 2009. Some of the other organizations she was involved with are organizations that reflected one or more of the Delta Xi Phi pillars.

“Of all the groups at Ohio State, there was not an organization that aligned with all of my core values: serving others and my community, dedicating myself to issues of diversity and multiculturalism, sustaining meaningful relationships and excelling scholarship,” Madry has said of her motivation of bringing Delta Xi Phi to campus.

When Madry heard her name called as the 2009 recipient of the annual scholarship at the sorority’s national convention in Memphis, Tenn., she was “overwhelmed with gratitude” and shocked. It was an amazing feeling especially since she almost did not apply.

“I had wanted to apply for the scholarship previously, but I was a newer sister so I thought I wouldn’t really have a chance at receiving the Brandy Murphy Memorial Scholarship, as I consider it to be an enormous, enormous honor in the memory of our late sister,” Madry said. “But, when I realized my financial situation, I decided to apply nonetheless. I really was shocked when I received the scholarship. It means so much to me that the amazing sisters on our national board saw fit to award me the Brandy Murphy Memorial Scholarship. I am so thankful.”

Madry graduated this spring quarter with a major in sociology and will be attending the University of Chicago Law School.

“I’ve always wanted to go to U of C Law School, and I feel like it’s just a dream-come-true that I’m actually going there. I know I’m going to have my work cut out for me, but I live for a challenge!”

By Izzie Karpierz

In a first for the fraternity/sorority community, members of the National Multicultural Greek Council (NMGC) recently voted to adopt a resolution that unifies fraternities and sororities against the exploitation of worker and human rights violations. The resolution, which asked the members of the council to agree to not do business with known sweatshop vendors and labor rights violators, was presented by member organization Phi Sigma Chi Multicultural Fraternity at the NMGC’s semi-annual meeting last weekend at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.

“The NMGC has been working extremely hard over the past few years to redefine the NMGC into an organization that truly makes an impact on our surrounding communities,” said Denise Pipersburgh, NMGC president. “The Human Rights Initiative demonstrates our commitment to empowering and strengthening individuals around the world. Most fraternal organizations frequently order paraphernalia without thought. Our goal is to ensure that all fraternal organizations, not just NMGC members, truly think about how their individual actions can either continue to support the horrifying labor and employment practices that demean and endanger others, or be an opportunity to stand up and express outrage that such practices persist. All it takes is one to make a change.”

The NMGC is the national umbrella council for multicultural fraternities and sororities with twelve member organizations which have collegiate chapters in twenty-two states. The NMGC’s member organizations include Delphic of Gamma Sigma Tau Fraternity, Delta Xi Phi Sorority, Delta Sigma Chi Sorority, Gamma Eta Sorority, Lambda Psi Delta Sorority, Lambda Tau Omega Sorority, Mu Sigma Upsilon Sorority, Phi Sigma Chi Fraternity, Psi Sigma Phi Fraternity, and Omega Phi Chi Sorority.

“We are very pleased to see the Greek community stand together this way,” said Carlos Lopez, Phi Sigma Chi national president. “By taking this stance the members of the council not only recognize their power to combat injustice, but are effectively using this power.”

Thousands of college and university undergraduate students join fraternities and sororities every year. As a result, thousands of fraternity and sorority paraphernalia are sold in this country yearly. For the most part, those purchasing goods have no idea where they come from or what it took to make them. At the same time there are numerous cases of apparel production workers being exploited at factories producing goods for American consumers, namely college students.

“These fraternities and sororities have chosen to use their spending power wisely,” stated Archer Hutchinson, who helped create Phi Sigma Chi Fraternity. “The coalition is demanding that vendors treat their workers with respect and dignity or we will take our business elsewhere. It’s a bold and powerful stance that will surely help a lot of people.”

In addition to their agreement to never knowingly do business with labor rights violators, the fraternities and sororities that make up the NMGC agreed to use their collective strength to pressure labor violators to improvement conditions should any NMGC member organization discover human rights violations in connection with the production of their goods.

The NMGC has demonstrated that there is strength in numbers by taking a unified stance against worker exploitation. Strength that if focused can really make a different. Phi Sigma Chi plans to compile and publish a list of companies whose production facilities are regularly monitored by a private monitoring organization and uphold fair labor rights practices.

Visit www.nationalmgc.org to learn more about the NMGC and its member organizations. Visit www.phisigmachi.com to learn more about Phi Sigma Chi Multicultural Fraternity.

NMGC Human Rights Initiative Resolution

Keeping in mind the numerous cases of workers exploitation, in particular that of women and children, in developing countries around the world, as well as domestically;

Taking into consideration the current international economic crisis and the appeal of U.S. and foreign companies to make profit at the expense of human rights;

Considering the collective consumer power of Greek-letter organizations (GLOs) across this nation;

Noting the work already done by students to win back human rights for workers who produce collegiate apparel;

Acknowledging this council’s leadership and influential role in the GLO community;

Recognizing the commitment of the NMGC’s member organizations toward a more conscious and just multicultural world;

Remembering the NMGC’s Code of Ethics which reminds our members to treat others with respect and courtesy and its call for member organizations and their respective members to “do their best to support unity, progress and growth in the multicultural fraternal community;”

Phi Sigma Chi hereby presents the following resolution for consideration to the member organizations of the National Multicultural Greek Council, to take effect immediately upon approval:

Be It Resolved, the member organizations of the National Multicultural Greek Council do hereby agree to not do business with or purchase apparel or other forms of goods or services bearing their fraternity’s or sorority’s letters, crests, name, or other identifying symbols from known sweatshop vendors or labor rights violators;

Be It Further Resolved; the NMGC’s member organizations agree to use the collective consumer power of the NMGC to pressure production violators to improve conditions for justly wronged workers where situations of human and labor rights violations have  been discovered in connection with  vendors doing business with a member organization of this council.

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