Greek diversity

To the Editor:

After reading the December 2 article ("No freshmen women show at Panhel diversity talk," DP, 12/2/05) about the Freshman Women Diversity Event sponsored by the Panhellenic Council, we were quite disheartened by the blatant disregard for what the attendees felt was an extremely successful and groundbreaking occurrence in the Greek community.

Instead, the article dramatically spun one small part of last Thursday's event.

The frank discussion among 30 sorority women on issues of race, religion and sexuality initiated an important dialogue about Greek life at Penn.

This previously unchartered dialogue was facilitated by a Greek role model, Stephanie Blossom, the first African-American Panhellenic president at Stanford University and the current associate director of the Penn Alumni Diversity Alliance.

While Ms. Blossom artfully led the conversation, it was the honest interest that these women of diverse backgrounds demonstrated that was most valued. Watching complete strangers divulge intimate stories and articulate desires for unity and openness seemed to prospect a more welcoming experience for freshman women in the future and call for a continuation of Greek collaboration on the issue.

The fact unabashedly remains that there were no freshman at this event.

Yet, were the article written with a more fruitful edge, it would have revealed its almost fortuitous nature; the discussion amongst the women offered a great premiere to our spring semester recruitment.

This first step by the eight Panhellenic sororities to more accurately represent unique backgrounds in our constituencies need not be excessively lauded, but rather appreciated for its promise. Now that we have opened the doors of our chapter houses to new ideas and possibilities, we hope the Penn community will aid, not inhibit, us in our endeavors.

Hayley Gross

College senior

The author is the former president of the Panhellenic Council

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