Panhel selects new exec board

SDT sister Jennifer Chanowitz will become the new Panhel president. College junior and Sigma Delta Tau sister Jennifer Chanowitz was selected last night as the next head of the Panhellenic Council, the governing board for the eight sororities that attract about 30 percent of Penn's female undergraduates. Chanowitz replaces College senior Becca Iverson, a Chi Omega sister who has presided over the body for the past year. A single slate of candidates for Panhel's eight-member executive board was selected by the eight chapter presidents and sent to the houses last week. The houses only had the option of voting "yes" or "no" for the entire slate. Five houses are needed to confirm the slate. Chanowitz, a Tenafly, N.J., native and Panhel's current vice president of publicity, said she is looking forward to strengthening Panhel's commitment to community service. "In particular, we're looking to expand the Pumpkin Chase. We're considering moving it to Parents' Weekend," she said, noting that she also plans to mail letters to incoming freshman females and their parents informing them of the event and the Greek system in general. Iverson said the new board is ready to tackle the issues currently facing Greek life on campus. "The current exec board is happy and excited about the new incoming board," Iverson said. "We feel that they have a lot to offer and that they'll work well together." The new board includes Phi Sigma Sigma sister and College junior Dayna Platt as executive vice president; Kappa Alpha Theta sister and Wharton junior Katie Portland as treasurer; Theta sister and College junior Jennifer Brillante as secretary; Pi Beta Phi sister and Engineering junior Megan Gallenstein as vice president of rush; Chi Omega sister and College sophomore Kristin Moon as assistant vice president of rush; Chi Omega sister and College sophomore Katie Klein, the Daily Pennsylvanian classified advertising manager, as vice president of publicity; and Alpha Chi Omega sister and College sophomore Kristen Buppert as vice president of judicial affairs. Platt said she shares Chanowitz's goal of increasing Greek involvement in community service. "I think [the new board] is a great board with lots of enthusiasm," Platt said. "Hopefully, that enthusiasm will be contagious and get more people involved." The position of vice president of judicial affairs is new to Panhel. Buppert will oversee the body's judicial board, which in the past has been under the jurisdiction of the president and executive vice president. She said she is going to work with the judicial board to recreate a charter of rules and standards for the Panhellenic community. She added that she aims to form a group that is proactive rather than responsive and that will "inform rather than punish or make negative examples out of chapters." Except for the vice president of rush, each position had at least two or three candidates this year. During the election process, each candidate submits an application and makes a speech. The eight sororities then vote on the slate. The new executive board will be inducted at the annual Circle of Sisters Ceremony on February 7, at the end of the formal rush period.

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