U. Greeks forge internal bonds before seeking area interaction

While Penn's Greek system provides its members with mixers and other social events aimed to improve relations between chapters, it does little to help them forge relationships with Greeks at other local schools. Panhellenic Council Vice President for Publicity Beth Linn said the Greek umbrella organizations' executive boards are devoting their energies towards increasing the interaction among Panhel, the InterFraternity Council and the BiCultural InterGreek Council on Penn's campus before attempting to hold events with other schools. "I don't know how much mixing between schools goes on," the College junior said. "If individual chapters mix with their chapters at different schools, then that's on their social agenda." And IFC President Matt Baker added that the Greeks' 21st Century Report promotes relationships among Greek umbrella organizations on campus. "The key to a strong Greek system is to have the unity and cooperation among all [umbrella organizations]," the College and Engineering junior said. "We want to build our own system as strong as it can be and then focus on branching out." Baker said Penn's BIG-C chapters -- which are service-based organizations -- are unique in that they plan many events with other Philadelphia schools. And BIG-C President Jason Rosas said BIG-C chapters have an advantage in that they are "city chapters [with] automatic connections to other universities." The College junior added that while all three of Penn's Greek umbrella organizations plan to spend more time together, the BIG-C's inter-school events will not suffer. "Before anything else, we have our duties to the community," Rosas said. Baker added that "ideally someday [all of Penn's Greeks] will be at that point," but that they are currently working to share ideas among themselves. But some Greeks -- at Penn and other area schools -- said they would like more opportunities for inter-school social events. Alpha Chi Omega sister Alexis Stern -- a College senior who works at Cavanaugh's with Sigma Pi and Theta Chi brothers from Drexel University -- arranged for her sorority to to attend a party at Drexel last weekend, which she described as a "refreshing" change of scene. And Alpha Chi President Alice Birnbaum said "the women in our house had a great time." But because the sorority's "schedule is pretty packed" with social events on campus, the sisters do not plan to participate in any more activities with Drexel, the College junior said. Greeks at other local schools seem to be making more of an effort to get to know their counterparts in the area. Graduate Assistant for Greek Affairs at Temple University Jason Rosenberg said the school's fraternities and sororities frequently hold events in conjunction with other schools. He added that such events have "been totally positive" because they allow Greeks to meet other student leaders and bring new ideas back to Temple. Drexel Delta Sigma Phi brother Miles Johnson said his fraternity is currently trying to set up a mixer with a Penn sorority, adding that over the past few years Drexel's Greeks have made an effort to increase the number of such events. And Rowan College Delta Kappa Epsilon brother Travis Ludwick said his fraternity would like to sponsor more inter-school events -- like the mixer he organized with his girlfriend at LaSalle University -- because it is "good to see different faces."