Big-C Greeks elect 1999 executive board

As the new leadership of the BiCultural InterGreek Council assumes the reins, it will have to face the two ongoing challenges the group has had in recent years -- preserving unity and increasing recruitment. The BIG-C, an umbrella organization for the historically black and Latino fraternities and sororities, held closed-door elections Thursday night. Wharton junior Ramon Marmolejos, a member of the Lambda Upsilon Lambda fraternity and the BIG-C's recording secretary for the past year, will replace College senior and Omega Phi Psi brother Everett Sands as the organization's president. The voting committee -- composed of one member from each of the BIG-C's nine organizations -- elected College junior Richard Adzei, an Alpha Phi Alpha brother, as vice president. Adzei has served as the group's parliamentarian for the last year. Marcela Poveda, a College sophomore and member of Sigma Lambda Upsilon/Senoritas Latinas Unidas Sorority Inc., will serve as BIG-C treasurer in 1999. College junior Khalilah Bryan, of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and College sophomore Delceta Taylor, a member of Zeta Phi Beta, are the new correspondence and recording secretaries, respectively. Jean Paulson Tuffet, a College sophomore and Alpha Phi Alpha brother, was voted parliamentarian. Sands will remain on the executive board next semester as president emeritus. He predicted that Marmolejos' previous BIG-C leadership experience will assist him in implementing his plans for the new year. "There will be no transition period for him coming into office," Sands said of his successor. Marmolejos, who is also vice president of the Wharton Latino Undergraduate Association, said he has created a schedule that permits him to balance the leadership positions and academics. Academics -- specifically raising BIG-C grade point averages -- was also an election issue, although unity and recruitment are the group's main priorities. To promote stronger bonds among BIG-C members, Marmolejos wants to hold group dinners, study breaks and possibly even a retreat -- something that has not been done since before he became a part of the BIG-C in the spring of 1997. Marmolejos said he hopes events like the upcoming Minority Scholars Week and the BIG-C-sponsored Penn Relays step show will make the organization more visible in the community and increase membership. The BIG-C has no rush period, but fraternities and sororities will begin to recruit prospective members through their own individualized activities after the semester break. The activities will have one thing in common: They will all showcase the BIG-C's general commitment to community service, cultural awareness and leadership on and off campus, Marmolejos said. Marmolejos noted that he wants pledges to "make a proactive decision" during the intake process to be committed to the organization's goals. "We never want to impose anything on anyone," he said.