BIG-C elects new board, sets goals for academic year

The BiCultural InterGreek Council, the umbrella organization for Penn's historically black, Asian and Latino fraternities and sororities, met yesterday to elect student leaders for the upcoming year.

The six-member incoming board, led by current BIG-C Treasurer and Lambda Upsilon Lambda brother Chris Padilla, will officially take office during a transition period next week.

All the new board members -- with the exception of College sophomore Padilla -- are first-year members of their chapters. But Padilla said he thinks this will lend a "fresh perspective to the organization."

Outgoing President and Zeta Phi Beta sister Tia Rideout agreed.

"We have a lot of fresh new people," the College senior said. "I think it will be an advantage."

Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Programming Coordinator Larry Moses said that he is confident in the new board's leadership potential.

"I'm very proud of Chris Padilla," Moses said, who added that he has been able "to watch [Padilla] grow as a young man and now as a Greek leader."

Moses added that he expects to see much progress made in the next year.

"I think we're going to be looking at some tremendous growth," he said, noting that Penn's BIG-C is a hub for all BIG-C organizations in the region.

Padilla said that his goals for the upcoming year include increasing the presence of the BIG-C both on Penn's campus and at other area universities and encouraging more participation from individual chapter members.

Padilla added that he plans to establish several new committees within the Council, including those focusing on community service, academic excellence and fundraising. He said that forming more structured committees will result in "more accountability" among members.

The BIG-C traditionally holds its elections during the fall semester, but decided to change its policy this year so that administrative terms would correspond to the academic calendar.

According to Moses, one of the outstanding things about outgoing board members was their willingness to remain in office for three full semesters.

"Tia and her board volunteered without hesitation to take on that responsibility," Moses said, noting that the the term was the "longest administration in BIG-C history."

He added that outgoing board members were successful in making the BIG-C "viable and visible" on Penn's campus and ensuring that each chapter was "able to continue with their individual mission."

Moses specifically noted Rideout's strong leadership, saying that the College senior was "very interested in making sure that every organization had a say."

Outgoing BIG-C Vice President Weldon McMillan echoed Moses' sentiments about the past year.

"I think that everything we set out to do we pretty much did," the Wharton junior said, citing the completion of a new strategic plan as one of the outgoing board's major accomplishments.

Last month, the BIG-C released its portion of the 2001 Program for Excellence -- a three-part strategic plan to create uniform standards for members of Penn's Greek system -- where the group outlined major goals and addressed issues such as academics and community service.

The InterFraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council released their portions last fall.

McMillan said that the outgoing board also worked to facilitate further interaction with the IFC and Panhel.

"We want to see a continued increase, and hopefully the next board will focus on that as well," McMillan said.

In elections for the other board positions, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., sisters Nirvana Harris, a College junior, Jerryanne Heath, a College sophomore and Morgan Kenner, a Wharton sophomore, were elected vice president, corresponding secretary and parliamentarian, respectively. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., brother Jason Wiley, a Wharton junior, was elected treasurer.

The position of recording secretary will be filled later in the semester.

The BIG-C includes seven individual chapters citywide, five of which currently have members on Penn's campus.

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