The Student Union Building will soon be decorated with little red dots, all in the name of sisterhood.
Alice Beaton, senior energy commerce major and scholarship chair on the Panhellenic Executive Council at Texas Tech, said that Ginny Carroll, founder of the Circle of Sisterhood, has inspired the Panhellenic women in ways that cannot be described.
According to the Circle of Sisterhood website, after reading the book, “Half the Sky,” Carroll felt compelled to “turn oppression into opportunity worldwide” by creating opportunities for women in sororities to give back to women in underprivileged countries.
Beaton said that Circle of Sisterhood is about raising money through numerous fundraising events to send to women in underprivileged countries to help pay for their school, because an education is the only way to help them overcome poverty.
According to Beaton, when Panhellenic went to their conference in February, they heard Carroll speak about her goals regarding the Circle of Sisterhood, and decided to make the Circle of Sisterhood the official philanthropy for the Panhellenic women at Tech.
Beaton said that Tuesday, Oct. 22, was the night for Greek women at Tech to contribute to this philanthropy. She said that the women on Panhellenic chose to show a 45-minute documentary at the Alpha Phi lodge on Greek Circle, explaining the Circle of Sisterhood, and what exactly it does.
She also said that the viewing was open not just to members of the Greek Community, but to the entire city of Lubbock as well.
Chandler Klaes, freshman business major and junior Panhellenic representative, said what stuck with her the most after watching the film was the fact that her two younger sisters are the same age as some of the girls in the video who are suffering.
Klaes also said that she hopes Panhellenic chooses to expand on the opportunities to contribute to the Circle of Sisterhood, including the possibility of allowing each sorority on the Texas Tech campus to determine its own fundraiser to help make the overall experience more relatable.
According to Beaton, the Panhellenic Council chose as its fundraising method this year the selling of “small little red dots for $1 each” at the documentary viewing, as well as at the Tech SUB for the remainder of the week.
Beaton said that each person who buys a dot, which represents the Circle of Sisterhood, gets the chance to decorate them, and at the end of the fundraising all of the dots will be displayed inside the SUB for all of Tech to see.
Beaton also said that as of Thursday they had raised close to $500 by selling dots, as well as $300 from a give-back night at Blue Sky, and they had also received a $500 donation from the Interfraternity Council at Tech.
Beaton said that the goal is for next year’s Panhellenic Executive Council to expand the fundraising opportunities even more, as well as raising awareness across the entire Tech campus.
by Kasie Davis
Contributed to The Hub by Jour 3312
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