UNIVERSITY PARK Pa. — The Greek Column Awards, presented by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life at Penn State, took place at Penn State on April 22 in Alumni Hall at the HUB-Robeson Center, recognizing those chapters and individuals who met or exceeded the expected standards in 2018.
The awards are part of the Chapter Recognition and Standards of Excellence Program, to ensure the efforts being made by Penn State fraternities and sororities to better their Greek community and those communities surrounding it, are recognized among peers within the community and beyond, said Evan Ditty, assistant director for training and development in the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life.
Ditty said he feels that this award ceremony is an opportunity for those in the Greek community to highlight the work they are doing. Each award has its own unique criteria. With just over a dozen awards presented, the office recognizes fraternities and sororities in areas like academics, civic engagement and community relations.
One of the awards, "Chapter of the Year," was given to Lambda Theta Alpha, who co-hosts the annual "Take Back the Night" event with the Gender Equity Center; and Delta Zeta, who is consistently working on female empowerment within the Panhellenic Council and within the community.
Another award, "Fraternity Member of the Year," was presented to Seun Babalola, a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha, who has started his own non-profit, The Men of Excellence Program, which aims to help young men of color to thrive in the United States education system.
A full list of this year’s awards and awardees can be found here.
“The opportunity to recognize those that go above and beyond, and those that are doing fraternity and sorority right, is a great opportunity for us to recognize the best of the best within our community,” Ditty said.
Ditty added that he has been impressed with the chapters at Penn State and their willingness to work with the University to help foster a safe and fun environment for students, and he hoped they never stop progressing. For the future of Greek life at Penn State, he said he would like to see the chapters get back to their historical roots of providing to the community, and establishing a community among students.
“Ultimately, what we want is a sustainable and healthy community here at Penn State with our fraternities and sororities,” he said.