Announcement

UTSA Panhellenic Council wins Social and Cultural Awareness Programming Award

February 14, 2022
UTSA Panhellenic Council wins Social and Cultural Awareness Programming Award

Each February, hundreds of fraternity and sorority leaders throughout the southeastern United States converge on Atlanta, Georgia to attend the Southeastern Greek Leadership Association (SGLA) Annual Conference. Representatives from the UTSA Panhellenic Council (PHC) attended this educational conference for the first time this past weekend, February 10-12. 

The conference ends with their annual awards banquet and Fraternity|Sorority Life is excited to announce that the UTSA PHC came home with an award for their 2021 Social and Cultural Awareness Programming! This category recognizes councils that exhibit the most successful social concern efforts during the previous year. Recipients of this award incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion in their programs and are selected based on the overall impact on their community, implementation technique, and council participation. Here are some highlights from the award submission.


This past year the UTSA Panhellenic Council created a commitment to weave diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the various aspects of the council. In the Fall of 2020, a member of our community partnered with the Fraternity|Sorority Life Office and her research fellowship to curate a climate survey focused on inclusion and diversity throughout the whole Fraternity|Sorority Life community. They took the Panhellenic data from the survey and worked diligently to address the concerns and feedback from their council membership. 

Formal Panhellenic Recruitment: 
  • Panhellenic womxn discussed the financial inequity of Formal Recruitment and were able to cut recruitment costs to allow more women to go through the process.
  • Panhellenic Council shared survey results with chapters and hosted intentional roundtables on inclusive language, social media, and challenged chapters to take a reflective approach to attire during recruitment.
  • During the required New Recruiter Informational, in partnership with the Multicultural Student Center for Equity and Justice (MSCEJ), Panhellenic added a new component titled “Cycles of Socialization”. They discussed internal biases, with the focus on how that could affect chapter recruitment. 
Cultural Months
  • To celebrate Black History Month, Panhellenic teamed up with the Black History Month Planning Committee and Roadrunner Productions to facilitate Painting with a Purpose. The painting chosen for the event was a symbolic image from the Civil Rights Movement. During the program, they discussed the impact of the symbol and encouraged members to attend other Black History Month Programs.
  • To celebrate LatinX Heritage they focused on celebrating Latina artisans. The womxn worked with local artist, activist, and professor, Keli Rosa Cabunoc Romero. During this program, members made their own “Zine,” an artform utilized by LatinX people to spread information. While members created their “zine,” Professor Romero shared the story of Chicana civil rights activist Emma Tenayuca and her impact on labor rights. 
Bias Training
  • In response to their climate survey results, PHC worked with MSCEJ to facilitate an LGBTQIA+ Ally Training for chapter leaders/officer boards, to encourage more inclusive language and programming within the chapters. 

Womxn’s mental health was one of the social awareness efforts PHC focused on based on feedback. They looked at general world health data regarding mental health issues that specifically affect womxn and created three intentional programs during the year to discuss wellbeing. For all of these sessions, they specifically selected facilitators and presenters in order to create safe spaces and to promote womxn to womxn learning. 

  • During Women’s History Month PHC partnered with MSCEJ and speaker Jaclyn Beck to facilitate a self-care journaling session based on healing from burnout. This session focused on how to create a positive mindset through self-confidence, self-forgiveness, and practical self-care. They later utilized journaling as a method of healing and reflection during primary recruitment.  
  • They partnered with the PEACE Center, which provides support services and prevention education to those who have been impacted by sexual violence, to discuss healthy relationships in April. During this program, the facilitator discussed signs of unhealthy relationships and exit strategies for members in these relationships. There was a focal point on bystander intervention, and womxn were left with tactics to safely intervene/approach sisters who may be in harmful relationships. 
  • During the Fall semester, they partnered with our Campus Recreation & Wellness department on a session focused on holistic wellbeing including mental, physical, and nutritional habits. This program focused on realistic ways college womxn can maintain physical and nutritional wellness to feed into mental wellness.