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IFC, Panhellenic councils elect new board members for 2015

University of Idaho junior Becca Papineau said she decided to run for Panhellenic president because she wanted to be a friend and leader in the Greek community.

“I want to be that girl who someone can look up to and come to and not be afraid to talk to,” she said.

On Sunday, UI’s Greek community elected Papineau as Panhellenic Council president and Troy Lavigne Interfraternity Council president for 2015.

Other new board members for Panhellenic Council include Vice President of Internal Affairs Nicola Costello, Vice President of Programming Ana Campos, Vice President of Public Relations Cassandra Michaud, Assistant Vice President of Recruitment Chantell Lowe, Vice President of Membership Development Rachael Miller, Vice President of Finance Julie Tollifson and Secretary Elizabeth Bailey Thomas.

New Interfraternity Council members consist of Vice President Chris Hudson, Assistant Director of Recruitment James Conway, Director of Public Relations Issac Shaw, Director of Membership Development Darion Marlin and Secretary Ian Thie. The positions for director of finance and director of philanthropy have not been nominated yet, Lavigne said.

Papineau, a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, said those who wanted to run for an office needed at least one year in the Greek system under their belt.

“You have to know the system, you have to know recruitment, you have to know a lot about just being in a house,” Papineau said. “And so we recommend that (candidates) are a sophomore or up and then they can run, they can run for any position.”

She said as president she would like to see a more personable and strong relationship between the general Greek community and its leadership. She wants IFC and Panhellenic to host bi-weekly open forums, where students, both Greek and non-Greek, can voice their concerns to the council.

“We want to know what (students) are thinking, and I think this is a very good chance to know,” she said. “We can’t guess so I want to take that away and I want to know … I want to be that leader who people can come up to and state their concerns … we want to make the Greek life here at the University of Idaho the best it can be.”

Lavigne, a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, agrees with the objective of easing the communication process between Greek members and IFC. He said one of his goals is to encourage people to become more aware of the resources IFC and Greek life have to offer.

“A lot of our core values are academics and our philanthropy,” he said. “We have a 3.0 GPA as a system so I think it would be good if we kept it above that number. A lot of societies are academically based so it’s great to see that we take such care in our academics and strive to succeed in our classrooms.”

Lavigne said he is happy to extend the lessons he has learned from his UI experience to younger members of the student body.

“Enjoy your time here,” he said, directed toward new Greek students. “Enjoying your time as a Greek student and making the most of it by getting involved and even becoming involved with IFC or Panhellenic, and doing those types of things puts your name out there. And working hard in general and giving back to the community.”

Papineau said she believes the Greek system is a good community and encourages those interested in Greek to make the leap and give it a chance.

“Experience it for yourself and listen to kids who are in the Greek system because it really does change their minds and it really does make a difference for some kid,” she said. “They have a lot of opportunities during and after college because of the Greek life and it’s just an amazing opportunity. Keep an open mind about the whole system because there are a lot of positives about the whole thing.”

Emily Mosset can be reached at [email protected]

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