On Monday night, the Penn State Panhellenic Council, comprised of its presidents and delegates, elected Rachel Franceschino as its new 2013 Panhellenic Council President and Alexa Melucci as the Executive Vice President.
The elections were held in Arbor Hall at Days Inn and candidates for President, Executive Vice President, and Vice President of Standards arrived around 6 p.m. to give their speeches as well as receive feedback from the Panhellenic Council.
Vice President for Member Development Olivia Wilson said that each candidate had a 45-minute question and answer session with the council, and then the council has the opportunity to vote yes or no for the person running for the position.
“Nominations are done by delegates of each chapter and there are certain requirements for each position,” Wilson (senior-communication sciences and disorders) said. “Once nominated, candidates are presented in the delegate meeting where they can campaign, and then we vote as a Panhellenic community.”
In addition to certain requirements for each position, Wilson said that all Panhellenic members on the board have to hold a 2.7 grade point average, and that experience as a chapter president is essential.
Franceschino (junior-political science and labor and employment relations) served as the president of Alpha Delta Pi, and starting January, will now serve as the President of the Panhellenic Council.
Franceschino, also serving as the Panhellenic Chair for the University Park Undergraduate Association as well as the Government Affairs Chair, said that she felt that she was qualified for the job for her strong performance as a chapter president, and that she was beyond excited for the responsibly.
As for her term, Franceschino said that she wants to place an emphasis on all sororities getting and growing together, as well as getting more involved in more joint projects outside of the community.
“For one thing, I want to have a communication master calendar within all chapters, so everyone can stay together and organized,” Franceschino said. “I also want to raise awareness for mental health issues and train others to begin to recognize the signs. It’s hard to talk to with people, so maybe training will make things easier.”
Wilson said that the believed that Franceschino was the right choice for the job because of her prior experience and her tendency to be organized.
“She came here prepared and with a lot of innovated ideas,” Wilson said. “She ran unopposed but we could have said no if we wanted to, but she has such great prior leadership experience with the borough and outside community and will do a great job.”
Current Panhellenic President Julianne Robbins said that she is absolutely confident and proud that Franceschino will be taking over after her in January with a broad perspective of the Panhellenic Council.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling for me, these years have been the best of my life,” Robbins (senior-biology) said. “However, I am so excited for her to experience what I have experienced and allow the Panhellenic Council to grow. She deserves this.”
