Dozens of sorority members showed their appreciation for our country’s armed forces Friday evening at Panhellenic Pen-Pals hosted by the Junior Panhellenic Delegates.

This philanthropic and social event invited girls from the 2013 pledge classes of each of the eight Panhellenic sororities on campus to mingle with other chapters, munch on cookies and commemorate the 12th anniversary of Sept. 11 by writing letters to members of the United States Military who are currently overseas.

Junior Panhellenic Delegate Molly O’Connor, a Delta Gamma, shared the council’s motivation behind the event. “In honor of Sept. 11, we thought [Panhellenic Pen-Pals] would be a nice way to say thanks to our troops.”

Similarly, Delegate Carolyn Hudson, a Chi Omega, shared what the Junior Panhellenic Delegates aimed for while planning this event.

“We hope it will break down the stereotypes of different sororities, and that girls will make new friends and bond with girls in other houses,” Hudson said. “It’s important to recognize the sacrifice our armed forces have made for us.”

Held in the Hughes-Trigg Ballroom, the event brought in roughly 80 girls who munched on treats provided by Pokey-O’s and JD’s Chippery as they wrote letters to soldiers and spent time with girls from other chapters.

The Junior Panhellenic Delegates set up tables with red, white and blue decorations, provided patriotic-themed paper for letter writing and even played some country music.

In an attempt to get different chapters to intermix, the Junior Delegates gave each attendee a name tag with a particular number that corresponded to a particular table.

This gave the attendees a chance to branch out and spend time with girls from different chapters.

The Junior Delegates also made sure that every attendee signed a large poster thanking the troops on behalf of all of SMU Panhellenic.

Attendee Kat Thompson, a member of the 2013 pledge class of Alpha Chi Omega, shared her favorite part of the event. “I liked the fact that it’s really making a difference, and we are all personally sending our own thoughts to someone else.”

Thompson, whose father was in the Air Force, shared the kinds of things she wrote in her letter. “I tried to be as optimistic and supportive as possible. If I was there, I would want to know that people value what I’m doing.”

Leah Fletcher, supervisor of the Junior Panhellenic Delegates and executive vice-president of Panhellenic, hoped that Panhellenic Pen-Pals would “foster relationships between chapters, and specifically in the newest pledge classes.”

Fletcher, whose job is to plan sister-sorority and Greek-wide events, said her favorite part of the event was “seeing everybody interact and socialize from
different chapters.”

The purpose of the Junior Panhellenic Delegates is to promote unity among Panhellenic women and uphold the standards and values of SMU Panhellenic.

The Junior Panhellenic Council includes two representatives from each of the eight Panhellenic chapters offered at SMU: Alpha Chi Omega, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Pi Beta Phi.

According to O’Connor, members of the Junior Panhellenic Council meet every Tuesday and plan one event per semester that brings all the sororities together.

Members of the Junior Panhellenic Council as well as the executive vice-president of Panhellenic said that all 137 letters written at Panhellenic Pen-Pals will be sent to an organization that will handle payment for postage and then forward the letters on to the U.S. Military.