The Northwestern Panhellenic Association put its values of female health and wellness into practice Friday by starting the first Women’s Empowerment Week.
Women’s Empowerment Week, which lasts through Saturday, will involve Greek-only events as well as film screenings, discussions and philanthropies open to the entire campus.
“We want to build community,” PHA president Monika Buska said. “We want to provide opportunities for personal development.”
The Weinberg junior said PHA wanted to co-host many separate events with different organizations on campus but decided to bring the events together in the same week to “give them significance.”
“We’re always concerned with over-programming our members,” said Danielle Nash, PHA vice president of public relations. “So we decided to take all of these events we had going on and sort of create this umbrella for them all. They all really fit into this idea that we are promoting the values of empowering women and supporting the health and well-being of women on campus and throughout the world.”
On Saturday, PHA partnered with food magazine Spoon for a demonstration on healthy eating Saturday. On Monday, it will partner with the Women’s Center for a screening of “Miss Representation,” a film about media portrayals of women and NU Gives Back for the campus-wide community service event Saturday.
The week is also aimed at improving community relations among different sororities within PHA. On Saturday new members from each house jointly hosted a Women’s Empowerment Week Kickoff on the sorority quad to raise money for IMPACT Chicago, an organization that teaches women self-defense.
Weinberg freshman Lauren Wang, a member of New Member PHA and Kappa Delta Sorority, said the event featured food, outdoor activities and a speaker from IMPACT Chicago.
“A lot of times sororities do things on their own, but this event has all of our involvement,” she said. “I think it’s important that (PHA) have a presence on campus and show people that we are dedicated to philanthropy and want to work together to make Northwestern a better community.”
Both Nash, a Communication junior, and Buska emphasized that the week will be low-commitment for all PHA members.
“Anyone who wants to take advantage of these resources, we’re excited to see them come enjoy what we have to offer,” Buska said.
Nash said she hopes to see the event grow and continue in the future.
“We’ll see how it goes this year, see if it really sparks conversation and dialogue about the different topics,” she said. “But I would love for this to be something that happens every year. I think it’s a good way to bring attention to different issues affecting women.”
