Interfraternity council will advocate for Panhellenic issues in Washington
Former Sorority Council President Chelsea Ostebo will serve on an all-Greek delegation to advocate issues of importance to sorority and fraternity college students in April.
Ostebo, a fourth-year marketing student, will be in Washington, D.C., from April 21 to 25 with the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) and the National Panhellenic Conference and will lobby Congress on its behalf.
On the agenda for the week is the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act, hazing legislation, preserving the tax deductions for charitable contributions and other issues related to college affordability.
“Very few Greeks are even aware of [the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act] and how it and the other issues I will be lobbying for directly affect them,” Ostebo said. “It is my hope that after this trip I will be able to return to USC and educate those on the work I have done as well as ways they can get involved.”
Ostebo was one of fewer than 100 chosen from a pool of 700 applicants. She will be the only student representing USC on the panel.
Over the next several months, Ostebo said she has a lot to prepare, including gathering information on the topics, getting endorsement letters from university officials and possibly passing a resolution through Student Government. She will also correspond with other members traveling to Capitol Hill in preparation.
“As someone who believes in the Greek experience wholeheartedly, I know it is my responsibility to advocate for our community whenever and wherever I can,” Ostebo said.
The application to be a member of the NIC delegation required experience in a fraternity or sorority, as well as political involvement on campus. In addition to serving as USC’s Sorority Council president, Ostebo served as vice president of Sorority Council’s programming board and was vice president of education for Gamma Phi Beta sorority.
“I am most excited to be a part of an experience that merges the NIC and [National Panhellenic Conference]. I work mostly to advocate for women’s issues on a day-to-day basis, so working with men’s groups will give me a new perspective,” Ostebo said.