SEO:

Allegra Balmadiers family trip that no one expected

Camel ride to oasis with bloody twist
Familys frightful journey in Saharan Desert, led to unlikely series of
events
By Jordyn Levine
What two families thought would be a quiet camel ride to an oasis in
the Moroccan deserts turned into a wild experience none of them would
forget.

Allegra Balmadier, a junior communication major, lived in Morocco

for five years before moving to Cambodia. In the summer of 2005, the
Balmadier family started to feel homesick for
Morocco, said Richard Balmadier, her father.
The Balmadiers had met a British family,
the Websters, in Cambodia and wanted to show
them the wonders of Morocco. Unfortunately,
while visiting the Saharan deserts, the Balmadier

Allegra Balmadier (second from right)

with her brother and the Webster
boys sat in a tent at the oasis and some
how was able to find a cat in the
middle of the desert.
Photo from Richard Balmadier

and Webster families experienced an unexpected rogue camel incident.

Under the scalding heat, in a line of approximately nine camels, both

families and two nomad guides headed off into the Saharan desert on what
Balmadier called quasi-domesticated beasts.

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Levine | A#A: Camel Rewrite | P.2

Runaway camel

Shawn, the youngest child in the Webster family, rode with his father,

Brian. As an uphill dune approached, things start to go awry.

Shawns camel lost control, ripped the thick rope from its lower lip

attaching it to the other camels, and bolted taking both riders with it. Brian,
solely reacting on instincts, leaped off the camel, leaving Shawn to fend for
Allegra in a nutshell

Spirit animal: A cat

If her life could be one
movie it would be Mean
Girls because it was similar to
her life in that she moved
from Africa.

Favorite ice cream flavor?
Chocolate

Favorite Season: Fall

Celebrity Crush: Dylan
OBrien

himself. Mrs. Websters shrilling screams for her

child echoed for miles.
Luckily, the nomads leaped into action
and kept the camel from running out of sight into
the vast desert. It was really funny seeing the
nomads ride camels in the same way that
someone would ride a horse, Balmadier said. It
looked so natural.
After successfully jumping off the camel,
Shawn gradually headed back up the dune,

hysterically crying or laughing, still unclear to Balmadier.

The group continued to the oasis, the so-called De-lipper now riding
solo. The image that haunts her was that you could still see the deep red trail
of blood left in the sand the next day, Balmadier said. Next time, the camels
will think twice before forcibly tearing away from the group. Balmadier has
not been on a camel since, and tends to stick to calmer animals.
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SEO: Circle of Sisterhood founder Ginny Carroll urges sorority

women to get involved
Circle of Sisterhood inspires women at UMD
Ginny Carroll speaks about importance of girls education
By Jordyn Levine

The universitys Panhellenic Association dove right into the topic of

educational empowerment at their presentation October 14. Ginny Carroll,

Circle of Sisterhood (CoS) founder, talked about the
impact sorority women could achieve. Although nearly
230 sorority women attended, this was not even half of
Circle of
Sisterhoods logo
Picture courtesy of
CoS website

the communitys population, the impact could be so much

larger.

At the presentation, Carroll talked about her belief

in the value of the sorority experience and the power of the sorority
community to make the world a better place for girls and women.

Carroll decided to do something after reading Half the Sky, a book

arguing that the oppression of women worldwide is the moral challenge of

the present era. I sat around a table with 10 of my closest friends and asked
What are we going to do? Carroll said.
Community united

The key to Circle of Sisterhoods success Carroll claims is staying

involved with the Greek community. I can stand here and tell you that I feel

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Levine | A#2: Carroll Rewrite | P.2

successful as a human being, Carroll said. I love what I do every day and my
sorority experience launched me there.

But why sororities, what makes them the ideal candidate to solve this

problem? Most sororities were founded in the nineteenth century because of

obstacles to women achieving a college education according to Circle of
Sisterhoods website. Today more than a hundred years later, sorority
women can stand together again to help girls and women go
to school around the world.

I didnt really understand what [CoS] was before,

Chrissy Strangie, a junior government and politics and

My sorority
experience
launched me
there.
-Ginny Carroll

communication major, said. After watching Ginny speak it

made me really motivated to get involved and represent my chapter.

Similar to Strangie, other students across the country want to get

involved. According to Circle of Sisterhoods website, more than 160 campus

sorority communities officially collaborate with its philanthropic
organization.
Making a difference

For too many women around the world, getting an education remains

a privilege and not a right. According to CoSs website, 70 percent of out-ofschool youth in the world are girls.

Circle of Sisterhood changes young girls lives with the work they do.

Its studies show educated women earn 25 percent more income, positively
influence their community and are three times less likely to contract HIV.
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Levine | A#2: Carroll Rewrite | P.3

UMDs Panhellenic Association has been one of the first in the country

to get involved. Its involvement could start a chain reaction making the cause
even more relevant.
It was clear Carroll made an impact with the audience when she said,
I personally think that your generation is going to change everything for
women, in this country and around the world.
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SEO: Half the Sky Movement leading fights for women

Print: Education and empowerment can be the solution
By Jordyn Levine

Before Ginny Carroll, founder of Circle of Sisterhood, even had the

thought in her mind, Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for The New York
Times, and his wife Sheryl WuDunn, also a reporter, started a movement.

Kristof and WuDunn began Half the Sky Movement based on their

book of a similar name. The Half the Sky Movement seeks to put an end to the
oppression of women and girls worldwide through a trans-media project to
both raise awareness of
womens issues and also to
provide concrete steps to
fight these problems a nd
empower women.

The movement

includes a documentary
following Kristof and A-list

Half the Sky Movement has impacted the world

causing people to take a second look and start
organizations like Circle of Sisterhood.
Photo from Half the Sky website.

celebrity advocates to 10 different countries where they are introduced to

women and girls living under what some believe to be some of the most
difficult circumstances imaginableand fighting bravely to change them.

Exploring issues like sex trafficking, forced prostitution, maternal

mortality and gender-based violence the movement proposes how greater

education and economic empowerment can help.
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Levine | A#2: Carroll Rewrite | P.2

As Kristof says in his article Whats So Scary About Smart Girls?,

Ultimately, the greatest threat to extremism isnt drones firing missiles, but
girls reading books. This movement has created a beginning point for many
people to get involved and to start making a difference.
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Panhellenic Association to present Ginny Carroll on The Gift

of Sorority
By Jordyn Levine


University of Marylands Panhellenic Association works with the
Circle of Sisterhood Foundation to bring in Ginny Carroll, founder of Circle of
Sisterhood. Carroll will discuss Circle of Sisterhoods efforts and all of the
wonderful benefits of sorority life 7 p.m. Wednesday, October 15, in the
Colony Ballroom of Adele H. Stamp Student Union. Following the
presentation, students will have the opportunity to ask Carroll questions.
For more information contact Cara McNellis at,
cara.mcnellis@gmail.com.
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