Although the Ninth Annual Pioneer Leadership Program Charity Ball held on May 7 raised approximately $1,350, the spirit of charity was lacking.

Committee members discovered the next day that the tent used during the ball had been cut and torn down, as well as two tables and all the chairs stolen, resulting in nearly $700 worth of damage.

According to Jacque Bauer, a sophomore Pioneer Learning Program (PLP) student and part of the planning committee, it was later found that members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house committed the vandalism. The tables and the chairs were eventually returned to PLP.

“The incident has been sent to Citizenship and Community Standards for adjudication,” said Carl Johnson, director of Campus Life.

Bauer said that aside from the damage to the tent, she was pleased with the success of the Charity Ball.

“We knew we weren’t going to be raising lots of money, but the money we would raise would make a big impact,” she said. “Our goal was to make this event not just a fundraiser, but for students to know about it and make it grow. People just know it as the PLP semi-formal, but we wanted to make it more campus-wide.”

Tickets to the event were $10 each. All of the $1,350 the Charity Ball raised is going to the Women’s Lighthouse Project, which is an organization that has been assisting women living with HIV/AIDS for the past 12 years. The money will be going to help with transportation to doctor appointments, to offer more babysitting resources and to maintain the office located on Tejon Street.

Bauer said the Charity Ball is a yearly event run by sophomore PLP members. Last year, the event was held in the Driscoll Ballroom. She also said that the Charity Ball is a volunteer project and is not always guaranteed to happen unless members want to do it. Bauer said the planning of the Charity Ball required a lot of funding, so the event was incorporated with DUPB’s Annual May Days. Bauer is also a member of the DUPB Traditions Committee.

Four other members of PLP assisted Bauer with the Charity Ball: Amy Green, Megan Tinsley, Sam Prince and Emily Gray. They each volunteer at the Women’s Lighthouse Project at least once a week.

For more information on the Women’s Lighthouse Project, please go to the DU PLP Web site at http://www.du.edu/ ~kealles/ social_awareness/wlp/