Each year, participating fraternities and sororities compete in Greek Week – a 10-day fundraiser starting this week to help support charities like the American Diabetes Association, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Meals on Wheels Association of America.
This year’s theme, “Four Councils, One Dream,” modeled after the “One World, One Dream,” theme of this summer’s Beijing Olympic Games, refers to the decision by all four of the University’s Greek councils to participate in this year’s festivities. Those groups include the Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Association, National Pan-Hellenic Council and Multicultural Greek Council.
Sorority and fraternity members compete as teams in the Greek Olympics including kickball, relay races and a water balloon launch, State Street Day which will include a Wii bowling tournament, Corn Hole, Tug of War and Guitar Hero, and the Rock Day, which includes an egg toss, dodgeball and ping pong.
Each participant is asked to donate a minimum of $7, said Halie Bojovic, the co-director of Greek Week.
“This year we are hoping to raise over $80,000,” she said.
Bojovic, a senior in the School of Music, Theatre and Dance and a member of Delta Gamma, said she wanted to set this year’s events apart by involving more Greek houses.
“We have changed a lot of things in Greek Week this year to create more unity and spirit among the teams,” she said. “We wanted to encourage as many chapters to apply to increase the unity.”
Of the 47 chapters participating this year, nine are Multicultural Greek Council or National Pan-Hellenic Council groups, the most participation from those councils Greek Week has ever seen, Bojovic said.
LSA junior David Mickey, president of the Multicultural Greek Council, said scheduling conflicts made it difficult for members of his council to take part in past Greek Weeks.
“Members haven’t participated because the size of their chapters were not taken into account,” he said, pointing out that some MGC chapters have only a handful of members and are often “busy with other things on campus.”
Mickey said Bojovic and Greek Week co-director Ryan Glass, an LSA senior, were key to getting the four councils to collaborate.
He said Bojovic and Glass have been hosting dinners and parties for members of different councils, encouraging them to get to know each other.
“Ryan and Halie have done an incredible job in making the Greek Week experience more welcome and really more possible to do for our respective fraternities and sororities,” Mickey said.
LSA senior Randal Seriguchi, president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, said the promotion of diversity at the University and the desire of the Greek System to branch out to all of its members helped to unify the four councils this year.
“The effort to shift the priority to have a more united Greek community creates a stronger purpose to branch out with people who are willing to work,” he said.