A week-long series of events within the university’s Greek community came to an end Saturday evening at the closing ceremonies of Greek Week 2007.
The events began with opening ceremonies on Feb. 24 and culminated with Olympic Day taking place on Saturday. Other events included the Greek God and Goddess competition, coin wars, a blood drive and the Jail and Bail fundraising event.
During closing ceremonies, the Greek Week executive board announced the winners of Greek Week 2007 from the second floor balcony of the Panhellenic building. The final overall champions were Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and Delta Phi Epsilon sorority.
Although competitive in many aspects, Greek Week is an annual philanthropic event, with the week’s proceeds donated to the United Cerebral Palsy charity organization.
“Greek Week serves a dual purpose,” Joe Fasullo, Greek Week co-chair, said. “Not only does it raise money for philanthropy but it also brings the community together.”
Adam McLemore, Interfraternity Council vice president and a member of Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, said that Greek Week is a popular time of year among Greek organizations.
“The competition strengthens each organization within itself,” he said. “Everyone gets closer because of the long hours put into it.”
Seven sororities and 11 fraternities participated in this year’s events. Winners are judged on a point-based system: each event is assigned a certain number of points, with participation points also awarded. Fraternities and sororities are judged separately at each of the events.
“Opening ceremonies is definitely my favorite part,” said Kelly Bree, a junior and president of Delta Phi Epsilon sorority. “It has been a very exciting week; it was a lot of fun just being at all the events.”
One of the larger events was O-Cheer, took place on Friday night. Seventeen organizations participated, with song selections ranging from the “Rocky” theme to Britney Spears’ “Crazy” and the ’90s hit “Baby Got Back.”
Greta Wilhelm, O-Cheer co-chair, said that the event was moved from Tuesday to Friday because of a threat of rain.
“I think it’s great that everything is for charity,” said Nayfe Carreno, a sophomore and member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. “It shows a different side of the typical Greek organization stereotype.”
The final event, Olympic Day, included a variety of competitive sporting events played on the intramural fields. Sorority and fraternity members alike participated in relay races, arm wrestling, tug-o-war and dodgeball.
This year, Greek Week broke records for pints of blood donated and the total amount of money raised. At the time of publication, the exact numbers had not yet been released.
“Everyone put a lot on the line for this week,” Fasullo said. “It’s definitely a step up from last year. I’m impressed with the amount of money we were able to raise and that all the Greek organizations came together to support a good cause.”
Megan Ondrizek may be contacted at m.ondrizek@umiami.edu.