Westminster College has an incredible tradition that I would hate to see disappear anytime soon: Penny Wars during Greek Week. As a tiny liberal arts college, we as a community take great pride in volunteering our time and efforts to not only working alongside charities but raising money for them as well. One week in particular, where charity is the forefront of many minds, is the infamous Greek Week.
We, as a greek community, contribute money to two separate competitions during this week: a service drive in which we donate items for homeless veterans in Lawrence County and penny wars which goes toward the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in honor of Claire Hartner and her family.
While each year the Westminster College Greek community raises thousands of dollars on behalf of Claire, very few actually know about cystic fibrosis or the Foundation that help people with this debilitating disorder. It is time that sad fact changes — we must remember Greek Week is based on service. Not on points. Not on trophies. Not on bragging rights. But on helping those in need.
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that affects the lungs, pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. It creates long-term problems, the most prominent being difficulty breathing due to an increase of mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. Many patients must cough up this mucus or use special machines to remove it. People with cystic fibrosis must clear airways, inhale medicines, and take pancreatic enzyme supplements every day in order to survive. There is no cure for cystic fibrosis and the average life expectancy for such a disorder is approximately between 42 and 50 years in developed countries. It affects one out of every 3,000 newborns and one in 25 people are carries of the disorder.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is a non-profit organization that attempts to cure and control cystic fibrosis. Their mission statement is, “The mission of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is to cure cystic fibrosis and to provide all people with the disease the opportunity to lead full, productive lives by funding research and drug development, promoting individualized treatment and ensuring access to high-quality, specialized care.” The group spreads awareness of the disorder, provides funds to advance research in the hopes of improving the overall quality of life of those affected, and engages in legislative lobbying for cystic fibrosis. It is due to the existence of this group that the life expectancy rate is so high for those infected.
Why am I bringing this up? Greek Week has passed and won’t be back until this time next year. It is pretty simple: I fear that we have lost sight of the goal of greek life. Yes, it’s great to make lifetime friendships with sorority sisters and fraternity brothers. But at the end of the day, we come together for a higher purpose: to help others that are less fortunate than us. Many on Westminster’s campus do not aim to raise as much as we possibly could for penny wars because it is not for “points” anymore (for those outside of the WC community, points are awarded to greek organizations throughout Greek Week to determine who is the overall winner). And the unfortunate thing is that points should not be the motivating factor. Yet, that is what it has become. Points have become the end all, be all for Greek Week. What about helping others—giving Claire what she needs to survive this upcoming year. Instead, we buy expensive makeup for Sing and Swing, we put all of our money into the service drive because that event can help win you a trophy, and we sleep by a rock into the wee hours of the night because of tradition. Those things are good, they are not innately bad — but they are not as important as helping those with cystic fibrosis. I hope that we as a community can remember how important charity is for its own sake going into the future. Not because we want to look mighty and great for raising money, but because it’s the right thing to do. Plain and simple.
