People who are not part of a Greek organization and see the word Greek first assume that it's just like the movies. An organization full of upbeat rambunctious girls and shady irresponsible boys who get drunk all the time, skip all their classes, judge anyone who's not Greek, and have crazy sacrificial rituals. As a proud Greek member at Oakland University, I can tell you this stereotype is wrong and disrespectful.
So with that, this past week was our annual "Greek Week". Our Greek Council President, Naomi Sarelis, gives a great explanation of the event, "Greek Week at Oakland University is one week where teams that are comprised of a chapter from every council (IFC, NPC, NPHC, MGC) compete in activities. This is a week to show the community what Greek Life is and to strengthen Greek unity. The activities include team building, philanthropy, teamwork and more. The teams complete these activities on a daily basis for points that are calculated into their overall score to determine the Greek Week winner!"
This year's events included:
Day 1- Dog Toy Making: all toys went to the Oakland County Animal Shelter, however, there were 1,511 toys made so there is a possibility the shelter won't take them all, in that case, the toys will be distributed to other local shelters.
Day 2- Canned Structure Building: all canned and nonperishable foods were collected and each team built a structure with the items that related to their team's theme. All of the products are going to Gleaners in Pontiac.
Day 3- Grizz-a-thon: this was a dance marathon that benefited the local Children's Miracle Network Hospital. Greek life contributed to the marathon's total of $5,970.51 raised.
Day 4- Wallyball Tournament: this tournament is a fun way to be competitive as teams and build stronger bonds between our Greek community, who doesn't love a little competition?
Day 5- Dance Off: this is one of the "favorites" we have every year, where teams get together on their own weeks beforehand to create a dance that correlates to the team's assigned theme.
Day 6- Sorority Powderpuff: this is where the women on the teams are able to play powderpuff against the other women from a different team. The men are usually cheerleaders or watching from the sidelines.
Reflecting the week as a whole, here are some of our members favorite moments of Greek Week:
Sisters MaryJo Dunn and Lauren Jiles agree that dog toy making was their favorite! "Dog toy making was very fun!! Teaching the guys how to braid was literally hilarious!"
Brother Mike Griffin said, "My favorite event was definitely football. I really enjoyed my last year of it there. It was always a good crowd that came out for it and I never turn down free pizza."
"My favorite part of this year’s Greek Week is the inclusion and unity between NPHC and the other councils. This is the first year we’ve really been included in the planning and events of Greek Week", explained Sister Ashley Chillis.
"The dance-off by far is my favorite! I almost didn't participate this year, but I'm so glad I changed my mind because I would have been missing out on fun practices with sisters and the guys. To me, it's the best event of the week to grow closer to another chapter as well as your own. It's always great at the end of the week to perform a routine you have put HOURS of literal sweat and hard work into, but also had fun with along the way," sister Cheyenne Schmidt explains.
Overall, I think we all can agree with Becca Schapira on this, "My favorite part of Greek Week is getting to know new people and getting closer to sisters too!"
The image that the Greek community has tagged onto it really pushes away from the truth. This week doesn't really have much of anything to do with us, it has everything to do with the money we raise for local philanthropies and the donations we make and then give to shelters.
The funny thing is we do this kind of stuff all the time, yet we are given the stereotype of crazy partiers instead... hmm strange.
I challenge you to ask questions if you don't know the answer, to engage in a conversation with a member of any Greek organization to gather true factual information, and to base your opinions off of the dialogue you've had- not the stereotypes you've seen and heard.
Don't get me wrong, we like to have fun, but don't you too?
