The freshman quad was a sea of blue, green and red t-shirts this past Saturday. The enthusiasm was high and the cheers even louder, as the Johns Hopkins sororities united in an epic battle of friendly warfare that was played out in the second annual PowderPuff game, a staple of the Hopkins annual Greek Week.
Hopkins fraternities and sororities united for the second annual Greek Week, working together during a day of service and competing in a Breezeway banner competition, penny wars, a Family Feud game of college trivia, a poker tournament and a basketball tournament.
The festivities, which ran Sept. 22 - 28 rather than Sept. 18-26 because of Hurricane Isabel, will culminate in a scavenger hunt and barbecue today, where the overall winner will be announced.
According to Panhellenic President Ning Chan, there are many purposes of Greek Week: "The point is for Greek unity and to get our name out."
The penny wars symbolized the commitment of the organizations to both social and service events. Each fraternity or sorority had a container on Q Level of the Milton S. Eisenhower Library and competed to collect the most pennies and win the entire amount to donate to their designated philanthropic organization.
Interfraternity Council (IFC) President Ahmad Khalil said that another purpose of the Greek events is to "try and make the Greek community more visible on campus, and to bolster Greek spirit. It's a chance to get to know the members in a more informal setting."
He said that he sees Greek Week as an opportunity for freshmen and other students to learn more about the different Greek organizations and hopefully become better able to decide which organization they might choose to rush.
"The fact that it's [Greek Week] established gives it more involvement," said senior Lindsay Allen, a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma (Kappa) sorority, echoing the general sentiments of the second annual game.
"It's a much bigger deal this year," said senior Julie Barro, a returning PowderPuff player and member of the Kappa Alpha Theta (Theta) sorority.
"They did a good job publicizing and a good job involving freshmen and that will help it to keep getting bigger and bigger," she said.
While looking at a huddle of red-shirted sophomores perfecting a team cheer, Rachel Killeen, Panhellenic Executive Treasurer, noted,"There's a lot of spirit this year, with the younger girls especially. The sophomores are all pumped up."
As the first game progressed, pitting the sophomores against the juniors, the atmosphere intensified.
On the sidelines, sophomore Kappa sister Farnaz Faiaz said she was promoting "sophomore pride."
Ending in a 6-6 tie, the seniors and the sophomores remained at odds. Nevertheless, sophomore Kappa member Melissa O'Berg was predicting a dynasty.
"We're going to win every year," she said.
