Last Friday marked the beginning of a series of events to celebrate Hopkins Greek Weekend. A host of different events ranging from a pancake brunch to a sorority sing-off to a synchronized swimming competition between the fraternities were designed to spark unity among existing members of the Greek community and rouse excitement in the new members.
“It unifies the Greek body together in friendly competitions, in a fun and social setting — breaking social barriers,” sophomore Alex Duncan wrote in an e-mail to The News-Letter. He planned the kick-off event, Thursday Night Trivia at Nolan’s Pub Night. “Maintaining a good relationship with the student body through simple, and easy events is beneficial for Greek Life, and members of the community outside of Greek Life who participate in these events are able to enjoy themselves.”
Thursday Night Trivia began at nine with plates of pizza,
nachos and practice rounds of trivia. “We came up with the idea as an easy way to incorporate the beginning of Greek Weekend, with an already established fun activity,” Duncan wrote. “The planning wasn’t too strenuous, and the only issues were negotiating the space with another student group (PEEPs) and buying food.”
When the number of people started to escalate (the event was planned for about two hundred people), the real trivia rounds began as more pizza and nachos were periodically brought out until closing at 11.
The next two events, the Sorority Sing-off and Synchronized Swimming took place on Saturday night in the Rec Center. Each of the four sororities performed mash-ups of songs with appropriately inserted references to their own chapters.
Kappa Kappa Gamma was the first performance, decked out in sunglasses and tank tops and t-shirts reading “KKG.” They performed a mash up of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and Gene Kelley’s “Singin’ in the Rain.” During “Umbrella,” the girls sang, “you can stand under my fleur-de-lis.”
Clad in glitter tank tops, black bottoms and platform heels, Alpha Phi performed next in a nicely choreographed version of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” Sophomore Alpha Phi member Devika Bhise co-choreographed the dance with Michelle Gulino (with help from sophomore Sam Olaffson).
“It was stressful because we only had five days.” Bhise said. “We had five-hour blocks of time where we were available to teach girls the routine. The girls were there for a half-hour a day.
“[Greek Weekend is] a fun idea and most other schools do similar things.” Phi Mu and Pi Beta Phi performed next, respectively. Phi Mu sang Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” while Pi Beta Phi covered “California Girls.”
The next event began at eight on Saturday night, directly after the Sorority Sing Off. Synchronized Swimming took place in the pool at the Rec Center and cost three dollars for admission, or two canned foods. This marked the third synchronized swimming event here at Hopkins. “This took a fair amount of planning logistically, to make sure it was a success,” junior Mark Brennan, the coordinator of the event, wrote in another e-mail to The News-Letter. “We publicized primarily through Facebook, and had more than 475 people show up. The turnout was absolutely phenomenal.”
Phi Kappa Psi placed first in the event, and Alpha Delta Phi (WaWa) came in second.
The audience filled out very quickly, and by 8:10 people were sitting in the aisles because there weren’t any seats left. Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) began, wearing Speedos and sweaters wrapped around their shoulders. “It was really fun,” freshman Adam Roberts, an Alpha Epsilon Pi pledge, said. “It showed how unique our group is and how spontaneous we are.”
Next came Sigma Apha Epsilon (SAE), decked in a variety of outfits. Most of the participants wore brightly colored and patterned Speedos, though there was one swimmer in a one-shoulder dress, another in girl’s yoga pants and another wearing a gorilla mask. They did their routine to The Spice Girls’ “Wannabe.”
“The whole event was entertaining,” freshman Neal Marshall said.
Phi Kappa Psi, who won the event, performed an acrobatic routine performed to Katy Perry’s “Firework” and punctuated with backflips. “They were all hilarious,” freshman Jenna McLaughlin said. “But Phi Psi was clearly the best.”
Sigma Phi Epsilon (SigEp) and WaWa also performed. WaWa placed second with a routine performed to mash-ups of various songs, including “I Will Survive,” “Wannabe,” and “Crank That (Soulja Boy).” The event was a huge success. “We raised just over $1,400 dollars and a plethora of canned goods for the winning fraternity’s charity of choice,” Brennan said. The culminating Greek Weekend event, the “Eat Your Heart Out” pancake brunch, was hosted by Alpha Phi last Sunday. It raised money for cardiac care, which is Alpha Phi’s philanthropy. This was the first year that the event occurred. About 250-300 people came to the event, and all of the leftover pancakes were donated to the Sacred Heart Shelter.
“I would say that [the event] was very successful,” junior Alpha Phi member Courtney Boger wrote in an e-mail to The News-Letter. “Greek Week is important because not only does it allow you to show pride for your respective chapter, but for the Greek community as a whole. The spring Greek Weekend allowed for all the new members to get even more excited.”
