Greek Week kicked off last Thursday with a four-day long competition and philanthropic events, co-hosted by Hopkins's fraternities and sororities. The events gave each organization an opportunity to win points for a final prize and raised more than $18,000 for several charitable organizations.
The Panhellenic and Interfraternity Councils formed a specific Greek Council in order to organize this year's events, which marked a departure from the previous year's structure.
"We tried to get representatives from each organization involved," senior Alex Villa, the Interfraternity Council's' Programming Coordinator and New Member Educator of Sigma Phi Epsilon, said.
Participants were encouraged to buy a Greek Pass from any Panhellenic woman in order to attend the four main sorority-hosted events. By attending all the main events, participants could receive a "Go Greek" sweatband at Powderpuff football, the week's final event. The proceeds from the Greek pass were divided between the sororities evenly to support their individual philanthropies.
"The big problem we had in the past Greek Weekends was that a lot of the different organizations operated on their own. It was a very individual effort," Villa said. "So the driving force behind the Greek Pass was that we wanted to bring all of the different organizations to work together. . . Less of an individual effort, more of a team effort is what we are getting at there."
The pass cost $10 and upon entrance into any event, was hole-punched as proof of attendance. If one purchased a $5 ticket at the door, the proceeds went directly to the group hosting the events.
"I think [the Greek Passes] helped to increase attendance at all the events because individuals had already ‘invested' in all four events, so they might as well go," Robert Turning, Director of Greek Life, wrote in an e-mail to The News-Letter.
Penny Wars, hosted by the multicultural sorority Delta Xi Phi, kicked off the events on Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Breezeway. Each organization decorated jars to collect loose change for the Story Pals program at Barclay Elementary School.
Coins counted for points, while bills counted against the group, so teams fundraised strategically. Many groups dumped bags of change into their jars in the last five minutes. Points were awarded for attendance and to the sorority with the best decorated jar. Student Community Liason Carrie Bennett (better known to some as The Shush Lady) awarded the best decoration to Alpha Phi while Kappa Kappa Gamma raised the most money. The final total was $4150.89, which was $2000 more than last year.
On Thursday night, the male beauty pageant Mr. Phi Mu was held in the Charles Commons ballroom to raise money for Team Katie Oppo in support of Ovarian Cancer research. Oppo, a member of Phi Mu, passed away last spring after battling cancer.
"Last spring, we lost a very special sister to cancer, right as the first Mr. Phi Mu was being planned, and we made the pledge that every year the event will be in honor of her," senior Panhellenic President Danielle Nemzer of Phi Mu, wrote in an e-mail to The News-Letter.
Mr. Phi Mu was comprised of male representatives from student groups including sports teams and fraternities. Luke Sand, senior class president, hosted the event, introducing the several components of the competition: swimsuit, talent and Q and A. Sophomore Irvin Seo, Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) member, won the event and points for his fraternity.
"I love Mr. Phi Mu because I always get the seat right next to the Shush Lady, Ms. Carrie Bennett. Her commentary is to die for." Nemzer wrote. "For example, when Dylan Meola of WaWa was strutting around in a speedo, she muttered, ‘not the first time I've seen this..."
The event raised $3335.50, which will be donated to the Children's Miracle Network.
"We're excited that [Mr. Phi Mu] has been so successful in [Oppo's] name," Nemzer wrote.
Alpha Phi hosted their annual Casino Night in Charles Commons on Friday night, proceeds going to their national philanthropy, the Cardiac Care Foundation. All Alpha Phi sisters were dressed in their colors of red and black, while other attendees arrived in outfits equally suitable for a night of gambling. Fraternities competed at the high roller table where Alpha Delta Pi (WaWa) left with the most points.
Saturday featured two events, the Cook-Off presented by Kappa Kappa Gamma and Beta Theta Pi, and Sigma Chi's Trivia Night. Here, the sororities competed for Best Dessert and Side dish (Alpha Phi) while the fraternities had a grill-off for Best Burger (PIKE). A group of guest judges decided the winners.
Judges included Gladys Burrell, from the Fresh Food Café in the Dessert category and Writing Seminars professor Greg Williamson deliberating for the Best Burger category.
Pi Beta Phi and PIKE won the subsequent trivia competition, hosted by PJ's Stephen Walsh. Each team who competed was comprised of only six members and was challenged with questions from pop culture to sports to science.
The weekend's events concluded with the fifth annual Powderpuff Football Competition hosted by Pi Beta Phi, the defending champions, and PIKE. The non-football portion of the event featured raffles and an appearance by the Baltimore Charm, a lingerie football team.
The games were held on the Homewood field, a change from last year when the event was held at the practice fields. Fraternity coaches were decked out in suits while sorority players donned pinnies with their colors.
"My favorite part of Greek Weekend is always Powderpuff," Turning wrote. "It really showcases the passion that the sororities have for competing and improving their athletic skills. There are really some fantastic athletes on those Powderpuff teams! Teams had been practicing since school began for this one-day tournament in October. The coaches the teams recruit to help them also get into it. Most of [the coaches] this year were in suits and one even had earphones like a real coach (not sure if they were for show or if he was really talking to someone on the other end)."
The match kicked off at noon with a game between Kappa Kappa Gamma and Delta Xi Phi, which Kappa won 32-0. Kappa then competed against Pi Phi with a final score of 24-8, Pi Phi.
Simultaneously, Alpha Phi and Phi Mu competed and Phi Mu was sent to the finals with a score of 25-0. In the final game between Phi Mu and Pi Phi, Pi Phi won for their second year with a score of 26-0.
"It was so amazing to win Powderpuff since we were hosting it and it's our second year in a row," sophomore Clea Baumhofer of Pi Phi said. "The last weeks before Powderpuff we had practices before 9 a.m. class, I am so impressed by my sisters' dedication and hard work and I'm so glad it paid off on the field!"
Greek Week winners were announced following the game, though at that point few organizations were in attendance since the majority of the games had been completed. PIKE won first place for the fraternities, followed by Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi.
The winning fraternity won $1,500 and roughly $700 for its choice charity. Pi Phi took first place for the sororities, followed by Kappa and Alpha Phi. The first place winners will receive a free formal at the end of this semester.
"The big thing I would like to draw attention towards is when a lot of the Greek organizations are competing against one another, they are not necessarily working together," Villa said. "This year, we made a much more substantial effort to work together and it obviously came through in the fact that we raise so much more money. I think on top of that, we also had more fun. I think more people were excited to be out, more people were at all the events. The fact that we could give more money to charity only adds to that."
