Greeks at Michigan took over the week of April 4 with fun and informative events during their annual Greek Week.
During Greek Week, sororities and fraternities within the Panhellenic Council and Interfraternity Council collaborate to put on events to raise money for local charities in the Greater Lansing area. This year, they raised nearly $100,000.
Each sorority partners with each fraternity to form a team and compete in a friendly competition to see which team raises the most money toward a specific cause.
The 14 teams raised a combined total of nearly $100,000 which will benefit over a dozen organizations including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the American Cancer Society, the Center for Survivors Capital Area Humane Society and others.
The team that raised the most money was Team 3, comprised of Delta Gamma, Sigma Tau Gamma and Phi Gamma Delta. They raised $30,351 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
“Greek Week is not just a week,” Director of Public Relations for Greek Week Gabrielle Rowland said. “It is a time for the Greek community to come together and fundraise money for the philanthropies that they pick. ... It is also a time for people to meet people in other chapters and not just their own.”
Greeks kicked off Greek Week with their annual Blood Drive at the Union on March 29. The event included several local business fundraisers.
Greek Games took place on April 1, where each team competed against each other in dodgeball, tug-a-war, and a potato sack race. At the end of the night Team 5, comprised of Kappa Kappa Gamma, Tau Kappa Epsilon and Pi Kappa Phi took home the trophy for first place.
The Panhellenic Council continued to give back to the community during Greek Day of Service April 3. Greeks participated in other community service opportunities like volunteering at animal shelters, writing to nursing homes, and participating in community cleanups in the Greater Lansing area.
“Spotlight” was the final event of Greek Week, where members from each team got to show off their musical skills and dance moves.
Each team had to create a dance from a city they were given. Every region in the United States was represented between the 14 teams.
The first round of the competition is for the more skilled performers which really focused on technique. There were a lot of kicks, turns, jumps and even some tumbling. The second round was for members who were not as skilled which gave more people an opportunity to participate.
“I think performance quality is obviously huge, staying together, (and) everybody knowing the choreography … is something that is huge for me too,” Associate Head Gymnastics Coach Nicole Jones, who was also a judge for “Spotlight,” said.
Team 14 comprised of Zeta Tau Alpha, Farmhouse and Psi Upsilon, which represented the Jersey Shore, won the judges over and were the winners of this year's “Spotlight.”
However, the overall Greek Week champions were Team 10 — Alpha Xi Delta, Triangle and Theta Chi — for their spirit and participation throughout the week.
“It’s really fun!” prenursing freshman Eva Otremba, of Kappa Kappa Gamma, said. “We get to make so many new friends and experience something so new for us at the university and we love it.”
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