Greek Week is the one week out of the semester when Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities host various events, trying to be the best represented fraternity or sorority on campus.
The president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. gives his impression on the upcoming events: "I think it will be successful," he continues, "it will bring a personal view to the organizations."
The Pan Hellenic Council started their infamous Greek Week last Sunday with a Unity Church Service at Mt. Harmony Church in Ruston at 10:30 a.m. to show fellowship amongst the members and display a more spiritual side to Greek life.
With the sound of the gun, the of women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., who hosted a Street Ball Basketball Tournament in the men’s gym, Monday, blasted off of the blocks.
Those who were in attendance said they were entertained from the first tipoff to the last whistle.
A visiting student from Howard University, Kecia Patton, considered the event an eye-opener. "This is the first time that I have seen fraternities and sororities together," she said. "When you forget that the other person is not wearing the same letters as you and play a friendly game of basketball, you are exemplifying what Greek Week is all about."
Others have seen this event in a different light. During the match between the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha and the Delta Sigma Theta, a verbal disagreement broke out, causing each of the sororities to be disqualified. Spectator Joseph Buchanan Vega, GSU student, said, "Greek Week is supposed to be about unity and love for all mankind and when something like this happens, it places a bad light on the individual and their organization…they should have more self control and presence of mind to be able to limit themselves, even when put in a situation where fighting seems like the only plausible course of action."
Despite the incident in the middle of the court, the event went as scheduled. Victorious were the men of Kappa Alpha Psi who won a nail biter over the men of Alpha Phi Alpha, claiming the championship title. Due to the disqualification of both sororities, a sorority winner was not awarded.
On Tuesday the baton was passed to the men of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated who contributed their efforts to Greek Week by creating the "Dating Game." The game is simple. On one side you have 3 bachelors answering questions from a girl on the other side of the partition (each not being able to see the other).
The girl is given a certain amount of time to ask as many questions as she can to the three bachelors. After all of the questions are asked, she makes her choice, and she meets the guys she did not choose. Then the host tells them where they are going for their dream date. During the game, they even reversed the roles where a guy selected one lady from three bachelorettes.
For this special event, the man or woman and their lucky date would experience dinner for two at the newly built Chili’s in Ruston.
A variety of questions were asked from, "if you were on a desert island what three things would you bring," all the way to, "how would you describe LOVE?"
The purpose of this event was to promote an avenue for students to relax and laugh; it also encouraged unity between the Greeks and Non-Greeks.
As the men of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. pass the baton to the third leg there are two laps down and two more to go. The men of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. and the women of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. grabbed the baton with skilled precision as they sponsored a community service project. They were raising funds for Shanita Shine, a senior accounting major from DeRidder who had been hospitalized in Intensive Care Unit of Earl K. Long Hospital in Baton Rouge since Dec. 7.
Shine is currently in a coma and has been in this condition for quite sometime. Local restaurants including Shoney’s and Ryan’s in Ruston are participating in the fund raising by allowing the brothers of Phi Beta Sigma and the sisters of Zeta Phi Beta to stand outside.
All funds raised will be contributed to the recovery of Shanita Shine.
With one lap to go and a huge lead, the women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. will finish the week and the race off strong with a Battle of the Greeks today. This will give everybody an opportunity to recover from the past week’s events and enjoy the company of each other in a friendly competition.
The event will be held from 4-6 p.m. on the open field across from the Intramural Center. All students are welcome.
It is refreshing to see members of different organizations getting together to accomplish a single goal, to unite the Greeks amongst each other and simultaneously incorporating the student body. This is a race that the members of the Pan Hellenic Council deserved to win.
With Greek Week coming to a close, once again the council and all of the participating members of the fraternities and sororities, have shown that there might be a division between Greek and non-Greek but there is not a division among students.