HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (May 16, 2013) - Greeks may only make up 6-7% of the student population, but what they lack in numbers they more than make up for in spirit during each semester's Greek Week.
"Greek Week is meant to encourage collaboration among the sororities and fraternities on campus," said Jaime Superczynski, Director of Fraternity & Sorority Life. "It's them supporting each other and promoting Greek camaraderie, but there is also a lot of friendly competition."
Kicking off on April 8th and running through April 14th, Greek Week's days were split between events social, educational, and competitive. On day one, students played a Greek 101 Jeopardy-style quiz, while on day two, Rick Barnes gave an educational lecture on hazing.
Day three was dedicated to the popular lip-syncing competition known as Blue Tube (see videos here and here.) "Usually every fraternity and every sorority does an individual performance and then they do a partner performance with another chapter they don't normally interact with," said Superczynski.
As for day four, the afternoon should have started with Water Wars - an event Superczynski said was meant to be "pure fun" - and concluded with a Greek cookout. But a spate of inclement weather led to its cancellation for the safety of the students.
Nevertheless, by day five, the week was back on track with the eagerly anticipated Greek Olympics. Fraternities competed against fraternities and sororities against sororities in classic competitions like tug of war, shopping cart races, and dizzy bat.
"One fraternity member is also a representative for Red Bull, so they loaned us six tiny motorcycles and we had a relay on Greek Row," said Superczynski. "Of course, we also had a HEMSI truck on-site and the participants all signed liability forms!"
Day six, the last day of Greek Week, was celebrated by an Italian-buffet banquet attended by more than 250 students, staff, and faculty. "Trophies were handed out to the top chapters, as well as awards for accomplishments from the past year," said Superczynski.
In addition, seven students were inducted into the Order of Omega, a leadership honor society whose members are selected from among the top 3% of Greek students. These were Ashley Craig, Logan Ausdera, Cody Gothart, Sarah Harris, De'Onah Norfleet, Micheal Henry, and Nikki Shed.
"It was very successful," said Superczynski of the week. But, she continued, it wasn't all fun and games. The Greek philosophies of philanthropy and service were also evident - and emphasized - throughout.
"Each day we collected two boxes worth of donations, like toiletries or canned food or items for care packages for soldiers," she said. "These were then donated as a Greek community to various charities selected by the Greek Week Council."
Making Greek Week, which has become a campus tradition among both Greek and non-Greek students alike, the perfect culmination of competition and social consciousness. Just don't expect Superczynski to celebrate that by riding a tiny motorcycle anytime soon.