Greek Charity at Columbia

The keg is full of cocoa, the girls are wearing sneakers and people are carrying water bottles instead of Dixie cups. Columbia's version of a frat party? Sort of.

On March 31 campus fraternities and sororities will put their nightlife talents to work as they join other organizations and students to participate in Relay for Life, a 24-hour event in Low Plaza held every year to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

This is just one of the many charity events being sponsored by fraternities and sororities this semester both on campus and locally.

According to Margy McCullough CC '08, a sorority member and President of the Inter-Greek Council, seven Greek chapters have already signed up for Relay for Life and every organization is expected to participate.

Alpha Chi Omega, a campus sorority, has been ranked the fourth top contributor amongst all participating teams, having raised almost $600.00 so far with a total goal of $5000.00. Seven members are participating, but the team hopes to round up fifteen before the event.

Aside from participating in Relay for Life, the Columbia chapter of Alpha Chi Omega also works with Safe Horizons, a New York based shelter which serves as a resource for victims of domestic violence.

Another sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, opts to draw in money for charity by capitalizing on a more stereotypical image of Greek life-built men and bed sheets-in a yearly Mr. Fraternity pageant featuring fraternity brothers in togas and evening wear.

The pageant, which attracts mainly Greeks but is open for anyone to attend, raises around $1000.00 each year for a national charity called Court Appointed Special Advocates. Theta girls are divided into teams and each fraternity presents one brother to be their contestant in a four category pageant including Question/Answer, Swimsuit, Evening Wear and the Toga Competition. The amount of money the representative can raise is a key factor in his score in the competition.

Some chapters choose to share their kinship and kindness with the local community.

Delta Gamma, a campus sorority, hosts "Days of Beauty" consisting of visits to Amsterdam House, a local retirement home where the sisters chat with, play music for, and paint the nails of anyone who wants company. Group Alpha Epsilon Pi organized a Thanksgiving food drive, putting boxes in each of the fraternity and sorority houses to collect food and clothing.

Many fraternity philanthropy chairs, most of whom are first-years, seemed a little less organized on the alms as opposed to their Greek sisters.

Fraternity Psi Upsilon plans to participate in Relay for Life and might also host an open mic night this semester, proceeds from which would be donated to a yet-to-be-determined charity.

"We've been kind of less active in the past and I'm trying to change that right now," Bobby Brennan CC '10, Philanthropy Chair of Psi Upsilon said. "We are also planning to work with Habitat for Humanity for a day."

Psi Upsilon does not require members to participate in charity work, but the bylaws require one member to actively organize charity ventures, and involvement is highly encouraged.

Sigma Nu fraternity, dominated mostly by swimmers and more recently by a number of crew team athletes, hopes to put their upper body strength to work by participating in a clean-up of Morningside Park with Alpha Chi Omega. The fraternity has been considering making it a requirement for all brothers to participate in at least one or two activities a year, according to Nick Barron CC'10, Philanthropy Chair for Sigma Nu.

"We can see the results of our work when we participate locally. It's an intrinsic reward as well as a great bonding event," Barron said.

Although not every Greek chapter requires charity work, every fraternity and sorority has a national philanthropy they support with personal donations and fund raising events each year, according Alexandra Murata Barnard/SEAS '10, a campus sorority member and Special Events Chair Coordinator of Inter-Greek Council.

"Some of the groups get together for collaborative projects. They all have a good purpose behind them and everyone does their job being a sister or brother by providing support for each other and helping out the national community projects they have decided on," Murata said. "Most people go beyond the requirements. Everything we do is really special and a lot of fun."

Despite the current charity involvements amongst Greek chapters, the Inter-Greek Council hopes to make charity work a more organized part of the Greek community, according to McCullough.

"With the new IGC Executive board this year there has been a movement to change the way we work with the larger Greek community," McCullough said. "We are working on forming a strategic planning committee which will make a list of requirements for every organization within the Greek community, including the expectation that each organization does a community service project at least once a semester or once a year."

http://media.www.columbiaspectator.com/media/storage/paper865/news/2007/03/02/News/Greeks.Go.Wild.For.Charity-2754448-page2.shtml