Slippery Rock University’s Interfraternity Council is hosting its annual Greek Week that started April 5 and ends April 10. Greek Week is a collection of different events hosted by Greek Life that aims to bring fun and also raise money for philanthropy.
This year, the theme of Greek Week was “Greekelodeon”, which is a reference to the famous television station Nickelodeon, a popular television channel for many current SRU students when they were growing up.
Greek Week offered different events for students throughout the week. Due to the pandemic, many of these events that would normally be hosted in person had to be modified to follow COVID restrictions, or have the event hosted virtually.
Josiah Sloan, who serves as the Vice President of Recruitment and the Vice President of Special Events for the Interfraternity Council of SRU, spoke of the challenges that arose from planning all the Greek Week events.
“We had to go through a list of events that have been a part of Greek Week in previous years,” said Sloan. “From there, we had to take out some events because of COVID. We also had to adjust some events in accordance to the student protocol that SRU put in place.”
Despite the difficulties that are present while organizing events during the pandemic, events for Greek Week were still able to be planned.
Additionally, events were organized with the help of different on-campus organizations and clubs, such as the Esports Club, the Intramural Team, and the faculty of the ARC. Together all the different events were organized to prioritize safety while also maintaining principles of fun and enjoyment.
Some of the events that are featured during Greek Week are the Esports tournament, a cornhole tournament, pickleball, volleyball games and swimming through the ARC. These events gave students opportunities to interact virtually and in-person.
Even though Greek Week provides opportunities for fun, the main focus of the week is to give back to the community. Just like all of the fraternities and sororities that make up the Greek Life at SRU, Greek Week is dedicated to promote philanthropy and donating to the community.
Some of the events of Greek Week were created with those ideals in mind. For example, one event hosted is “Canstruction.” At this event, the different Greek chapters compete to create decorative towers made out of canned goods.
The winner will be decided by which chapter creates the biggest tower while also making it decorative. At the end, all the cans will then be donated to FeedMySheep, which is a food collection cupboard in Slippery Rock.
In addition to giving back to the community, Greek Week also provides the perfect opportunities for students to better themselves as well.
“Participating in Greek Week and in philanthropy helps build character and develop leadership skills,” said Sloan. “It allows us to connect to oneself and molds ourselves to prepare for the real world. It can be a challenge, but it is also very fun.”
Greek Week is also an opportunity for students to build connections with members of other chapters of Greek Life, students, alumni, and different members of the community.
“This allows the campus to thrive while still giving back to the community,” said Sloan. “Greek Life is all about building connections and giving back to the community.”
Anyone who is interested in giving back to the community or philanthropy is encouraged to check out Greek Life at SRU.
