Greek Week for fun, charity

Every year, Greek Week takes place on the IU campus to give greek students a chance to get together, have fun and bond. This year's activities begin today.\n"It is just a good time to celebrate being Greek," said Abby Massey, vice president of community relations for the Interfraternity Council.\nThere are many events planned for this week, many of which are philanthropic events. During the week, students within the greek system take part in many activities to raise money for charity and to just have a good time. The public and non-greek students on campus are encouraged to attend the concert on Friday night, featuring Ario, Epic and Three Minute Mile. They are also welcome to take part in the blood drive today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.\nMany, if not all, of the events planned this year will be different from preceding years. This year, members of the IU Student Foundation's Steering Committee took control and planned Greek Week. They have been meeting weekly since February.\n"This is an impressive group of students who have built something from the ground up," said Casey Holsapple, vice president of campus relations for the Interfraternity Council and an IDS employee. "This year we want Greek Week to be bigger and better."\nLindsay Williams, philanthropy chair for Zeta Tau Alpha and part of the steering committee, said the committee was broken up into subcommittees, with each assigned a different task. \n"We are trying to make it more fun and exciting," Williams said. "But our main goal is to reach out."\nThe week is structured so greek chapters and their Homecoming pairs can earn points in a variety of ways. For example, pairs can earn points by having many of their members attend the blood drive or having one of their seniors crowned king or queen. Teams have also been formed for the intramural flag football games.\n"It's more active," Massey said. "We plan to get lots of people involved."\nA new philanthropy event added this year is the canned food drive. Each pair collects as much canned food as possible, then teams build a sculpture with the cans they have collected. The canned food is then donated to Hoosier Hills Food Bank.\n"This is something that positively reflects on us," Massey said.\nHolsapple said he agrees with that statement.\n"Too often, the greek community gets a bad wrap," Holsapple said. "This is to show everyone we don't like to be sectioned off and that we are in an integral part of campus."\nOn Wednesday night, a reception is scheduled for senior recognition night. An outstanding senior from each chapter has been nominated, and a man and woman will be chosen as the king and queen.\n"These are students who are involved with the campus, the community, and their own chapters and they are respected within the greek community," Holsapple said. "This is a great opportunity to honor them."\nHolsapple said it is one of the largest events of the first semester. Most activities have already prearranged greek teams, but the entire community and student body are encouraged to attend the blood drive on Monday and the concert on Friday.\n"This whole week is to convey everything that being greek is," Williams said.