Annual event extends to community

Philanthropy is a major part of greek life, and Greek Week is an important aspect of the charity work and social life in which sororities and fraternities participate.\nGreek Week began Monday with a barbecue in the Tundra, the grassy area between Foster Quad and Kappa Delta. A Children's Carnival in Dunn Meadow was held Tuesday for local children's organizations. Four members of each greek chapter worked and participated in the games.\nSenior Cassie Neureiter, president of Gamma Phi Beta, said she is looking forward to the progressive dinner that will be held tonight. The event allows the chapters to rotate to different houses for appetizers and dinner. It gives the different sororities and fraternities a chance to get to know one another better, Neureiter said.\n"The progressive dinner is going to be fun because it allows the sororities to meet different guys in fraternities," Neureiter said. "There are benefits in every event during the week. Greek Week makes us stronger as a community by helping people outside the greek community."\nAnother activity that will take place at Dunn Meadow is the Greek Olympics. On Friday, chapters will compete against one another in events such as tug-of-war, relay races and an eating contest. \nThis is the event that senior Lev Wismer is most excited about. Greek Week gives his chapter a chance to interact with other chapters with which they might not normally have events, he said.\n"We are really looking forward to the Greek Olympics," Wismer said. "We have a lot of guys signed up for the tug-of-war, so we are definitely looking forward to that."\nThe festivities will conclude Sunday with a concert in Dunn Meadow by musician Ari Hest. The concert begins at 8 p.m., and admission begins at 7:30 p.m. The concert is open to everyone, and tickets are $10 for greeks and $15 for non-greeks. Raffle tickets will be sold for $1 and prizes of gift certificates from local businesses will be awarded. \nSenior Liz Brune, vice president of greek relations for Panhellenic Association, said she believes the concert will be the most profitable event of the week.\n"The concert should be the event that makes the most money for the week," Brune said. "The other events we aren't charging for people to attend; we just want them to come out and have a good time."\nDuring the week, there will be T-shirts on sale for $8. The proceeds from the week will be donated to Jill's House, Inc., a local organization raising money to build a residence for cancer patients and their families. The facility will be located near IU Cyclotron. \n"Greek Week is important because it gives the greek community a chance to come together for a good cause, such as Jill's house," Wismer said. "It shows that the greek system at the University is capable of good things."\n-- Contact staff writer Maggie Bozich at mbozich@indiana.edu.