Multi Media Story - Greek Week
Greek Week: One of Campus’s Most Exciting Events
By Elise Coby
Q News
High Point University students welcomed the spring semester with events of the annual tradition: Greek Week.
Greek Week at High Point University is one of the most well-known, enthusiastic events amongst students, especially those involved with fraternity and sorority life. This year, Greek Week began while following precautions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leading up to April 16, fraternities and sororities of campus participated in numerous events to become involved in community service, gain participation points and engage in friendly competition.
Starting off Greek Week
Five ambitious teams had the chance to gain the most points through winning these various activities. The participating five teams were represented by fraternities and sororities across the Panhellenic Interfraternity Council and the National Panhellenic Council.
Vice President of Community Relations Rowan Geukgeuzian discussed the progression of the events and what Greek Week looked like this year.
“With points, we did a mixture of participation in old-school competitions, such as volleyball and kickball,” Geukgeuzian said. “There was also a cornhole tournament, so members were able to enter as many teams as they wanted and were able to get points for as many teams they entered in the activities. The point system is about effort, participation, and respect for others on other teams, as well as faculty and the people that put on these events for us.”
What is happening during Greek Week and COVID-19?
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed many restrictions on campus life, but Greek Week was set to persevere through this challenging time to bring passionate members of the Greek community together in a safe way.
Both online and in-person events were held throughout the week. The most popular virtual activity was the TikTok challenge where the organizations had the opportunity to submit video clips to the app in order to gain points.
“Because of COVID, the way we did Greek Week was through numerous events online as well as in-person events,” said Geukgeuzian. “There was ‘Greek Gives Back to First Responders’ where members could send cards to a local firehouse, nurses, police officers, EMTs and even faculty on campus. They got reimbursed for the involvement through points. It was a great way to give back to the community and thank them, especially at this time with COVID.”
Sophomore and KA brother Garrett Motsko discussed what Greek Week meant to him.
“We are always looking forward to Greek week as a chapter, it’s a great way to serve our community, raise money, and interacting with our fellow Greek community and the school as a whole”
COVID-19
The point competition emphasized the importance of respectability. This year, with the pandemic, team members were able to gain further points through mask-wearing and respecting Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Respect points were an efficient way to make sure students were remaining aware of COVID-19 restrictions, as well as sportsmanship, while still enjoying the camaraderie of Greek Week activities.
Geukgeuzian discussed the Greek committee’s hopes to advance Greek activities for the fall semester. “We work together as a committee to bring together Greek life at HPU and to run Greek week itself,” Geukgeuzian said. “We hope to also bring back ‘Greek’s Got Talent’” in the fall, and we’re very optimistic for this upcoming semester.”
Moving forward
On April 17, the winners of Greek Week were announced via HPU’s Fraternity and Sorority Life’s Instagram page, @hpu_fsl on Instagram. With 50 points each, Alpha Chi Omega, Sigma Sigma Sigma, Beta Theta Pi and Kappa Alpha Psi were crowned champions of the most points. Through Greek Week, HPU was able to represent more than 10 greek organizations on campus that raised money for their philanthropies such as Zeta Tau Alpha’s Breast Cancer Awareness and Kappa Alpha’s “Operation Kare'' providing Track Chairs for wounded veterans. The participation in community service showed great enthusiasm and sportsmanship even with the setbacks of COVID-19.
Senior and ZTA member Ally Ortolani commented on her experience as she participated in her last Greek Week at HPU. “This year Greek Week was much different compared to previous years at HPU but I am happy that I was able to participate in it with the rest of my sisters one last time,” said Ortolani.
For further information on Greek Week and upcoming Greek events, students are encouraged to reach out to Geukgeuzian at rgeukgeu@highpoint.edu, the Office of Student Life at studentlife@highpoint.edu and hpu_fsl on Instagram.
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