Issue date: 3/26/09 Section: Greek Week Guide

Members of Alpha Sigma Alpha pull at a frozen T-shirt in order to unfold it and beat other sororities in the competition on April 4, 2008, in front of Booth Library. There will be Greek Week games from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday in the University Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. (File Photo/The Daily Eastern News)

Although Greek Week only lasts a week, pulling it off takes months of planning by a 40-member steering committee led by two co-chairs known as "overalls."

This year, the committee looked for new ways to involve the rest of the campus and the Charleston community, said overalls Heather Magee and Will Seidelmann.

"We are getting members from the campus and community to come out and judge in hopes to publicize the event," Seidelmann and Magee said in a joint e-mail. "We also are trying to get more faculty involved this year by inviting them to the Greek Sing Reception."

They also said the events will be taped by WEIU-TV and broadcast on Channel 13. Along with publicizing the events, Magee and Seidelmann said they hope to increase the public service component.

"This year, we added a canned food drive and sculpture contest," they said. "We are hoping to bring in a very large amount of canned goods to help support the Charleston and surrounding communities."

The steering committee also chooses the motto for the week. This year's motto, "We may stand out, but we never stand alone" is meant to highlight the positive contributions of fraternities and sororities, Magee and Seidelmann said.

"This means that we take pride in our organizations and strive to do the best that we can to uphold each chapter's values," they said. "We know that, if we work hard and unite as a community, that negative stereotypes will be easier to break down."

Robyn Paige, interim director of Greek Life, said Greek Week events highlight the values of fraternities and sororities.

"I see Greek Week as an opportunity for chapters to unite together to work toward shared goals, and for the community as a whole to come together," Paige said. "The event encompasses all the perspectives that are crucial to fraternal organizations: academics … service and philanthropy … personal wellness … as well as fun and social time."


Joe Astrouski can be reached at 581-7942 or at jmastrouski@eiu.edu.

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