Cal Poly’s Greek Week had more than 40 fraternities and sororities going head-to-head in an array of events, including basketball, flag football, arm wrestling and an academic decathlon from April 18 to 25. Not only did the week bring the Greek communities together, their canned food drive, blood drive and other fundraisers also impacted the San Luis Obispo community.
Eight teams made of two fraternities and two sororities competed, making for just under 2,300 participants. Each event had its own grading system awarding points to winners. At the end of the week, a team composed of Kappa Alpha Theta, Delta Sigma Phi, Phi Kappa Psi and Omega Xi Delta won with 2,084 points.
The week kicked off at Pismo Beach on April 18. Ninety percent of Greek Week participants attended, said architecture junior and Greek Week executive board member Laura Kramer.
“It was a little overwhelming, but definitely a great turnout,” she said.
The week continued as 288 people donated blood during a three-day drive hosted on Dexter Lawn. The Greek Week blood drive is one of the busiest blood drives every year, said United Blood Services donor recruitment manager Mona Kleman.
“We’ve been working with Greek Week for a number of years,” she said. “It’s always a huge impact on the community supply.”
Greek Week also worked with the Sexual Assault Free Environment Resource (SAFER) with Run To Remember, an on-campus 5k fundraiser. Thirty greek members volunteered to raise sexual awareness and promote safe sex, said business administration sophomore and Greek Week executive board member Michael Franceschi.
“We were really surprised and pleased that a lot of people came out to support SAFER and do the run,” he said. “Even in the rain.”
Another fundraiser, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, sent community and fraternity members in high heels on a walk around downtown San Luis Obispo. The nationwide event for Sexual Assault Recovery and Prevention (SARP) raised money and awareness about the prevalence of sexual assault, said adviser for Panhellenic Association and SAFER programs Harmony Carrera.
“We were fortunate to have the Greek Week community choose Walk a Mile to be one of their events,” she said. “Panhellenic was a sponsor that donated over $500 for this event.”
The week came to a close with the most popular event, a lip sync competition. The proceeds from the admission fee of two cans per person were donated to the San Luis Obispo Food Bank. Each team chose a different theme, such as Curious George or The Wizard of Oz, and did an eight-minute lip syncing skit.
The Greek community also raised $2,026 for the food bank and San Luis Obispo County AIDS Support Network with a week-long penny war, a fundraising game in which players donate coins.
“The week was intense, but it was a lot of fun seeing the greek community work together,” Kramer said.