Greek Week finishes with variety show

The envelope, please.

Ten days after Greek Week kicked off with dancing, lip synchs and cheers, Team 7 (Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Phi and Delta Chi) was named the overall winner of the festivities.

Team 8 (Kappa Kappa Gamma, Pi Kappa Alpha and Trigon) took second place and Team 9 (Sigma Kappa, Chi Phi and Chi Psi) claimed third.

The announcement was made during the Sing and Variety show in front of a packed Hill Auditorium audience. The show officially ended Greek Week activities with talented Greek members taking the stage to showcase their physical and vocal skills.

"We started practicing for this about a month ago," said Randall O'Neal, an LSA first-year student and Evans Scholar.

O'Neal, whose team took second place in the variety portion of the show, said the hard work was definitely worth it.

"Just looking into the crowd made me feel so happy," O'Neal said. "As soon as we walked off the stage, we started cheering."

The teams capped off their week-long support with team cheers and victory chants as the winners of each Greek Week day were named.

But the team totals were not the only noteworthy achievements of Greek Week.

Organizers announced that the teams raised more than $100,000 for charities, dedicated more than 2,000 hours to community service and held a successful blood drive.

"People see different things in Greek Week," said LSA senior Richard Bauer, co-director of Greek Week. "I understand some people think it's silly, but it's reached new heights this year."

Bauer, a volunteer at the Greek Week blood drive, cited various things that made the 1998 Greek Week "the most successful one yet.

"In 10 days, there is so much done," Bauer said. "All of the events contribute to fundraising."

Greek members willingly rolled up their sleeves last week to donate blood in an attempt to meet their 500-pint goal.

"At first I was just nervous," said Michael Melfi, a Kinesiology junior and an Evans Scholar. "But then I realized I could have just saved someone's life with that blood that I gave."

The donors said the blood donation was an effective way to help out their teams and others.

"This is definitely giving something back to the University," said Ben Powers, an LSA first-year student and member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. "This blood drive is a good thing for the entire community."

The Greek Week team members also hosted a carnival and cleaning session for SAFE House last Sunday in an effort to give the community top priority.

The carnival featured a magician, balloons and an inflated "moonwalk."

LSA first-year student Sarah Fanke, an Alpha Phi member, said the SAFEHouse project involved "a lot of cleaning and playing with kids," but did not contribute to competition points for her team.

"It's a goal of Greek Week to get money for charities," Fanke said. The project at SAFEHouse "was just to give something back to the community."

Greek team members said each house was expected to contribute at least 15 hours of community service during the 10-day event.

But the teams also had the opportunity to have a little fun.

Some Greek members were blindfolded, bound and stuffed with french fries Monday afternoon in Greek Week's Fry Chow, sponsored by Burger King.

"I just wanted to get down as much as I could," said Engineering first-year student and Evans Scholar Bob Ondo, who participated in the Fry Chow.

Ondo said the event was a great addition to Greek Week - which he considered "his favorite week so far in college."

Steve Fanning, a Business junior and member of Chi Psi, said this year's Greek Week turned out to be more enthusiastic and spirited than in recent years.

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