Alpha Phi sorority is holding its 3rd annual Cardiac Arrest fundraiser today to benefit its philanthropy, cardiac care.
Various members of the Marquette community, including students and faculty, will be arrested and held in jail under the bridge until their pledged bail has been raised. Stop by the Alpha Phi jail today to donate bail money for friends or your favorite professor.
The event is until 4 p.m., but Alpha Phi will collect donations for the American Heart Association at any time.
Pi Beta Phi will at the AMU lawn tomorrow between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. raising money to support its philanthropy, literacy.
Stop by, and for a dollar, you can throw a pie at one of the ladies of Pi Beta Phi. All proceeds go to support a great cause.
I readily admit that I love the ABC Family show “Greek.” The first new episode since the writer’s strike was this past Monday, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. “Greek” is so deliciously full of drama, and it’s a glimpse into what I imagine Greek life would be like at a big southern university. However, I have heard complaints from Greeks that it portrays Greek life in a negative light, and that’s a fair complaint. Greek life at Marquette is especially different from the television show.
For one thing, Greek life here is small compared to some universities. For example, 22 percent of the undergraduate population at Clemson University in South Carolina and 26 percent of the undergraduate population at the University of Alabama are Greek. That is compared to 11 percent of the undergraduate population at Marquette. Also, the Greek population at Marquette isn’t that visible. Sure, when you drive or walk around Kilbourn Avenue, you will see a few houses with Greek letters. The most noticeable houses are probably Triangle on 15th and Wells and Delta Chi on 16th and Kilbourn, but Marquette doesn’t have a designated Greek Row or anything like that. Also, Marquette fraternities don’t have the huge crazy parties on front lawns like the fraternities throw in “Greek.” Don’t get me wrong, there are parties, just not like you see in movies and television.
When I watch “Greek,” sometimes I wish that I was part of a bigger Greek system, but then I remember the positive aspects of Greek life at Marquette, and how lucky I am to be a part of this community. For one thing, Marquette Greek life places a huge emphasis on philanthropy and community service. One of the reasons I came to Marquette was community service, so getting involved with service through my sorority is a definite plus. I also like being in a smaller chapter. Each of the fraternities and sororities at Marquette has a relatively small chapter size, none exceed 100. I’ve been able to get to know each of the girls in my chapter. I feel like if my chapter was any bigger, I wouldn’t get to form the bonds of sisterhood that sororities speak so highly of.
So while I enjoy watching the beautiful fraternity and sorority members and their antics on “Greek,” I really am glad to be a Marquette Greek. The show is great for entertainment, but Greek life at Marquette is an experience that I wouldn’t trade in.
Spring semester is always a time of excitement and growth in the Greek community. Marquette’s rules dictate that freshman recruitment for sororities and fraternities cannot happen until second semester. This is a great rule because it gives freshmen time to get used to college, make friends and get involved around campus.
Greek life is time consuming. Once a student joins a chapter, there are so many activities to take part in. There are chapter meetings, philanthropy events, volunteering, socials and more. I think that if freshmen were allowed to go through recruitment in their first semester, they might not get as involved in other activities around campus, which would be negative for both the Greek community and the Marquette community.
So every Janurary, sororities and fraternities gear up to recruit new members. For sororities especially, this is a huge deal! Sororities spend a great deal of time and energy preparing for recruitment because it is so important to make a great first impression on any potential new members going through recruitment. Potential new members don’t always believe that the women in the sororities are more nervous than they are, but its true.
So after a month of preparing for recruitment, and a grueling week of small talk, high heels and late nights, the sororities welcome about 20 new members each. This is where the most exciting and fun part happens. The rest of spring semester is spent getting to know the new members, participating in initiation ceremonies and enjoying sisterhood.
So here is a big “Welcome new girls!” to all the freshmen, sophomores and juniors who went through spring sorority recruitment. The Greek community is lucky to have such amazing, intelligent, involved and dedicated women to count among us. I hope that you have a great rest of the semester, and I look forward to getting to know all of you in the coming months.
Panhellenic Sorority Recruitment 2008 is in full swing. There are several events coming up for interested women to get to know the more about sororities.
Thursday, January 17, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Ice Cream Social (an optional event) in the McCormick and Cobeen cafeterias.
Wednesday, January 23, 7 p.m.: Information Night in the Weasler Auditorium
Thursday, January 24, 6:30 p.m.: Meet the Chapters in the AMU Ballrooms
Friday, January 25, 5:30 p.m.: Philanthropy Night in the AMU Ballrooms
Saturday, January 26, 5:00 p.m.: Preference Night in the AMU Ballrooms
Sunday, January 27, 9 a.m.: Big Day in the AMU Ballrooms
If you are interested in joining a sorority or learning more about them, talk to any of the women you see on campus wearing Recruitment 2008 shirts. They will be more than happy to answer any questions and talk to you about why they went Greek. Also, come to the ice cream social and Information Night to get more information.
Check out the Facebook group for more information, frequently asked questions and directions on how to register.
Monday night was the ideal night for a chili cook-off. It was cold and windy outside in Milwaukee, and a hot bowl of chili seemed like the perfect dinner.
Fortunately for Marquette students, Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity hosted a Chile Cook-off between the social fraternities Monday night in order to raise money to buy drywall for the MARDI GRAS—an acronym that stands for Making a Real Difference in the Gulf Region and Areas Surrounding—trip to New Orleans over winter break. The volunteers on this trip will go to New Orleans to install drywall in homes that will house more volunteers sent to help rebuild the lower 9th ward as well as finish homes for landowners who would not be able to otherwise afford it.
Four of the social fraternities on campus—Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Phi Delta, Kappa Sigma and Delta Chi—participated in the cook-off, which was held at the Sigma Phi Delta house. About 20 fraternity men were involved in the chili cooking and serving, and each sorority sent a delegate to vote on which chili recipe was the best.
I had the incredible honor of representing my sorority as a judge. I have to admit, I approached the Sigma Phi Delta house on Monday night with a sense of trepidation. I wasn’t sure what I would find simmering in the crock pots in the basement of Sigma Phi Delta. I imagined the fraternity men all standing around the crock pots in their various kitchens tossing leftover mac and cheese and stale bread into sea of spaghetti sauce and beans.
Not all of it was great, but I was pleasantly surprised.
The Chili Cook-off raised $245 for the drywalling costs, and Sigma Phi Epsilon came in first place with Sigma Phi Delta trailing a close second by one point. Below is my personal ranking of the four different chilies in the competition.
First place goes to the men of Sigma Phi Delta. The first bite of their chili caused my brow to sweat, my eyes to water and my mouth to cry out for cooling liquid. However, once I got past the spiciness, the chili had a great taste. It was not overcooked, nor was there any mystery ingredient that I couldn’t figure out.
Second place goes to the men of Sigma Phi Epsilon. They scored major points when their chef explained that all the vegetables in their chili were home-grown. Unfortunately, the chili was a little bit bland for my taste, and tasted kind of like ketchup. However, I applaud their organic attempt.
Third place goes to the men of Kappa Sigma. There’s not much to say about their chili except that it tasted like smoky dog food.
Fourth, and last, place goes to the men of Delta Chi. No words can describe what their chili tasted like. Only know that my bowl was certainly not licked clean.
All four fraternities get a gold star in my book for participating. It’s great to see the Greek community come together for fun events that help out good causes.
Sigma Lambda Gamma is the nation’s largest historically Latina-based sorority, and the Omicron Gamma chapter at Marquette is hosting a week of activities open to the whole campus, whether you are interested in joining, just want to get a little more information or just want to have fun.
November 12
Meet the Gammas Informational night will be held in the Alumni Memorial Union, room 448, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
November 13
Gammas and the Chocolate Gactory Fondue night will be help in the Multi-Cultural Center in the AMU from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
November 14
“So, you think you can scarf?” Make a scarf with the Gammas night will be held in the AMU, room 245, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
November 15
Meet the Gammas Informational night will be held in the AMU, room 448, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
November 16
Dance Like an O.G. and G-Bay Silent Service Auction will be held in the 2040 Lofts from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Come and learn new dance steps and bid for a Gamma.
Alpha Phi sorority will host Alpha Phi-esta this Friday, Nov. 2, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Alpha Phi house, 1435 W. Kilbourn Ave. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased from any member of Alpha Phi throughout the week or at the door Friday night.
Alpha Phi-esta is an annual event that raises money for the American Heart Association. It features all-you-can-eat chips and tacos. This year, raffle tickets will be available for $1 with the chance to win a variety of prizes.
Alpha Phi’s philanthropy is Cardiac Care. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, and Alpha Phi raises money for the American Heart Association to fund research
I previously commented on the need for the Greek community at Marquette to hold itself to higher standards because of the sexual assault allegations brought against Sigma Chi Fraternity.
I recently found out that Marquette has canceled all of Sigma Chi’s events for the rest of the semester. The cancellation includes all events from social activities to philanthropic endeavors. I think that this is a puzzling decision.
I haven’t heard anything else about the sexual abuse allegations except from my friends who assert that no member of Sigma Chi was the perpetrator in this incident. If this is the case, it doesn’t follow that Sigma Chi should be punished so extensively.
I understand the need to reevaluate the social policies that Sigma Chi follows, and I even understand cancelling social activities until the university is satisfied that the necessary improvements have been made to insure that no incident like this will ever happen again at Sigma Chi.
I do not understand why Marquette University, a Jesuit school committed to service and the education of the whole person, would cancel philanthropy work.
If anything, giving back to the community and volunteering time to raise money for worthwhile causes would be a positive experience not only for Sigma Chi but also for the people they help.
Pi Beta Phi hosts its Philanthropy Week during the week of October 22, right after Fall Break.
Tuesday, October 23: They will sell caramel apples under the Raynor bridge from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. $2.
Friday, October 26: They will host a sloppy joe dinner at the Sigma Phi Delta House from 5 p.m. tp 8 p.m. Tickets will cost $5 and can be purchased from a Pi Beta Phi member during the week or at the door.
During the dinner, at 6 p.m., they will host a First Book Speed Read Competition. Participants will have 15 seconds to read as many words as they can from a children’s book. Winners will be rewarded. Also, all throughout the dinner, they will raffle off different items that have been donated by local businesses.
All proceeds from the events will benefit First Book and the Pi Beta Phi Foundation, to fund literacy initiatives.
Opinions expressed on this blog are that of the individual blogger and may not represent the views and opinions of the Marquette Tribune.