This past week, Greeks on campus mobilized for the events of Greeks in Motion. Beginning Wednesday, and ending Saturday, the revamped Greek Week worked towards helping U-City East, a charity that helps the Loop area. This programming, a new effort this year, signifies a shift of focus for the Greek community at Wash. U. for the better and helps to demonstrate that Greek life in general is working on the changes that were demanded of it last year.
Previously, Greek Week was a series of competitions, such as dodgeball and tug of war, between arbitrarily organized teams of different Greek organizations. The prize for winning the competition used to be a party for the winning team; when this prize wasn’t awarded last year, interest in the event significantly decreased. This year, there was still a party at the end, for all Greeks; however, with the shift from a primarily social event consisting only of Greeks to an event organized around a philanthropy, the Greek community has made an admirable shift from something self-centered to a much more communally oriented event. For a group that is often criticized for not doing enough for the community at large, this change in programming is a step in the right direction, showing that the Greek Life Office, the Inter-Fraternity Council and the Pan-Hellenic Council have been seriously evaluating and changing how the Greek system functions at the University.
Furthermore, Greek organizations have also been continuing their annual philanthropies, in addition to participating in last week’s programming. With events like Alpha Epsilon Pi’s Rock’N’Care in Bowles Plaza last week, Alpha Phi’s Phi-Ball tournament and Sigma Chi’s participation in the Memory Walk at Tower Grove Park, the Greek community has been philanthropically active well before last week. These efforts, and others like them, might seem unimpressive to the general Wash. U. community, but these hours of planning, preparation and participation in charity should not be easily dismissed.
Although it might not always get direct recognition, the Greek community at Wash. U., in addition to providing a social outlet for endless amounts of freshmen, has been making progress over the past year. Whether due to efforts from the administration, from the members of the groups, or a combination of the two, the shift toward a safer, more socially aware Greek community are beneficial, both for Greeks themselves and the community at large, and those responsible deserve recognition and credit for their efforts to revamp how Greek life functions at the University.