Northwestern’s second annual Greek Week features its first public events tonight as new members of campus fraternities and sororities sing and dance in cartoon-themed musical skits.
Maysing, an annual competition that pairs fraternities and sororities from all four NU Greek councils and requires contestants to write and perform in skits on a given theme, will be held tonight at 7 p.m. in Ryan Family Auditorium. The event is sponsored by Order of Omega, a nationwide Greek honor society, and this year has a “classic cartoons” theme.
Phil Stuart, vice president of public relations for Interfraternity Council, said Greek Week aims to increase Greek unity and reach out to the larger NU community.
“Since we’re almost 40 percent of the campus population, it’s another way for us to do something for the university as well as add programming,” said Stuart, a Medill junior. “It’s a way for Greeks on campus to come together and celebrate being Greek and at the same time offer something for the entire university to take part in.”
Greek Week officially began Monday night with dinner exchanges between fraternities and sororities, but other events are open to the public.
Fraternities and sororities will be allotted points for their participation in Greek Week events, including Saturday’s Greek Olympics. Point totals will be used to determine a Greek Week winner after Sunday. Last year, Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity won the $500 prize. Stuart said the point system is designed to stimulate participation.
“It’s an incentive to get people out there in a friendly, competitive spirit,” he said.
Delta Upsilon President Chris Nakutis, a Weinberg senior, said the Greek Week points race would be more friendly than cutthroat.
“I’m sure in a few years it will be more competitive, but right now I feel it’s more of a week to show Greek unity and for each fraternity and sorority to come together,” Nakutis said.
Greek Olympics, which will be held from 1-4 p.m. at the Lakefill on Saturday, will feature competitions such as Slip ‘N’ Slide Bowling. McCormick junior Kenneth Stempel, IFC vice president for programming, said the event will not be especially taxing.
“A lot of it is along the line of stuff from Field Day,” Stempel said. “There will be a tug of war and that kind of stuff. There’s no 5K race or anything.”
Other activities include chapter-sponsored tailgates in the Fraternity Quads at 5 p.m. Friday and a presentation called “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Opposite Sex,” given by Dr. Lori Ebert, a professional speaker on gender relations, in Ryan Family Auditorium at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Other events will pit chapters against each other in friendly competition. In Greek Feud, which will be held in Fisk 217 at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, fraternity and sorority members will compete in a game modeled after Family Feud.
Kyle Pendleton, associate director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, said Greek Week came back to campus after a 10-year break because its original replacement, Fallfest, occurred before Winter Quarter recruitment and therefore did not allow chapters’ new members to participate.
“The events will be better attended,” Pendleton said. “There’s more enthusiasm.”
