From March 2 – 6, Wofford’s Greek community participated in the campus’ annual Greek Week, a week that encourages competition between panhellenic and inter-fraternal Greek organizations in order to raise money for the Special Olympics. Sororities and fraternities received points based upon their participation percentages, with totals of 200, 175, 150 and 125 going to first, second, third and fourth places, respectfully. Additionally, Greek organizations received points based upon the ranking of their Lip-Sync routines or Cook-Out skills, the total positive amount of money they raised during “Penny Wars” and their success during the Greek Olympics.
The week began with a “Greek Week Kick Off” in the Michel S. Brown Village Center. Both sororities and fraternities dropped by in order to participate in a card signing for faculty departments on campus, a gesture of appreciation for the intellectual-yet welcoming environment that Wofford’s professors so successfully cultivate for their students. Sororities Kappa Delta and Zeta Tau Alpha tied for first place with 100 percent participation, and fraternities Pi Kappa Alpha, Pi Kappa Phi and Kappa Sigma tied for first with the same.On Tuesday, March 3, all organizations gathered in Leonard Auditorium for the Greek Awards Banquet. Zeta Tau Alpha was awarded the title of Panhellenic Chapter of the Year, and Pi Kappa Phi was awarded the title of IFC Chapter of the Year. Graham Lenes, Pi Kappa Alpha, and Palmer Cantler, Tri Delta, were awarded Outstanding Greek Man and Woman of the Year, respectively. Junior Ali Simms, Zeta Tau Alpha, and junior Andrew Levin, Pi Kappa Alpha, were each honored as Outstanding Greek Scholars. Sororities Tri Delta, Kappa Alpha Theta and Zeta Tau Alpha tied for first place with 100 percent participation, and fraternity Pi Kappa Phi received first with the same.
On Wednesday, March 4, a musical-themed Lip Sync was held in the horseshoe of the Row. For an entrance fee of $5, the entire campus community was invited to view the sororities dance, which were ranked by judges from the campus community. Kappa Alpha Theta took home first place, after a grand finale featuring live butterflies. Zeta Tau Alpha’s skillfully performed routine landed them in second place, followed by Kappa Delta and Tri Delta. Additionally, fraternities participated in a grilled Cook-Off; Kappa Alpha, led by junior Edward Able, was awarded first place, followed by Sigma Nu and Pi Kappa Alpha.
From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 5, all chapters came together to host the Special Olympics Luau. During this event, participants of the Upstate’s Special Olympic organization joined collegians for pizza, music and games – a visual reminder of their hard work’s purpose. Every sorority achieved first place for 100% participation, along with Fraternity Pi Kappa Phi.
Thursday night marked the deadline for the weeklong Penny War competition between all Greek organizations, during which pennies count as positive points put towards a chapter, and silver counts as negative points. Following Wednesday night’s silver cut-off, Zeta Tau Alpha had -2,077.15 points worth of silver placed in their bucket by other sororities, putting them in last place behind Kappa Alpha Theta at -10.9 points. However, by the 5 p.m. deadline, Zeta Tau Alpha shockingly managed to quadruple their points, finishing in second with 2,766 total. Kappa Alpha Theta took first with 4,182 points. Fraternity Pi Kappa Phi finished in first with a total of 88 points.
The competition heated up, at least between sororities, on the Friday afternoon Greek Games. After various competitions such as tug- of-war, a wheelbarrow race, a keg roll, a three-legged race, a relay, a pie-eating contest and a highly controversial chariot race that had to be repeated three times, sorority Zeta Tau Alpha took home first place, followed by Kappa Delta, Kappa Alpha Theta and Tri Delta. Fraternities Sigma Nu and Pi Kappa Phi tied for first place.In the end, Zeta Tau Alpha and Pi Kappa Phi took home the title as 2015’s Greek Week Champions. Wofford raised over $10,000 for the Special Olympics – something that every chapter, regardless of the points they received, or place they came in – can be happy about.
