UNM fraternity and sorority members will sing, dance, attend seminars and compete in sporting events during Greek Week to raise money for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
For the next five days, the groups will compete against each other while raising money to help the foundation, which serves the needs of children who are HIV-positive.
Members of the Greek community will attend Joel Goldman’s presentation “Sex Under the Influence” tonight at 8:30 p.m. in Regener Hall. Goldman has presented his speech at more than 700 campuses, many national conferences and has won awards for his work, according to a recent press release. The event is open to the entire UNM community.
Dan Bureau, activities adviser for the Greek community, said he has seen Goldman’s presentation.
“He talks about the dangers of mixing sex with alcohol,” he said. “He’s interactive and educational. He’s just phenomenal.”
Tessa Moen, member of Pi Beta Phi and a chairwoman for this year’s Greek Week, said Goldman’s speech will benefit the UNM community.
“Part of his appeal is that he’s speaking from experience,” she said. “His impact will be extraordinary.”
The Greek organizations will participate in the Campus Safety Walk Tuesday, which is open to the UNM community and starts at 7 p.m. in the College of Education, room 103. During the safety walk, students break into groups and tour different sections of the main campus to compile a list of safety hazards.
Other Greek Week events are more team-oriented and thrust fraternities and sororities into head-to-head competition for some unorthodox fund-raisers.
Moen said one of her favorite parts of Greek Week is Greek Sing, a variety show open to the public that features entertainment from the Greek community. “Let the Good Times Roll” is the theme for this year’s show that features skits from different decades.
Greek Sing will be Friday at 7 p.m. in the Continuing Education Building. Fraternity and sorority members will collect toothbrushes, deodorants and other toiletries at the door to give to the Sandoval County Domestic Violence Center. Admission is $3 with a toiletry and $4 without.
Moen was Greek Sing chairwoman last year when it collected canned foods for charity. She said she remembers seeing all of the cans piled up after the show.
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“It was an incredible feeling — it made me realize why I’ve taken part in Greek Week and the Greek system,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll feel the same this year.”
Bryan Colton, president of Kappa Sigma Fraternity and Interfraternity Council, is also a chairman for this year’s Greek Week. He said the Greek Games, sports tournaments between fraternities and sororities, are one of his favorite parts of the week.
“It’s competitive,” he said. “But we’re all coming together for a good cause.”
He said some of the games include basketball, football, volleyball, an egg toss and tug of war.
“Every fraternity wants to win tug of war,” he said.
Moen said UNM’s sorority girls also enjoy competing against each other in the same sports.
“The girls like to practice beforehand,” she said. “They get all pumped up about it.”
The fraternities and sororities receive points for each event they participate in during Greek Week and winners will be recognized during a banquet Saturday. The banquet also includes awards for outstanding volunteer work by Greek organizations.
The Sigma Chi fraternity will not participate in this year’s Greek Week because it recently lost its charter because of its role in an incident when a swastika was duct-taped to the roof of a black student’s car that was illegally parked in the fraternity’s lot.
“It’ll be hard,” Bureau said. “They’re a large group that’s always taken part in the events.”
Moen said the Sigma Chi circumstances are unfortunate, but Greek Week will still be successful.
“No matter what circumstances, no matter what issues, we’ll manage to come together and do something positive,” she said.
