The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.cam iliver New Student Edition - 9C The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom New Student Edition - 9C WHAT YOUR FRATERNITY SAYS ABOUT YOU Here's your disclaimer -not everyone who belongs to the following fraternities fits the stereotype of the house. But generaliza- tions exist for a reason. Sure, you're not technically supposed togo into rush with pre- conceived notions of each house, but we're betting you'll realize which houses are more academic, athletic or party-oriented within your first week here. We took many of the follow- ing descriptions from Michi- gan's College On The Record blog, written by a former stu- dent using a pseudonym. Go ahead and laugh. It's all in good fun - and you'll understand soon enough. PHI KAPPA PSI "The guys there enjoy wear- ing sunglasses indoors, lifting weights ... sporting plaid shorts and owning every color of polo shirt imaginable." SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON "The biggest, richest, most powerful house on campus. And don't they know it. (They're best known for) the Mudbowl game they host every year where they face off against another frat which literally has to limp on the field to play them." THETA CHI "When going to class, they wear $6 stained white t-shirts and sweat pants, but when going out for the night, they wear $300 Armani hand woven bptton- ups. ... Their (baseball) hats are always flat brimmed, tall and so precariously perched you swear you could blow it off their heads if you breathe too hard in their direction." PI KAPPA ALPHA "A siren song to many fresh- men early on in their college careers, both male and female. If you get past the sick house with a multi-level dance floor full of hot girls, you're left with a bunch of ex-lacrosse players in pink Abercrombie button-ups." ALPHA DELTA PHI Known as "Shady Phi," it's probably the most recognizable house on campus - the white one with the sand volleyball court. The brothers there seem to love standing on the balco- ny, leaning over and shouting things to passersby as a bunch of shirtless guys show off their subpar volleyball skills in the front "yard." PHI GAMMA DELTA "I swear,' every time I see a Fiji in his little Fiji hat, there's a 50 percent chance he's on the Diag, collecting money for can- cer research at Mott Children's Hospital. What the hell can I make fun of there?" SIGMA PHI EPSILON They throw bottle caps instead of ping-pong balls into S beer cups. They don't believe in pledge terms. Sig Ep is like that kid in high school who everyone made fun of for being weird but who, in the end, was somehow still kind of lovable. ALPHA EPSILON PI. Known for its constant, dis- gusting displays of debauchery, AEi is pretty much the Michi- gan version of "Animal House." But when the boys aren't par- tying, they're studying - the house has the highest overall fraternity GPA on campus. Maybe alcohol doesn't kill that many brain cells after all. DELTA KAPPA EPSILON "My quick first impressions of the house were just a few B- school dorks I knew from here and there and then the various kind-of-alright-but-slightly- awkward kids in class." CHI PHI "A majority of the guys are rather skuzzy and overall, quite, let's say abrasive, but they've never done anything to warrant the 'bad boy' image ... they kind of just hang out and play beer pong." - Descriptions in quotes courtesy of College On The Record: www.collegeotr.com/ universityof michigan/michigan_ greekmythologythelist_2980. Geeksgck to community By ERICA GELLER On GreekPhilanthropy Date parties. Mixers. Loud fra- ternity events. At first mention of the Greeksys- tem, all of the above might come to mind. But when sorority and fra- ternity members examine their let- ters, they're thinking aboutanother word: philanthropy. The charity projects adopted by each chapter are often overlooked but are extremelyvitalto the system. With the large network that mem- bership to the Greek system offers, fraternity and sorority members put their skills to use to help a variety of local and national organizations. GREEK WEEK: MAKING AN $80,000 DIFFERENCE The Greek system's main chari- table event is Greek Week Inc., a 10-day fundraiser in the spring. Last year, all four councils - the Interfraternity Council, Panhel- lenic Association, National Pan- Hellenic Council and Multicultural Greek Council - worked together to raise more than $80,000 for charities, including the American Diabetes Association, the Ameri- can Red Cross, Meals on Wheels and the Ronald McDonald House ofAmerica. DuringGreek Week2008,frater- nities and sororities joined together to form teams named for former Olympic Games hosts, coinciding with a theme modeled after the Beijing Olympics. Individuals from each team competed in events that ranged from aluminum can build- ing and spelling conteststo Capture the Flag and Tug of War. For the athletic, artistic and enthusiastic, Greek Week offers a wide variety of events. Even though winners take pride in their accom- plishments, the activities always help to raise money for charitable organizations. "The charity aspect of Greek Week is really important," said Phi Delta Theta member Alexander Carrick VII, Greek Week Represen- tative of the Year. "It's much bet- ter to get the headlines about how much money the Greek community raised ... as opposed to the other headlines we normally get." Everyyear, Greek Week endswith the Sing and Variety competition, which is arguably the most popular event of the week and features an a cappella mix ofsongs and dance. Pi Kappa Alpha, Alpha Delta Phi and Delta Gamma, whose Team Atlanta was the overall winner of last year's Greek Week, won the Sing event by blending together songs full of American pride to match their star-spangled outfits. The funds generated from T-shirt sales, Penny Wars, can deposits and tickets to events like Dancing with the Greeks, Mr. and Ms. Greek Week and Sing and Vari- ety were matched last year by TCF Bank in Ann Arbor. The bank also contributed a "wind booth," where a representative from each team could stand in the booth and try to grab money to be dohated to char- ity in the name of their team. Some fraternities and sorori- ties have taken advantage of Greek Week hype by incorporating their annual charity events into the week's activities. Last year, Delta Gamma ran its annual Anchors- plash event during Greek Week. The event, which is held at Canham Natatorium and benefits the Kel- loggEye Center,includesswimming relays, synchronized swimming, and water contests. Though admis- sion was free, the sorority raised about $3,000 in donations. "This year was the first year we did two benefit nights to raise money and awareness for the event," said Delta Gamma Anchors- plash coordinator Emily O'Connor. "We also got our T-shirts earlier this year with the date of the event on the front so that Delta Gammas could wear them around campus beforehand to raise awareness." PHILANTHROPY IS MORE THAN A10-DAY COMMITMENT In addition to participating in Greek Week, individual houses also work to make their events known on campus and generate support for their own charities. During the FIJI/PIKE Rivalry Run every November, the Univer- sity of Michigan and Ohio State University chapters of Phi Gamma Delta and Pi Kappa Alpha run the official Michigan/Ohio State game During the festivities of Greek Week, the University's fraternities and sororities raised more than $80,000 for charity. ball from the home stadium to the away stadium. Last year's 187-mile, 30-hour run from Columbus to Ann Arbor raised approximately $80,000 for the Coach Carr Cancer Fund and American Cancer Society. This will be the sixth year of the Rivalry Run and the second where the Michigan and Ohio State chap- ters of Phi Gamma Delta and Pi Kappa Alpha have joined together for the cause. During the first three years, the fraternities had separate relay runs and raised a combined $210,000. "While we all work together, we motivate each other based on the competitionofwantingtoraisemore than every other chapter involved - especially those in Ohio State," Phi Gamma Delta philanthropy chair Jeremy Kreisberg said via e-mail. One of the most publicized events on campus by a single fraternity is the Pi Kappa Alpha Comedy Night, which began in 2003. It currently raises money for Michigan Reach Out, an organization that pairs Uni- versity students with children who are behind in school. Last year's program benefited Scarlett Middle School in Ann Arbor, which has a higher-than-. county-average sex rate, rape rate and illicit drug use rate. Members of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity and Sigma Delta Tau sorority joined forces in Novem- ber to launch "Pink Week," which raised money for the , American Cancer Society and the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The two Greek organizations rAised more than $12,000 by selling more than 1,500 breast cancer awareness T-shirts emblazoned with a "Go Blue, Think Pink" logo and running pink lem- onade stands. The week ended with a "pink party" at Necto nightclub. "The Greek community was a huge help, with almost every soror- ity having a 'Go Blue, Think Pink' rep to help sell shirts," Sigma Alpha Mu president Aaron Miller said. "We're doing it all again this year with more corporate sponsors and activities on campus." NOT EVERY CHARITY RAISES THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS Many other fraternities and sororities engage in smaller-scale events. Last year, Delta Phi Epsi- lon held a candlelight vigil on the Diag and said a small prayer for victims of anorexia nervosa. Phi Delta Theta holds an annual haunted house for a middle school and charges an admission price to raise money for a local charity. Chi Omega attended a senior citizen dance to support the elderly com- munity in Ann Arbor. Though no one would deny that members of Greeks attend parties and enjoy their social lives, that's true for most college students. But participating in a fraternity or sorority can give a student the opportunity to make an enormous philanthropic impact in ways that an unaffiliated student might not always be ableto accomplish alone. - Alex Prosperi and Courtney Ratkowiak contributed to this report. The good, bad and ugly of sorority rush By ALLIE FOSTER - it's not binding. I knew several On Sorority Rush people who ended up quitting half- way through rush. After only a few days on campus, one friend realized that the the majority of incoming freshmen sorority life wasn't for her. will find themselves becoming Another friend had her heart set quite familiar with Greek letters. on one particular house and, after Plotting out your Welcome not getting a bid from there, spent Week nighttime agenda will most the majority of her night sitting likely lead you to the evening'sbig- on the disgusting Markley carpet gest fraternity party. and wailing about how she didn't You'll probably play beer pong get a bid from the only sorority she or possibly find yourself dancing could see herself joining. on a table. It was after seeing her sobbing You'll begin to learn the location that night that I promised myself of every house. I'd keep all of my options open to And as that week of no respon- guarantee I wouldn't experience sibility comes to an end and you that same disappointment. finally upload your sloppy photos I immediately noticed how eas- to Facebook.com, it'll already be ily rush could interfere with my time to decide whether or not you classwork. Most of the girls, myself want to go Greek. included, were spending hours get- I always knew I wanted to rush. ting ready for rush - shavingtheir ButI found that alot of students legs in the gross dorm showers, sort of stumble upon the idea using bottles of hairspray to guar- - they hear about it from a friend antee that their hair wouldn't frizz or feel that ifthey don't rush, up and carefully applying makeup they'llbe the only one in their hall so that it wouldn't smear in the not doing it. 90-degree weather. Girls in my The first thing to know about hall ran around to borrow dresses, rush is that you can always quit shoes and jewelry. The entire thing seemed so shallow, but we all knew that appearance would be extremely important. And it was. As soon as I walked into the first house, a girl walked up to me, smiled and said, "Hey, cute dress!" I'm notproud of it, butI defi- nitely relaxed a little after that. I had no idea what to expect whenI first visited all of the houses. I just followed my rush group to Hill Street, Washtenaw Avenue, S. Forest Street and Tappan Street, fanning myself with the map I was given that day. I was suddenly over- whelmed, looking atall the houses. And then I heard what sounded like the Big House during a tied Michigan vs. Ohio State game - shouting and screaming from the different houses. Each house had a theme, chant and songthat, unfortunately, I found myself still humming days later. I was surprised that the stereo- typical Elle Woods sorority wasn't all that was offered at Michigan. It was comfortingthat I wouldn't have to dye my dark brown hair blonde in order to get a bid from a house I liked (well, at least from the majority ofthe houses). The fact that I'm big on Jesus naturally cut a few houses off of my list, and by the second and third sets, I was visiting houses that I could actually see myself living in. I was no longer questioning wheth- er or not my breath smelled bad or if my outfit made me look fat. By the time of preference par- ties (the last part of rush), the initial mixers seemed-so long ago. The conversations with the girls became a little more intimate going beyond "Sooo... what dorm are you living in?" and "What's your major?" I laughed at the thought of myself rushing around Ann Arbor in heels, trying to make it to every house on my schedule. My feet were throbbing and I hadblisters in places I didn't know existed. But in the end, Iended up in a house I can now call home. Chances are that, whether or not you go Greek, youwill prob- ably still find yourself dancing on Pike's dance floor inthat skanky, Halloween costume 400 other girls are wearing. And the truth is rushing a sorority does nothave to limit you to leggings, Uggs, and Longchampe bags, "crankin' dat soldier boy" at one of the fraterni- ties before the football games. Not everyone who rushes has their Greek letters printed on the butt of her sweatpants and practi- cally tattooed across her forehead. Not everyone who rushes spends hours at the Grad Library, binge drinks on the weekends and only hangs out with guys in plaid shorts and popped-collared Polos. If you decide to rush, pledge because you believe in their phi- lanthropy and because you enjoy spending time with the girls. Don't think that it'll make your social life a lot better than someone who didn't choose to rush. Most impor- tantly, don'tlimityour friendships to only people within the Greek system - meet people outside of the Greekbubble. Some of my clos- est friends are those I've met out- side of the Greek organization. As a member of Greek Life at the University, I could truly tell anyone who says that I "pay for my friends" that I certainly don'tpay enough. Where intramurals are more than just a game By ALEX PROSPERI ers may base their philosophies On Greek Athletics around excelling in IM sports. Being able to throw a football or For most students, the begin- shoot a basketball well will never ning of college symbolizes the end guarantee a spot in a fraternity, of participating in competitive but being an accomplished high sports. But for those in the Greek school athlete might help with system, there is still the opportu- getting a bid - especially if that nity for four more years of glory. will help the fraternity win a Although the skill level, hours championship. of preparation and nationwide Last year, the overall IM Cham- importance pale in comparison pionship was determined by the to intercollegiate athletics, Greek winner of the volleyball champi- intramural sports at Michigan onship game. The game featured serve as an outlet for those frater- two teams that are always at the nity members who top of the IM still have a drive to Championship compete. rankings, Sigma And there is def- Almost every Phi Epsilon and initely no lack of Pi Kappa Alpha. competition. ouse iS eager to In a three- Winning the o set match, each overall Intramural prove its ySu er J5 team exchanged Championship is on the court. match point sev- the ultimate ath- eral times before letic accomplish- the winner was ment for a house. decided. The championship During the is determined by the house that game, fans from both fraterni- accumulates the most points dur- ties crowded the IM Building. ing the fall and winter intramu- The passion each team had for ral seasons, and points are given its respective house was the based on the final standings of most impressive after the 2007 individual sports. 5-on-5 basketball championship Almost every house is eager to at Crisler Arena, when fans and prove its superiority on the court. players rushed the court after a And although it's never the decid- close win. ing factor during rush, athletic Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Phi ability is one traita fraternity may Epsilon and Pi Kappa Phi are search for if it has a strong desire perennial frontrunners for the for intramural achievement. IM Championship, which leads to Though some fraternity houses intense rivalries. aren't athletically inclined, oth- When I or my other fraternity brothers see a member of one of the other houses on our schedule, we get the same feeling that we did playing our cross-town rivals in high school. The rivalry games are definitely more physical than the normal Greek IM sporting events. And apart from traditional IM sports, Greeks have proyen they can play almost any sport at a very high level. One Saturday morning, my friends dragged me out of bed to run in the intramural 5K cross- country meet. Along with frater- nity members, a few Ann Arbor residents also participated in the race. I was the last guy to finish - I even lost to someone who was receiving Social Security. But the most amazing part ofthe race was that there were guys run- ning the race in 18 minutes while I finished in just under half an hour. There are plenty of Greek athletes who could easily play at a smaller school, and many could have a good chance of making a varsity team at Michigan. For example, former Michigan baseball player Matt Fisher played Greek IM sports before walking on to the varsity team as a junior. Whether or not a student is ath- letically inclined, he can find his niche in the Michigan Greek sys- tem. But for those who dream of their glory days back in high school, playing IM sports with a fraterni- ty can help bring those memories back. Fraternities at the 'U compete annually for the overall Intramural Championship.