Blood, sweat, and tears….or maybe just sweat. Back to school and back into the swing of things means football games, a few trips to your favorite watering hole around 1 p.m., and the ever-anticipated Greek Week. For students involved in Greek Life here at Miami, Greek Week is the one time of the year where we get to “healthily” express our competitive side by raising funds for causes through the Crop Walk and Blood Drive. We also use random events as an excuse to not go to the freshmen cluttered Recreation Center (don’t try and pretend that you haven’t counted raft races as a workout). It can all be a little overwhelming, but in the end, we all come out feeling more bonded as a Greek Community and are proud of our achievements on the field.
To give you the low down on all things Greek Week, we chatted with co-director Amy Keighley to get a preview of this year’s events.
HC: Tennis was added as a new sport this year. Why did you add it and do you think it will be a successful addition?
AK: We added tennis this year as an all women’s event. We did that because we added hockey as an event for only the fraternities. We are really excited to have tennis this year and we are hoping it has a good turn out!
HC: What is your favorite event to watch and/or participate in?
AK: Each event is fun. It’s always cool to watch the events and see the competition between chapters, but as soon as the game is over they are all giving each other high fives. It just shows how great our Greek Community is. My favorite event to participate in is Ultimate Frisbee. It’s a very underrated event; it can get pretty intense!
HC: If someone were to ask you what the main goal of Greek week is, what would you say?
AK: Our main goal for Greek Week this year is just that it is a success. A lot has changed this year; we added new events, took events out, and added new positions to our exec committee. We changed all those things so we could (hopefully) increase participation and make Greek Week an event that everyone wants to not only participate in, but also come and watch.
HC: Bandstand and Puddle Pull are two of the biggest events during Greek week, why do you think there is so much competition surrounding these two events?
AK: Bandstand and Puddle Pull are the last two events of Greek Week. It is the last two events Chapters can get points for and so they get super competitive. It’s everyone’s last chance so they give their all and recruit their best competitors. Also, they are the two most unique events.
HC: What do you want the Greek students here at Miami to take away from this year’s Greek Week?
AK: We just really hope the students have as good of a time at Greek Week as we have had planning it. It’s a fun week for the Greeks and it gives them a chance to escape the workload and play some sports with their brothers or sisters. We tried to schedule a variety of events so every member has the chance to participate.
Keighley and the rest of the exec committee has worked hard to prepare for this year’s new and improved Greek Week, so whether you are part of the Greek community on campus or not, remember to get out there and support your peers in the Greek Week 2013!