Delta Gamma’s motto is “Do Good,” and they surely did this year by winning Sigma Chi’s Derby Days. This is the second year Sigma Chi brought the philanthropic event, which benefits the Huntsman Cancer Foundation, to the UChicago campus. Throughout the week, Alpha Omicron Pi, Pi Beta Phi, Kappa Alpha Theta, alpha Kappa Delta Phi, and Delta Gamma battled it out in a series of events to have fun while raising money for charity.
The week kicked off last Monday with a barbecue on the Bartlett quad where Sigma Chi brothers served up hamburgers and hot dogs and the sororities showed off their spirit banners and picked up their team t-shirts. Luckily, the weather was beautiful, perhaps one of the first nice days of spring! At the barbecue, aKDPhi had the most participation, while Theta won the banner competition and DG and AOII tied for t-shirt sales.
On its banner, AOII poked fun at Sigma Chi’s mission to bring Cheesie’s Pub and Grub to Hyde Park by putting each brother’s face on a grilled cheese sandwich, which gained a chuckle from the crowd. Second year AOII Maura Connors, who spearheaded the banner project, said, “We wanted the banner to be something that showed not only our support for the Huntsman Cancer Institute, but also AOII’s support of the Sigma Chi Omicron Omicron chapter. We chose a theme that resonated on a personal level with the brothers and followed in our tradition of featuring each of the brothers individually on the banner with throwback pictures of them being ‘cheesie’ (or cheesy). Our chapter had a great time making the banner and participating in all the other Derby Days events together!”
On Tuesday, the brothers prepared “Sigma Chi Restaurant,” in which they turned the 3rd floor of Ida Noyes into a restaurant for the sorority sisters. For a $15 donation, sisters enjoyed delectable soup, salad, chicken, and homemade dessert. (The tangy clementine sorbet was delicious!) Pi Phi had the most participation at the restaurant.
Next was Hat Snatch, where each brother was given a hat that the sisters tried to steal. The Sigma Chi house and classrooms were off limits, but starting at 8AM, the ladies could snatch the hats from anywhere else on campus. Theta came out victorious at the end of the day. At night, the groups put together teams for Trivia Night, where they competed answering trivia questions. DG won Trivia Night.
On Thursday, the organizations competed in Photo Sig, where the ladies – wearing their own letters – attempted to take as many photos as possible with the Sigma Chi brothers all over campus. Facebook was teeming with Greek life this day as Photo Sig Muploads dominated news feeds. At the end of the day, Theta took the most photos.
Friday night, the sororities participated in a dance-off at Ida Noyes, with each preparing a dance melody to different songs. Sigma Chi’s current Zeta pledge class, clad in short shorts and frat tanks, also prepared a dance to such classics as “Genie in a Bottle,” which was a fan favorite for all of the attendees. DG came in first at the dance-off, with AOII and Pi Phi following behind.
All throughout the week, sisters journeyed to DCAM for the community service event of the week: donating blood or platelets and earning points for their team. First year Tom Wood, Sigma Chi’s Community Service Chair, planned the event. He said, “The blood drive was a success. Every sorority got members out there and contributed to the event. The workers at the blood donation center were really happy with the outcome and explicitly stated that they look forward to working with University of Chicago Greek Life in the future.” By Friday, DG had the most blood donations. Jasmine Solola, a DG, was so pleased. “As a first year, Derby Days was really exciting and it represents a lot of great things about Greek Life. I’m really excited we won!”
Teams also participated in penny wars, where pennies in a team’s bucket earned them points, while other coins in their bucket took away from their team, and donated money online. DG raised the most money, with Theta and AOII following closely behind.
Together, the sororities raised several thousand dollars and should be commended for their outstanding efforts. Second year Haley Johnson, a DG, agrees, saying “I think Derby Days is an awesome way to push all the sororities into a friendly competition, and a great way to kick off the spring quarter. At the end of the day, it didn’t matter who won, but everyone’s commitment to the competition raised a lot of money for Sigma Chi’s philanthropy and everyone who took part in that should be proud!” Sigma Chi did an amazing job planning the events; the week was incredibly enjoyable for all who participated. Good luck next year, UChicago!