The Alpha Omicron Pi (AOII) sorority hosted its annual "Mr. Fraternity" event on Thursday night, raising over $1,300 to help combat juvenile arthritis.
Zeta Psi brother Byron Crowe, a junior, emerged victorious from the sold-out event, which included displays of formalwear, talent and Greek-wear from members of nearly all the fraternities on campus.
Judges selected Crowe based on the quality of his performance, which featured a striptease to the Big & Rich song "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)," and the amount of money attendees contributed during his routine.
"He had a very choreographed dance that he clearly practiced a lot," said senior Jessica Snow, an AOII sister and the president of the Panhellenic Council.
Crowe said he is "flattered" by the honor, which came complete with a crown and a gift certificate to Redbones Barbecue in Davis Square.
"[It's] kind of funny because I'm a vegetarian," he said.
Junior Brittany Cahoon, the president of AOII, called the event a success. "The audience members had a really good time. A lot of people came out to support the Greek houses," she said.
Meanwhile, over on Professors Row, the brothers of the Delta Upsilon (DU) fraternity have been collecting cans, glass and plastic bottles all semester to raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF), a national organization seeking a cure for cystic fibrosis, a chronic disease affecting around 30,000 people in the United States alone.
"Someone who lived across the street from me growing up had cystic fibrosis," said DU President Thomas Joyce, a junior who suggested the charity to his brothers. "I have a connection to the foundation."
DU has extended the can collection effort to other Greek houses, asking fellow fraternities and sororities to help out with the cause. The fraternity has also worked with local businesses with can collection, according to Joyce.
Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity (AEPi) has been raising money for two organizations through an ongoing event called Spring Cuisine.
Spring Cuisine has featured brothers selling food from local businesses — ranging from Nick's House of Pizza to Taco Bell — on weekend nights in April outside the fraternity house and around campus, according to AEPi Philanthropy Co-Chair Ben Ross.
The money will be split evenly between Shaare Zedek Medical Center, a hospital in Jerusalem supported by AEPi chapters across the country, and Kiva, a nonprofit microfinance organization.
"A lot of brothers like the things that Kiva does," Ross, a sophomore, said.
Other Greek houses organized fundraising events yesterday, as Sigma Phi Epsilon held a screening of "Planet Earth" to raise money for YouthAIDS, and Alpha Phi sold burritos, cupcakes and chicken wings to benefit Cardiac Care.
