The Greek community yesterday kicked off its annual Greek Week with Jar Wars, a charity competition among the Greek organizations in the Mayer Campus Center.
Students will through Friday be able to contribute cash via jars on tables monitored by each chapter. Each chapter identifies a specific philanthropic cause for which they want to raise money, and all the donations will go to the victorious house's cause.
Sophomore Sara Miller, Inter−Greek Council (IGC) vice president of programming, said that the first day of Jar Wars was a success. "It went pretty well, there were a lot of people who showed up," she said.
The competition marked the beginning of four days of activities aimed at bringing the Greek community and the wider student body together.
IGC President Andrew McGowan, a junior, said that the events will focus on unifying members of the Greek population as well as reaching out to students.
"It's a way for us to get out in the community … share our culture … foster a sense of community and just enjoy the spring weather," McGowan said.
IGC Vice President of Public Relations Eric Swanson, a sophomore, agreed that outreach is a goal of the event. "We want to incorporate people who aren't necessarily a part of the Greek community," he said.
In conjunction with Jar Wars, Thursday has been designated Philanthropy Day, during which all the chapters will display information about their chosen philanthropic causes.
McGowan said events like Jar Wars and Philanthropy Day bring a theme of service to the week. "It's…a great way to show that we're more than just a system of houses that throw parties," he said.
Another Greek Week event is a faculty appreciation lunch on Wednesday on the Tisch Library roof. "It's … an appreciation lunch for Tufts faculty to thank them for helping us and supporting us," Miller said.
McGowan added that many of the activities are traditional Greek Week events, including Greek Jams, a performance on Saturday by new Greek members.
"It's a … competition for new members of the Greek community from each house to perform a song or dance and make a little bit of a fool of themselves," Swanson said.
"It's kind of a fun little event … that's been going on for some time," McGowan said.
The Greek community on Friday will also host a Field Day on Fletcher Field, which will involve both Greeks and non−Greeks in activities organized by each chapter.
Swanson hopes that the events will include members of the non−Greek Tufts population. "We want to welcome them to the events as well," Swanson said. "We want them to feel what the Greek community is about and that we're part of the [Tufts] community."
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