A week of Greek fun and games
Students take part in a tug-of-war during the UCLA Greek Week event on Tuesday at Drake Stadium. Other games that took place during the Greek Games included flag football and a human pyramid contest.
By Sonali Kohli
March 3, 2010 9:59 p.m.
The competitors strategized on either side of the rope, encircled by cheering onlookers and teammates waiting anxiously for the battle to begin.
The Blue and Green teams faced off in the center of Drake Stadium, and the tug-of-war commenced.
So continued day two of Greek Week, an annual four-day series of events aimed at bringing the Greek community together.
The tug-of-war was part of the Greek Games on Tuesday, during which students gathered to participate in standard games like flag football and more unconventional ones including a whipped-cream-gummy-worm-pie-eating competition and a human pyramid contest, said Greek advisor Carissa Requejo.
The awards gala in Ackerman Grand Ballroom tonight wraps up the March Madness-themed week, which also boasted a kick-off on Monday in Bruin Plaza and a Family Feud-styled academic competition in Ackerman Grand Ballroom.
The week was financed by sponsorships, $3,500 from T-shirt sales and $2,500 in Undergraduate Students Association Council funding, Requejo said.
Every organization from each of the five Greek councils was placed into one of eight color teams with six to eight chapters to compete for the Greek Week trophy and bragging rights for a year, Requejo said.
“We try to have at least one chapter from each council on each team,” she said. “It’s a way for organizations that don’t usually work together to start working together and interacting through fun activities.”
The teams compete for points from the time they are announced until the end of Greek Week, Requejo said. They gain points for buying T-shirts, attending meetings throughout the year and participating in events throughout Greek Week.
In addition to attendance, an important aspect of every Greek Week is community service, which this year involves donating sports equipment to the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Monica and holding a raffle with donated prizes to raise money for efforts in Haiti, Requejo said
The eight teams collected about 300 to 400 items for the Boys and Girls Club, said Alex Paul, Greek Week co-director, and the raffle has yet to be completed.
For Jessica Daly, who was selling raffle tickets, her first Greek Week is proving to be a successful one.
“It’s pretty cool,” the first-year biology student said at Tuesday’s event. “I’m excited for the rest of the week.”
