Doug Porter, freshman history major sits atop a pole Oct. 14th. Phi Delta Theta members sat for 36 hours to raise money for SOS. John Henningsen/The Bulletin

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Fraternities and sororities took part in several activities across campus this week for the annual Greek Week including several sporting events and award presentations.

“Greek Week is like the sacred week when everyone who can call themselves Greek can get together,” said Jake Tannehill, junior English major and member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. “We wear our letters proudly, but we also put them aside and embrace the entire Greek community.”

This was Tannehill’s third Greek Week. He participated in the tug-of-war as well as the Greek Talent Show.

The Greek games took place at 5 p.m. on Tuesday. The games kicked off with a canoe race on Wooster Lake. Contestants were to row their boats out onto the lake, around the fountain and back to the starting point. The Sigma Pi fraternity and Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority team won first place. During one of the races, a boat flipped, but the occupants were unhurt and the boat was recovered without incident.

Following the canoe races, participants moved to Welch Stadium for the remainder of the Greek games which included a tug-of-war, a three legged race, a “Skittle Run” and a “Snake Slither.”

The Greek Talent Show was also held on Tuesday after the games. Various fraternities and sororities performed acts in the gymnasium of the Student Recreation Center. The Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority won first place overall for their dance routine.

“Showing off – showing off what you got,” said George Jeng, junior communications major and member of the Sigma Pi fraternity, when asked what Greek Week meant to him. Jeng performed in the talent show doing a comedy magic trick act. He also judged the tug-of-war contest.

On Wednesday there was the “Dunk-an-R.A.” event in which students could donate one can of food for three balls to try to dunk a resident assistant in a dunk tank. A “Knowledge Bowl” was also held on Wednesday as well as a sand volleyball tournament. The money raised from the volleyball tournament is to be donated to Invisible Children, an organization working to end the war in Uganda and stop the use of child soldiers.

The Greek Banquet is at 6 p.m. tonight in the Webb Lecture Hall. Individual as well as chapter awards will be given out at the banquet.

“It’s a time that all of Greek Life can get together and have a friendly competition,” said Kalyna Nelson, senior sociology major and member of the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority. “It’s a good time to get all of us together because we have the same values and reasons why we’re in a fraternity or sorority.”

Luke Bohannon

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Administrative Officer for the Memorial Union Roger Heineken talks about his Iron Phi Challenge Monday afternoon in Union Square. Heineken raised $2,807.10 for the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association. Chris Franklin/ The Bulletin

When Roger Heineken, administrative officer for the Memorial Union and Emporia State alumnus and former adviser of the Kansas Epsilon chapter of Phi Delta Theta, pledged to raise $1,500 to complete his Iron Phi Challenge, he thought it was too steep of a pledge.

But Heineken broke Iron Phi records by collecting $2, 807.10 for the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association, a non-profit organization that serves to find a cure and educate people about the disease, during his 36-mile walk of Emporia.

Since 2010, the Iron Phi has been a national fundraiser for Phi Delta Theta. Individual members make pledges for donations, train to complete in athletic challenges like marathons and bicycle races and find sponsors for those challenges in order to raise money. The donations go to the ALS Association.

Heineken explained how he came up with his athletic challenge.

“I’m no athlete,” Heineken said, “but why not create an achievable project for me that would be fun exploring our history?”

For his historic walk, Heineken walked and photographed what was the area of Emporia in 1868. He chose 1868 since it was the year that Emporia native and member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, William Allen White, was born.

Heineken said at the time of White’s birth, Emporia was one square mile, 12 blocks long and 12 blocks wide. For today’s Emporia, this area spread from South to Twelfth Avenue and from East to West Avenue.

From Jan. 1-29, Heineken walked and photographed the area covering 1868 Emporia.

“I lived in Emporia for 41 years – this brought me to streets I’ve never seen,” Heineken said.

With help from his sponsors, Heineken has raised 94 percent of his goal of $3,000, ranking him currently as the second highest fundraiser for Iron Phi in the country.

Students and other alumni of ESU’s Phi Delta Theta chapter have also been fundraising for Iron Phi.

“Jacob Ternes, an ESU graduate, has done his event and raised $1,000 (and) three members are committed to events,” said Josh Johnson, vice-president of the ESU chapter of Phi Delta Theta.

Having already raised approximately $4,367, ESU’s chapter ranks as the sixth highest fundraising chapter in the country, according to www.ironphi.org.

Phi Delta Theta began the Iron Phi fundraiser in the name of the professional baseball player, Lou Gehrig. On the field, Gehrig was called the “Iron Horse” and at school he was called “Brother Gehrig.”

While attending Columbia University, Gehrig was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. In 1939, Lou Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS.

According to www.alsa.org, Lou Gehrig’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells.

In honor of Gehrig, Phi Delta Theta started this initiative and gave it the name Iron Phi “to encourage those involved to remember Lou’s approach to life when setting out to achieve something,” according to www.ironphi.org.

For 2011, ESU’s Phi Delta Theta chapter has pledged to raise $10,000 for the ALS Association. Sponsors donate money to the chapter either through the athlete, the chapter or online.

Calling this fundraising a “positive program,” Heineken said, “If there’s a lesson to be learned, it’s that a small idea can aggregate to make a big difference. It’s a great thing.”

Thomas Govert

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Chi Omega members; Kristin Wood, junior elementary education major, Brook Hoover, junior English secondary education major, Kaile Teeter, junior nursing major, and Ashley Bonjour, junior health promotion major, enjoy dinner together Tuesday night at Casa Ramos. Jonathan Elliott/The Bulletin

In Greek life there is a saying, “From the outside looking in, you can’t understand it. From the inside looking out, you can’t explain it.”

Chi Omega

Greek life is one of the best organizations to be involved in on campus, according to Kristin Wood, Chi Omega president and junior elementary education major.

“Greek life does a lot of community service in the community, has the highest GPA on campus, and has taught me great leadership skills that I can take with me when I become a teacher,” Wood said. Wood has been a member of Chi Omega for three years.

The Nu Zeta Chapter of Chi Omega was founded on April 8, 1961, at Emporia State University. Ladies must be full-time students at ESU with a 2.0 GPA or above to join. Now, Chi Omega has 44 active members and 2 new members.

“We have women from all majors in the chapter from elementary education, nursing, sociology, premed, accounting, business administration, theater, and a bunch more,” Wood said.

Chi Omega has six purposes: scholarship, campus activities, sisterhood, career and personal development, community service and social/friendship.

Laura Bosiljevac, freshman of biology major, joined Chi Omega at the beginning of this year.

“I have had so many wonderful experiences and opportunities from being in Chi Omega and just through Greek Life in general,” Bosiljevac said. “I have also met many amazing people and learned more than I ever hoped to…my sisters in Chi Omega have been great and if possible even more fantastic than I thought when I first joined the house… many of the people in other Greek houses have turned into great friends and mentors as well, and have been just as wonderful.”

Bosiljevac said she feels that the sorority life is a special connection to the girls, and she likes the values and energy of it.

Chi Omega meets every Tuesday night. They have sisterhood events, Mom’s Day, Dad’s Day, Siblings & Best Friends Day, along with events with other sororities and fraternities on campus. And also involve in Relay For Life and Rebuilding Together each spring.

“Greek life has been nothing but positive for me,” Walter said. “It is a network of opportunities, both social and scholarly that can build a successful future.”

Members of Phi Delta Theta fraternity participate in a formal dinner together Tuesday night at the Phi Delta Theta house. Jonathan Elliott/The Bulletin

Phi Delta Theta

Phi Delta Theta President and senior crime and delinquency studies major Jeremy Walter says Greek life is a way for men and women to grow and mature into more well-rounded people than they would otherwise be.

Phi Delta Theta Fraternity was founded in 1848 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The Emporia State University chapter was founded 120 years later in 1968.

According to Walter, Phi Delta Theta was founded on the principles of friendship, sound Learning and rectitude.

Phi Delta Theta now has 22 members right now, with three of them not initiated into full membership. New members must attain a 2.5 GPA, be of sound moral character and complete the new member program with their fellow Phikeia, or pledge.

This program includes planning and executing a community service event, a fundraiser, a house improvement project and a social event.

“We have a lot of music majors right now, but the composition of the house changes constantly. We encourage diversity in our studies as much as possible,” Walter said.

Phi Delta Theta has a formal dinner for the chapter every Tuesday.

Matthew Crome, freshman management information systems major, joined Phi Delta Theta this semester.

“I agree with not only the values of the fraternity, but I instantly made friends with the men who were already members,” Crome said. “My grandfather, along with several other family members, had been involved in Greek life, so they helped alleviate any fears that I had.”

After joining, Crome said he met so many more people. He had assumed everyone was involved on campus and active in events, but he said he didn’t realize that so many of the most active people were Greek.

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