Great Pro-Greek article in college paper!
 

From the Daily Free Press at Boston University 9/9/2003

Greeks serve community

By Phoebe Sexton

Media Credit: Phoebe Sexton
Peter Ross (left), a College of General Studies sophomore, and Charles Busler, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, help clean a playground Saturday.


Members of Boston University’s five fraternities and eight sororities gathered early Saturday morning to begin the Day of Service, the Inter Fraternity Sorority Council’s second annual community service event.

More than 100 students gathered at the School of Law Auditorium and then went to the Jackson Mann Community Center in Allston.

“It’s completely voluntary,” said Greg Weisman, the council’s vice president of philanthropy. “It’s a great way to counteract the stereotype, so we can show we’re not just here for our own good. That’s not what we’re all about.”

Sarah Rubenstein, IFSC president of philanthropy, said they selected the community center and three other nearby locations — the Horace Mann School for the Deaf, Ringer Park and Jackson Mann Elementary School — because there was no limit to the number of volunteers they could supply.

“We chose this venue because it could support all the manpower we have to offer, unlike a project with Habitat for Humanity, which only needs about 30 to 40 people,” Rubinstein said. “Also, we had kind of a small budget and clean-up like this doesn’t require an expensive investment. We were fortunate enough for Pepsi to donate all the beverages for lunch. T Anthony’s gave us a discount. That way we were able to put more of our money toward helping the center.”

Volunteers were then given trash bags, rakes, shovels and latex gloves and put to work cleaning up around the four locations. Organizers said safety was a major concern, so those wearing flip-flops were restricted to certain areas.

Some, undaunted by the dangers, went directly to the worst areas, while others trekked through the park as they picked up the trash nearest them.

Two members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon — College of General Studies sophomore Peter Ross and College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Charles Busler — combed glass out of the sand at Ringer Park’s playground. The fraternity was kicked off campus 13 years ago and is just now rebuilding, reforming and trying to regain its place in the BU Greek system, they said.

“We may not be endorsed [by IFSC] yet, but we’re here anyway because it’s a good cause, and we want to show our presence in the BU community,” Ross said.

Residents of the area noted the hard work of the volunteers and many stopped their walks and jogs to talk to the volunteers.

Casey Laurie, a representative of Allston’s Street Crime Watch, was the most enthusiastic supporter, going so far as to give IFSC officers a brief preliminary tour to point out important and hazardous areas.

“It’s great to see so many kids,” Laurie said. “Students who come here have been more of a nuisance, but this goes far in fostering goodwill between the college and the community — I’m so thrilled.”
(note added by adduncan: notice it's the Greeks making a positive impression on the community, and not anyone else. 180-degrees opposite the stereotype!)

Cots and chairs were taken to a pick-up area and bags filled quickly with clothes, bottles and more bizarre items — from an electric guitar to a clothing iron to a hockey helmet.

Organizers said the Day of Service was an opportunity to see a new part of Boston, to get involved in the Greek system and to interact with some of BU’s neighbors.

Arielle Kallus, a College of Communication junior, said she was more than willing to wake up before 9 a.m. for her community.

“It’s a good cause,” she said. “Even though it’s hard to get up early, you definitely end the day feeling fulfilled.”

Adrienne
:D

There should be more publicity like this out there!

http://burns.thefinaldimension.org/c...ye/stretch.gif

*bump*
 

Someone at the FreeP must be Greek......... not that I'm complaining, mind you. ;)

You have to understand that back in my undergrad days, this type of informational article about Greek recruitment would NEVER have been printed, at least not in a positive or even impartial light.

The Daily Free Press 9/15/2003

Rush week starts off with Greek Barbecue

By Julianne Shumko
Despite inclement weather predictions for Saturday, the eight sororities and five fraternities of Boston University gathered to kick off fall rush week with their annual Greek Barbecue.

The Inter Fraternity Sorority Council moved the event from the BU Beach to the second floor of the George Sherman Union after forecasts called for rain, IFSC Rush Chair Mike Metz said.

“If it rained, the event would have been ruined,” Metz said. “The band wouldn’t have played, we would lose the money we had already paid them. We couldn’t risk it.”

However, some fraternity and sorority members, including College of Communication senior Melissa Vigdor, disagreed with the decision to relocate. The weather turned out sunny and the decision may have hurt attendance, she said.

“It was a beautiful day, and it should have been outside,” Vigdor said. “Because the event is usually not well advertised, by walking by and seeing us outside, more people would have stopped to see what was going on.”

Metz said the event was successful despite the move, and noted more students attended than in previous years.

“On the fraternity side, I still saw a lot of guys come out today,” Metz said. “We actually had more potential rushees than last year.”

Each sorority and fraternity had a table set up at the event, displaying information about their organization as well as pictures, albums, banners, plaques, shirts and other paraphernalia, while other members roamed the event’s perimeter greeting prospective rushees.

This Saturday was just the beginning of a long week of events for rushees, Metz said.

Those seriously interested in rushing will attend an informational meeting, followed by outings and activities such as sports and restaurant gatherings to gain a better understanding of each chapter before they become pledges.

A larger sorority turnout is expected for formal rush during the spring because freshman girls cannot rush until then — although freshmen males can join this semester, according to IFSC members.

The barbecue helped College of Arts and Sciences freshman Kathy Moriarty decide she wants to rush in the spring.

“I always wanted to join a sorority and coming here today was my reinforcement,” Moriarty said.

College of General Studies Freshman Craig Schuh agreed with her and said the barbecue has made him more interested in joining a fraternity this year.

“Coming here today showed me that the fraternity guys really do have an interest in you joining,” he said. “I like the idea of having a tight-knit group of friends, so I’m probably going to rush this spring.”

COM sophomore Lauren Savett, a Sigma Delta Tau member, said she joined specifically because of the Greek events, such as the barbecue and the atmosphere of Greek life.

“I joined a sorority because it was a way to make BU smaller,” Savett said. “It was also a great way to get involved in so many other things. It proved to be a gateway to many activities.”

Aside from meeting people and having fun, potential rushees have even more to look forward to, according to Lambda Chi Alpha member and School of Management junior Ryan Mishina.

“Greek life includes so many different aspects such as social, academic, networking for jobs and community service,” Mishina said. “It has so much to offer.”

During the event, four fraternity members took place in a hot dog eating contest, while five sorority members engaged in a watermelon eating contest. The winners were awarded prizes varying from AMC cinema passes, Improv Asylum tickets and salon gift certificates.



The following events will continue fraternity and sorority rush:

• Sept. 15, 9 p.m. at the Castle — Fraternity Convocation, when potential rushees learn about the Greek system and individual chapters. Sorority Informational, the women’s version of this event, was held Sunday.

• Sept. 16 — Sorority rush begins, with events continuing during the week.

• Sept. 16 to Sept. 25 — Fraternity Rush, when each fraternity puts on about five events for rushees and chapter members to have fun and get to know each other.

• Sept. 20 — Sorority “Pref” Night, when chapters hold nice, invitation-only events, generally signifying women are halfway toward getting a bid.

• Sept. 21 — Sorority Bid Day, where the organizations extend bids to women they have chosen and then rushees commit to pledging with one sorority.

• Sept. 26 — Fraternity Invitation Night, when rushees decide whether they want to accept a bid and become a pledge.

Re: *bump*
 

I don't know your situation when you graduated -- you may be right.

But, my experience is that the amount of positive "ink" about Greek Life is directly proportional to the amount of PR and publicity put out by the GLO's themselves. The opposite is often due to a lack thereof.

I write this about every six months, when this kind of article comes out, but media don't have enough staff to call every student organization and see what's going on. They call the Police and Fire Department, because they will almost certainly have some kind of news -- but "ordinary" groups need to be proactive in getting the word out.

The best I've seen lately is TEKE Nationals, who have probably been flooding media with positive stuff, because they're getting a lot of good local, regional and national press.

Don't complain about the media -- use it to your best advantage. Then when something unfortunate happens, there will be good thoughts weighing against the bad -- even at the newspaper.