My big, fat Greek Sing on Saturday

[TSteven]

My big, fat Greek Sing on Saturday
By Alice Haymond
Published: Wednesday, March 2, 2005
©2004 Kernel Press, Inc.
(The University of Kentucky)


Media Credit: Jonathan Palmer: Participants from last year´s Greek sing perform on stage for the trophy and "bragging rights." This year´s Greek Sing will be held in Memorial Coliseum Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $7 in advance, $10 at the door.

It takes months to prepare. It's the biggest Greek event of the year. It's Greek Sing, organized by Chi Omega and Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

Participants from about 30 sororities and fraternities will present their choreographed dances with wild costumes to showcase their talent Saturday.

"We started preparing last semester; it takes months and months," said pharmacy freshman Allison Powell, a Sigma Kappa, when asked how long it's taken to prepare for this event.

Tyler Emig, an undeclared freshman and an Alpha Tau Omega, said, "We have meetings starting about two weeks before the event, but we won last year so this year we aren't putting in as much effort."

So, what does the winner receive?

"Well, we got a trophy, but the real prize is bragging rights for the rest of the year," Emig said. "Winning the Greek Sing is a big thing."

Each year, Chi Omega and Sigma Alpha Epsilon coordinate Greek Sing, and each year it just gets bigger and bigger. This Greek competition is not only a social activity with entertainment and talent - the proceeds go to benefit the Make a Wish Foundation.

"We usually sell out of tickets every year," said management sophomore Lana Wright, a Chi Omega and Greek Sing organizer. "This year, we added on 300 extra tickets and even at that, we have less than 50 - if even that many - to sell before Saturday."

While the Chi Omegas and Sigma Alpha Epsilons don't actually participate in the performance, almost every other sorority and fraternity does, with a presentation that lasts about five minutes.

Greek Sing
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Memorial Coliseum
How much: Tickets cost $7 in advance, $10 at the door; they may be purchased in advance from the ticket office in Memorial Coliseum. Call 257-1818 for more information.

[TSteven]

Greeks prep for ‘Greek Sing’
By Robert Oakley
Wildcat Weekly

Greeks around campus are counting down to their big day; it’s not graduation, but Greek Sing. The annual event, hosted by Chi Omega and Sigma Alpha Epsilon, will be held on March 5. This is the most competitive event in the Greek community, especially with sororities.

Trying to interview a woman in a sorority about Greek Sing is about as easy as pulling teeth. Sororities create fake themes to tell people—so on the big day their performance is a surprise, although songs are nearly always repeated.

When I asked these women about their songs they became defensive, and one anonymous Delta Gamma jokingly said, “I’d tell you but I’d have to kill you.” Sororities practice for this event generally between one and two months; however an anonymous Alpha Delta Pi revealed “some sororities practice before Christmas break.”

This event is taken very seriously among sororities on UK’s campus. Practicing the singing and dancing becomes a Top Secret mission. A select few organizations have hired choreographers to teach them a routine. On the opposite end of the Greek Sing mindset is the fraternities.

Sororities use this as a form of bragging rights, while fraternities use it as a way to let loose and have a great time. Fraternities also keep the songs secret, but the only difference is that it is a secret to men in the fraternity as well. Typical fraternities plan the entire routine in either one or two weeks prior to the event.

Jay Shooter, an undeclared Sigma Pi sophomore, laughs and said, “We try our best.” It is really an excuse to get on stage and have a great time. Adam Strouth, a History Education sophomore, and also a FIJI, says the best part is “being on stage and hearing screaming and yelling.”

Greek Sing is the number-one ranked Greek event on campus. It is the only event that has one hundred percent Greek participation. According to Leslie Kirkpatrick, a Chi Omega who is responsible for Greek Sing, Memorial Coliseum has sold out the last three years. Last year this event generated over twenty thousand dollars that was donated to the Make a Wish Foundation.

There will be five well-known people on campus judging the contest. In the past there have been teachers, coaches, and other well-known UK employees. On Saturday, March 5 at 7 p.m. when Greek Sing 2005 begins, the hard work over the past months or days, depending on who is on stage, will show the school its ability to mimic and in most cases, repeat pop culture.

I would recommend going, the seven dollar ticket goes to charity and the audience gets to see either a choreographed dance routines from sororities or a group of fraternity guys having a great time on stage, which means a comical performance.

This article was originally posted on March 03, 2005

[AchtungBaby80]

Darn, I missed it. Greek Sing was always so much fun...I meant to go this year, but I never could find out when it was!

[TSteven]

Greek Sing deemed success
By Rob Oakley
Wildcat Weekly

Another successful Greek Sing has passed, and with that comes new ambition for next year. This event sponsored by Chi-Omega raised more than $33,000 for the Make-A-Wish foundation. With nearly 100 percent greek participation, success was again marked in the books.

Greek Sing was hosted by Alan DeSantis, a communication professor at UK, who has been voted as UK’s favorite professor several times. He provided entertainment for the more than three-hour event between fraternity and sorority acts.

This year greeks have raised the bar yet again for future Greek Sings. With Delta Sigma Phi, Alpha Delta Pi, winning fraternity and sorority overall and Pi Beta Phi winning overall, these groups showed what their dedication and weeks of practice were for. It was a great chance for greeks to show who they were to the entire community. These organizations showed they were out to prove their worth.

Emily Pfiefer, a Chi-Omega, said “It is a great event that brings the greek community together for a great cause.” However, Greek Sing is not only for the greek community. It involves all of the University of Kentucky, along with the Lexington community. It brings parents and alumni back to Lexington to see their family or friends perform their act on stage.

Matt Bohannon, a Delta Sigma Phi, said it was a “relief to have our name called out,” as a winner. We spent four weeks of hard practices and dedicated a lot of time to Greek Sing. Delta Sigma Phi narrowly missed winning last year, and Matt said, this year he was “happy to come out and take home the trophy.”

This article was originally posted on March 24, 2005