The Office of Greek Life hosted Greek Week on its Hattiesburg campus last week to promote Greek unity among the College Panhellenic Council, the Interfraternity Council and the National Pan-Hellenic Council.
The events took place from Nov. 2 to 6 and incorporated plans made by a Greek Week committee that included representatives from all three councils.
“In years past, Greek Week has been non-existent or a very competitive event,” said co- director Kelly Liles, vice president of philanthropy for the College Panhellenic Council, in a letter before the event. “Our goal for Greek Week this year is for it to be a fun week to promote Greek unity among all three councils.”
On Nov. 3, Greek Life hosted a meal packaging event at the Wesley Foundation, where a select group of volunteers helped fight world hunger or the non-profit organization Stop Hunger Now.
According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, hunger kills more people annually than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.
Greek volunteers did their part by packaging thousands of meals and sending them abroad.
Jordan McHenry, a member of Delta Gamma sorority and a participant in the event, enjoyed having the opportunity to come together as a Greek community.
“We had so much fun listening to music and talking while working,” McHenry said. “It’s great to be reminded of how our love of service unites us as a Greek community.”
The committee planned to package 10,000 meals within two hours and they ended up exceeding the goal by a few hundred meals.
On Wednesday, a “Peg it Forward” event took place, in which Greek members stopped by Shoemaker Square to pick up wooden clothespins with encouraging messages. They then passed them on to other Greek members, before taking pictures together to post on social media with hashtags like “#USMPegItForward.” Greek members were asked to adhere to one condition only: to give their pegs to someone not in their own council or chapter. The event encouraged inter-council mingling.
On Thursday, Greek Life hosted “Pizza with the Presidents,” a come-and-go event that featured a free lunch of pizza and cookies in the Greek Life office. Chapter presidents were encouraged to get to know other chapter presidents from various councils.
Throughout the week, various chapters sold raffle tickets in the Thad Cochran Center for numerous prizes, including gift cards from Material Girls, Randy Price and many more. All proceeds from raffle ticket sales went towards Stop Hunger Now.
