Greek Week events combine fun with philanthropy

To kick off the events for Greek Week 2008, hundreds of UW Greeks waited their turn to cram as many people as possible into a dilapidated car yesterday in front of Zeta Psi fraternity.

Every May, Greek Week takes over the UW Greek system as fraternities and sororities team up to compete for the title of Greek Week champs.

Yesterday was this year’s 21st takeover, an event in which all the houses on 21st Avenue Northeast hold their activities. This year’s sponsor was Wired energy drinks. Cases of Wired products were everywhere, but students didn’t need the energy drinks to hype them up for the competition.

The car cram was unique to the other events taking place simply because of the magnitude of participation.

“We probably utilize the most people on a team for a single event,” said senior Calvin Smith, a member of Zeta Psi fraternity. “Most other challenges only utilize a few people; we utilize everyone we can.”

This year’s winners were Zeta Psi, Delta Upsilon and Delta Gamma, who were able to cram 23 people into the five-passenger car. Four teams tied for runners-up, with 22 people each.

One team was nearly able to fit 25 people into the tight space, but they had to bail out before the doors were closed because some of the team members became claustrophobic.

“We had four people around the car watching at all times to make sure everyone was alright,” Smith said. “The last thing we wanted was for anyone to end up in the hospital.”

Ironically, the car cram developed out of a safety concern for Zeta Psi’s former event: the car slam. Up until last year, the fraternity used to sponsor an event during which members would participate in the complete destruction of an old car. It’s unclear whether the car cram is any safer than its predecessor, but the risks of claustrophobia and panic attacks seem to be secondary when it comes to the experience.

“I started freaking out when they closed the doors,” said freshman Tiffany Litz, a member of Delta Zeta sorority. “But it was worth it.”

Litz was crammed into a pocket of space against the back of the driver’s seat and was wedged against the car door.

“I just squished into a little ball,” Litz said.

Aside from bringing houses together and breaking down barriers within the community, Greek Week is also a combined philanthropic effort by all houses involved.

For the entire week, houses compete in various events to earn points. While some of the events, such as yesterday’s car cram, are purely for fun, others are more service-based. The Greek system hosts clothing and blood drives and uses sponsor and merchandise profit to benefit various other charities within the community.

“This is the first time I’ve ever been a part of anything like this, and it’s a really special experience for me,” Litz said.

Smith, who is enjoying his last Greek Week at the UW, agrees.

“It really integrates the Greek community and breaks down house tensions,” Smith said. “Everyone just wants to get along and have fun with each other.”