lettersVOLUME ONE • ISSUE TWO • APRIL 2011

Sincerely,

Dear Reader, Spring is my favorite time in Ames and at Iowa State. Springtime is also a wonderful time in the Iowa State University Greek Community. Spring welcomes new beginnings, and in the ISU Greek Community, there is no difference. With the elections of new council and chapter leaders, new ideas are developed and blossom to impact the larger community. Many chapters welcome new members to their chapter which brings excitement and fresh ideas. And don’t forget about Greek Week and VEISHEA! Springtime in the Greek Community is fast-paced, continuously evolving, and always exciting. I never thought I would end up attending Iowa State, let alone falling in love with the Ames and ISU community. Being a fourth generation Hawkeye (I know…boo!) I entered ISU in the fall of 2009 to pursue my graduate degree with mixed emotions and identities. I quickly grew to love the students, faculty and staff, and Cyclone pride that each and every student embodies. I truly found my Cyclone pride from my experience serving the Iowa State Greek Community. I have had the huge privilege to serve the Greek Community as a Graduate Advisor for the past two years. During this time, I have witnessed many triumphs through new changes, fresh ideas and motivated initiatives which have impacted the community. I have worked with amazing student leaders who are willing to challenge their peers to uplift their values as fraternity and sorority members. I have also met many, many, great Greek students at Iowa State who continue to inspire me every day. Whether it is through a philanthropic, community service, or leadership efforts, Iowa State Greek students shower Ames and the greater ISU community with dedication, motivation, and excellence. While you read this issue of Letters, you will see many new initiatives in the Greek Community that will leave you in awe: Improvements with Greek Week, the development of a Greek Alternative Spring Break, and a new Greek Leadership class. In addition, women’s formal recruitment and man’s fall fraternity rush grew, Greek Getaway welcomed over 600 visitors, new member orientation was restructured and titled “Live Greek 365,” and the development of GreekEnd, a community service- focused weekend in the fall. The Emerging Greek Leadership Council, EGLC, formerly known as the Junior Greek Council, and Greek Relation Executive Committee, GREC were developed and restructured and we have utilized MAP- Works to improve the retention of new members. These are just a few initiatives in the past two years the entire ISU Greek family should celebrate. Iowa State’s Greek Community is one of the strongest I have seen. Greek students are motivated, inspired, and driven to live the highest ideals of friendship and leadership, which is seen in everyday actions. I am proud to have been a part of this wonderful community during my time here at Iowa State and each reader should feel the same. Each member, over 2,500 undergraduates strong, including alumni and associated contributors should feel honored and privileged to be a part of a community that is flourishing. Thank you for this opportunity to serve Iowa State and its Greek Community!

Katy DyerOffice of Greek Affairs Graduate Assistant and Proud Member of Delta Gamma

ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ

Lauren RyanCPC VP of Marketing

Α Dear Reader

Β Contacts

Γ & Δ Spring Break

Ε Meet the Greeks

Ζ Greek Class

Η & Θ Greek Week

Awards and Placing

Ι Tournaments

Κ Olympics

Λ Community Service

Μ Greek Getaway

Ν Bulletin Board

Ξ Calendar

Ο Prom Dress Drive

CONTENTS

Lucas Droessler

IFC VP of Marketing

Ryne Dittmer

IFC VP of Communications

Rachel GerdesCPC VP of Communications

Bethany SchaferWriter

Colin GraceWriter

Robin KamenjarinWriter

Sam BehrensPhotographer

Katie H. Writer

Greek Relations Executive Council (GREC)

letters.isu@gmail.com

@ISUGreek

Greek Community -Iowa State University

ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ

Rhonda DelgadoWriter

Amber Oppelt Designer

Greek Alternative Spring Break

ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ

DAY 1: SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2011 We started our trip to Indiana today at 7 a.m. from Tau Kappa Epsilon. The drive to Indiana was filled with Peg-Leg and Catch Phrase where we got to learn a little more about each other. We arrived at our camp site, Jameson Camp, around 4:15 p.m. (Indiana time). We all unpacked and got familiar with the cabin, and took a “neat”ure walk along with playing some ultimate frisbee. We decided to pick up a birthday cake in celebration of some member’s birthdays, Sam turned 20 today; Ashley turns 20 on Monday; and Emily turns 20 on Saturday! We will be beginning our Monday at 6:30 a.m. This is the story of the GASBY family!

DAY 2: MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2011 Pulling up to Horizon Homes at 7 in the morning and seeing the line of clients, referred to as “neighbors” by staff and volunteers, there was an excited uneasiness throughout the group. We started with the general rundown and proper etiquette meeting followed by a tour of the facilities. Horizon House, HH, is unlike any shelter I have been in before. Rather than just handing out free tokens, HH focused on empowering people and giving them the tools to get back on their feet. A few of the jobs we were able to help out with were; filing papers, helping people with their online job applications and resumes, preparing and serving food, and making emergency packets with toiletries and/or food. My first job was working in the computer lab with Austin. We both ended up helping men who were trying to find careers online and create their resumes for prospective interviews. As small as this task seems it changed my view of the overall homeless population more than you can imagine. Most of them were able to fit all their belongings in a small bin, which was kept in a storage room of Horizon House. These small necessities which we all take for granted are major obstacles in some people’s everyday lives. It was definitely an eye opener for me personally and I’m excited for tomorrow’s service day. -Clayton Long

DAY 3: TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2011 We had another remarkable day serving and growing our bonds of friendship! Going into our second day at the Horizon House, we felt a lot more comfortable. We started off our morning in the Donation Center finishing survival bags of food and toiletries for the outreach program the Horizon House conducts. After making some survival bags, Emily and Samantha

11 members of Iowa State’s Greek Community attended the first Greek Alternative Spring Break Trip

Austin Engle TKE Tyler Gustafson ΣAE

Callie Bucha AΔΠSamantha Petersen ΣK

Ashley Olberding AXΩKristin Riley ΔΔΔEmily Hill ΠΒΦ

Laken Bell ΠΒΦ

Sam Behrens ACACIA Clayton Long TKE

Jonathan Turk graduate advisor, TKE

ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ

Greek Alternative Spring Breakhad the privilege of working in Opportunity Knocks, which is a class about employment that takes place in the computer lab. Today was Day 2 of the class, and the students were learning about filling out applications. All of our “neighbors” have the choice to take this class and to learn about how to apply for jobs & market themselves. At the end of the class, the students can use the computers in the lab for a year to look for jobs and housing. The wonderful HH staff gave us five free tickets to the Pacers game tonight, and we paid for six more so the whole GASB Family could attend. Before we did this, however, we toured the TKE and ACACIA National Headquarters

Collected from http://isugreekaltsb.tumblr.com/

and learned about their fraternity organizations. It was an awesome opportunity to learn about the operations side of Greek associations.We hope tomorrow is equally as exhilarating; we are looking forward to our bittersweet final workday at Horizon House.-Tyler and Emily

DAY 4: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2011 We had another fabulous day in Indy and had a very sad departure from our friends and neighbors at Horizon House.We started out the day leaving at 6:30 am again and worked until noon at Horizon House. A lot of our neighbors opened up much more, and we were very fortunate to learn more about their lives. We found out today that the food that is served at Horizon House comes from another wonderful non-profit organization, Second Helpings. Second Helpings makes food and distributes it out to several organizations in the Indianapolis community & offers a 10-week course to prepare people to work in culinary science. The food used in preparing these meals and in this course are strictly “rescued” foods, which means it comes from restaurants, grocery stores, and other organizations that have excess food. They convert the pounds of food to money (for tax purposes) with an equivalency of 1 pound = $1.50. We had the fantastic opportunity to tour this organization as well, and our family got to get on the scale to see how much we weighed. The total was over 1700 lbs. That means that we’re worth over $2500 as a group! We had dinner at the International Headquarters of Delta Upsilon Fraternity. We learned all about their history and alumni and had a tour of their facility on Founders Road. During dinner, we had a fantastic discussion about service and how we, as Greeks, can truly make a difference in the world. The discussion focused around how doing service can change our perspectives and reflected the quote at the top of our blog! We can all contribute something to others, and every small change can make a difference. ΔΥ also started their Global Service Initiative last year, where they send students to Jamaica to reach out to the community. Our final discussion took place around a campfire that Emily and Tyler built. Cameron Beatty, our Graduate Advisor, was able to meet up with us at Jameson Camp to participate in our final reflection of our service. We spent a lot of time talking about how our perceptions of homelessness have changed and what we can do from here on out. It will be difficult for us to leave in the morning and realize that it may be another year before we can spend time with our friends and neighbors at Horizon House, but we are incredibly excited for what the future holds.

Meet the Greeks

By Rachel Gerd

es

ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ

The Meet the Greeks Symposium is an event each semester that presents the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) and the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) organizations at Iowa State. This year, there were five NPHC chapters and five MGC chapters represented at the event and they networked with over 30 non-Greek students. The outstanding participation of students and organizations leaves the council representatives feeling optimistic about the future. “Our purpose is to give the student population information regarding our organizations’ history,” Tiara Mays Vice President of NPHC and member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. said. “We give prospective students the opportunity to meet current members of each organization and find out what Greek life is all about.” Iowa State’s National Pan-Hellenic Council consists of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Multicultural Greek Council chapters include Lambda Theta Nu Sorority, Inc., Sigma Lambda Beta, International Fraternity, Inc., Sigma Lambda Gamma, Sorority, Inc., Delta Lambda Phi and interested gentlemen of Lambda Theta Phi.

Meet the Greeks

Greek Leadership

ClassΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ

By Rhonda Delgato

It’s no question that Iowa State has a strong Greek Community, which would not be possible without leaders who seek to make a difference. Starting this semester, the Office of Greek Affairs is offering a 2-credit experimental course called Greek Community Leadership (LAS 290D) through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The course is exclusively offered to Greek students. “The class explores a number of areas of Greek leadership,” said Jenn Plagman-Galvin, Director of Greek Affairs and co-instructor for the course.The syllabus includes the history of the Iowa State Greek Community, mission statements of organizations and fraternal relevance. Ultimately, the course explores general concepts of community leadership including strategic planning, goal setting, civic engagement and leadership styles. These concepts are applied to chapter leadership and Greek Community leadership such that participants are able to translate learning to their chapter and community leadership experiences. The idea of a Greek Leadership class at Iowa State has

been considered for years, as Greek leadership courses in various formats are found at many other universities. The class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:10-5:00 PM. Each student entrolled in the course hosts one of the class sessions at their chapter house. With this format, students have the opportunity to learn and experience what other chapter facilities have to offer, while appreciating the Greek Community as a whole. The format also takes academic learning into the Greek Community. “Greek Leadership is very important. Every chapter has their own individual strengths, as well as opportunities for growth. We should learn how other chapters overcome and succeed, because the Greek Community is only as strong as the chapter next door,” Jenn stated honestly. “The better we can prepare our Greek leaders with these skills, the better chapter member they will be.” For more information on the Greek Leadership class, please contact the Office of Greek Affairs at 515-294-1023 or at greekaffairs@iastate.edu.

GREEKWeek 1st 2nd 3rd

Alpha Delta PiSigma Phi EpsilonAdelante

Alpha Chi OmegaDelta Tau DeltaSigma Pi

Delta ZetaSigma Alpha EpsilonAlpha Sigma Phi

Lip Sync

1. Kappa Alpha Theta, Pi Kappa Alpha, Alpha Kappa Lambda2. Alpha Delta Pi, Simga Phi Epsilon, Adelante3. Delta Zeta, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Alpha Sigma Phi

Best ChoreographyΑΔΠ, ΣΦΕ, ΑΔΛ

Best MusicΔZ, ΣAE, AΣΦ

Best Male PerformanceBrandon Maske - KAΘ, ΠKA, AKΛ

Best Female PerformanceAlyssa Howlett - KAΘ, ΠKA, AKΛ

Best Plot KAΘ, ΠKA, AKΛ

People’s ChoiceΑΔΠ, ΣΦΕ, ΑΔΛ

Volleyball

Spirit1. Alpha Gamma Delta, Beta Sigma Psi, Beta Theta Pi2. Kappa Kappa Gamma, Alpha Gamma Rho, Sigma Nu3. Alpha Chi Omega, Delta Tau Delta, Sigma Pi

Banner

Karaoke1. ΑXΩ, ΔTΔ, ΣΠ2. ΑΔΠ, ΣΦΕ, ΑΔΛ3. ΑXΩ, ΔTΔ, ΣΠ & ΣK, ΦΓΔ, ΘX

Store Front Window1. ΑΓΔ, BΣΨ, BΘΠ2. ΓΦB, ATΩ, ΘΞ3.AOΠ, ΦBX, ΦKΨ, ΘΔX

T-ShirtΔZ, ΣAE, AΣΦ

Roll Call1. ΑXΩ, ΔTΔ, ΣΠ2. ΠΒΦ, FH, ΦΚΘ3. AOΠ, ΦBX, ΦKΨ, ΘΔX

1. ΚΚΓ, ΑΓΡ, ΣN 2. ΑΓΔ, BΣΨ, BΘΠ3. ΔΔΔ, TKE, ΛXA, KΣ

Overall Placing

ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ

ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ

1. Kappa Alpha Theta, Pi Kappa Alpha, Alpha Kappa Lambda2. Alpha Delta Pi, Simga Phi Epsilon, Adelante3. Delta Zeta, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Alpha Sigma Phi

Best Music

People’s Choice

Greek Olympics1. Pi Beta Phi, Farmhouse, Phi Kappa Theta2. Alpha Chi Omega, Delta Tau Delta, Sigma Pi3. Delta Zeta, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Alpha Sigma Phi

Skin the Snake1. ΔZ, ΣAE, AΣΦ2. ΠΒΦ, FH, ΦΚΘ3. ΚΚΓ, ΑΓΡ, ΣN

LARP1. ΑXΩ, ΔTΔ, ΣΠ2. AOΠ, ΦBX, ΦKΨ, ΘΔX3. ΣK, ΦΓΔ, ΘX

Egg Joust1. ΑΔΠ, ΣΦΕ, ΑΔΛ2. ΑXΩ, ΔTΔ, ΣΠ3. ΔZ, ΣAE, AΣΦ

Bed Race1. ΠΒΦ, FH, ΦΚΘ2. ΔZ, ΣAE, AΣΦ3. ΣK, ΦΓΔ, ΘX

Dingle Dangle Donut1. ΑXΩ, ΔTΔ, ΣΠ2. ΔZ, ΣAE, AΣΦ3. ΚΚΓ, ΑΓΡ, ΣN

Fruit of the Loom1. ΑXΩ, ΔTΔ, ΣΠ2. KAΘ, ΠKA, AKΛ3. ΚΚΓ, ΑΓΡ, ΣN

Canoe Races1. ΚΚΓ, ΑΓΡ, ΣN 2. ΔZ, ΣAE, AΣΦ3. AOΠ, ΦBX, ΦKΨ, ΘΔX

Dizzy Dizzy Duck1. ΠΒΦ, FH, ΦΚΘ2. ΑΓΔ, BΣΨ, BΘΠ3. AOΠ, ΦBX, ΦKΨ, ΘΔX

Tug Of War1. XΩ, ΦΔΘ, ACACIA2. ΠΒΦ, FH, ΦΚΘ3. ΑΓΔ, BΣΨ, BΘΠ

Road Race1. ΑΓΔ, BΣΨ, BΘΠ2. ΑΔΠ, ΣΦΕ, ΑΔΛ3. ΠΒΦ, FH, ΦΚΘ

Community Service1. Pi Beta Phi, Farmhouse, Phi Kappa Theta2. Kappa Kappa Gamma, Alpha Gamma Rho, Sigma Nu3. Sigma Kappa, Phi Gamma Delta, Theta Chi

Can Drive1. ΠΒΦ, FH, ΦΚΘ2. ΚΚΓ, ΑΓΡ, ΣN 3. ΣK, ΦΓΔ, ΘX

Can Sculpture1. ΑΔΠ, ΣΦΕ, ΑΔΛ2. ΑXΩ, ΔTΔ, ΣΠ3. ΚΚΓ, ΑΓΡ, ΣN

Polar Bear Plunge1. ΠΒΦ, FH, ΦΚΘ2. ΑXΩ, ΔTΔ, ΣΠ3. KAΘ, ΠKA, AKΛ

Clothing DriveΠΒΦ, FH, ΦΚΘ

Blood Drive KAΘ, ΠKA, AKΛ

Relay for LifeHighest Participation: ΣK, ΦΓΔ, ΘXLargest Donation: AOΠ, ΦBX, ΦKΨ, ΘΔX

Broomball1. ΑXΩ, ΔTΔ, ΣΠ2. ΑΔΠ, ΣΦΕ, ΑΔΛ3. KAΘ, ΠKA, AKΛ

Treds Football1. ΑΔΠ, ΣΦΕ, ΑΔΛ2. KAΘ, ΠKA, AKΛ3. ΠΒΦ, FH, ΦΚΘ

Soccer1. ΑΔΠ, ΣΦΕ, ΑΔΛ2. ΠΒΦ, FH, ΦΚΘ3. KAΘ, ΠKA, AKΛ

Basketball1. ΣK, ΦΓΔ, ΘX2. ΑXΩ, ΔTΔ, ΣΠ3. KAΘ, ΠKA, AKΛ

Volleyball1. ΠΒΦ, FH, ΦΚΘ2. ΚΚΓ, ΑΓΡ, ΣN 3. ΑΔΠ, ΣΦΕ, ΑΔΛ

Swim Meet1. ΑΔΠ, ΣΦΕ, ΑΔΛ2. ΑΓΔ, BΣΨ, BΘΠ3. ΣK, ΦΓΔ, ΘX

Dodgeball1. ΔZ, ΣAE, AΣΦ2. ΠΒΦ, FH, ΦΚΘ3. ΑΔΠ, ΣΦΕ, ΑΔΛ

Quiz Bowl1. ΑΓΔ, BΣΨ, BΘΠ2. ΠΒΦ, FH, ΦΚΘ3. ΓΦB, ATΩ, ΘΞ

Tournaments1. Alpha Delta Pi, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Adelante2. Pi Beta Phi, Farmhouse, Phi Kappa Theta3. Kappa Alpha Theta, Pi Kappa Alpha, Alpha Kappa Lambda

Stories By Colin Grace

Greek Week TOURNAMENTS

ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ

Greek Week is a time when competition seems to run through every Greek’s blood, and nowhere is that more evident then at Greek Week Tournaments. The Greek Week chapter pairings pull together their best to take to the field, the court, the pool, even the desk chair in the hope for a win. “It was really fun!” Zannie Thomas-Peckum, member of Delta Delta Delta Sorority, said about tournaments, “There’s always good but friendly competition even if we didn’t win we still had a great time playing together.” During Tournaments, Greeks compete in a wide range of sports, including basketball, soccer, broomball, swimming, vol-leyball, and new to this year’s tournaments, Quiz Bowl. “My favorite tournament was quiz bowl,” said Kate Dickey, Greek Week Central Tournaments Coordinator and member of Al-pha Chi Omega Sorority, “As a new Tournaments event, I tried to make it exciting not only for participants, but also for spectators.”In Quiz Bowl, contestants answered questions about general knowledge, political science, math, as well as Greek Community and Iowa State trivia. Each round consisted of fifteen questions being asked, with a correct answer getting you points. Contes-tants buzzed in to answer questions. “For me, this is a really cool Tournaments event because for all the other ones that involve a lot of physicality, this is the only

one where you exclusively use your mind,” said Denton Patrick of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, “I had so much fun doing it.” The other competitions showcased Greek Land’s athletic prowess, with games and matches getting fairly competitive while maintaining the sense of camaraderie and friendship that Greek Week is all about. “Well, it was very competitive when we played Alpha Chi Omega (Sorority) actually!” remarked Lili Ruff of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority, “I left with a pretty big scrape down my leg from crashing into Kaine Nanne (Delta Tau Delta Fraternity) while I tried to steal the ball. It was fun though, I liked the challenge.” “I enjoyed tournaments because it was an opportunity to see the Greek Community competing at it’s finest,” said Dickey, “It also allowed for greatest sportsmanship. I was able to develop my skills in event planning by making sure everything was planned out for each event. I wouldn’t have been able to do it with out the help of Russ Jones, former member of FarmHouse Frater-nity and intramural coordinator for recreation services.” All in all, Greek Week Tournaments went about as smoothly as one could hope for with as perfect a day as Ames in early April could provide. Greeks maintained unbelievable sportsmanship, and kept a friendly competitive atmosphere in which everyone could have fun and get involved.

Greek Week OLYMPICS

ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ

It is a scene to behold. Crowds’ voices fill the air with screams and cheers for their Greek Week champions in the sand pit. An epic battle is about to take place: the men don lab goggles and strap eggs to their foreheads. Normally com-placent and polite women become frenzied when they wield about their newspaper rolls. As team after team is eliminated, the tension heightens and the crowds bathe in the gladiatorial spectacle. This is the Egg Joust competition, and just the tip of the unusually dramatic and incredibly silly spectacle that is Greek Week Olympics. Greek Olympics is that amazing time of year when Greeks come together to compete in a wide range of trials, encom-passing everything from athletics to, well, we’re still not quite sure what to call it. “Whether your team is winning or losing, it’s all about having fun and being in the Greek community,” said Meggie Kelley of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority.To begin the day, the Greek Week chapter pairings took to the high seas, Lake LaVerne, in the Canoe Race. These were no regular canoes, these vessels were the product of the ad hoc engineering that has become the distinct flavor of Greek Week. They were a motley assortment of boats: some made of blueboard, some with plywood, and one brave adventurer set sail on a contraption composed of inflated plastic water bottles. From there on, a full schedule of games and contests filled the day, such as Dizzy Dizzy Duck, where contestants were spun round and round and instructed to fill a bucket of water, with hilarity ensuing, followed by the Tug of War, Skin the Snake, a relay involving gratuitous shuffling and somersaults, and the previously noted Egg Joust. Stephanie Pikul of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority competed in the Skin The Snake competition, saying, “It’s a ton of fun and I didn’t realize how competitive it was and that it takes skill and strategy to win.” “I did Dizzy Dizzy Duck and I still have a lump on my forehead for doing it but it was so worth it since we won first in our heat! I think this was by far the best Greek Week I have participated in,” said Nyobi Camacho of Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority. Soon it was time for one of Greek Olympics’ most antici-pated events, Bed Races. In simple terms, a bed’s frame is outfitted with wheels and some sort of steering mechanism. Some pairings engineer the lightest and speediest racers in Greekland, others stick with simple and traditional designs and one team elected to build a helicopter, complete with Ar-nold Schwarzenegger references and commando costumes. Two members of the pairing lie on the mattress and navigate, with four members of the pairing providing the power. They dash around Sorority Circle to the jubilant cries of their pair-ings lining the route to see the action. New to this year’s Greek Olympics, pairings went Mediae-val with the ΛAΡΠ (LARP) competition. LARP stands for Live-Action Role Playing, and consists of knights of all disciplines engaging in team combat with foam-padded weaponry and armor, with a wide variety costumes included, of course. “I liked ΛAΡΠ because it was a lot of fun to hit people and everyone got into it. It was a really intense game,” said Leah Johnson of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority, “it was also cool that everyone else in the community got really into the game too.”

ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ

Greek Week COMMUNITY SERVICEBy Robin Kamenjarin

$80,500raised in total

The Iowa State University Greek Community is passionate about many things, but there is one passion that stands above the rest: community service. More than 2,400 students strong, the entire Greek Community takes pride in serving the community all throughout the year. Greek Week made way for nine different philanthropy and community service events in which all Greek students were given the opportunity to take part in. As part of the Greek Week competitions, community service points are awarded to the chapter with the most involvement, most money raised, most cans collected, etc. This past year there were record numbers set for a few of the community service events the Greek Community took part in. Awards were given to winning chapters at the all Greek Vespers Service that took place Sunday April 3, 2011. Take a look at some of this years’ numbers:

Polar Bear Plunge: Record involvement of over 700 students and $52,000 raised!

VEISHEA Service Day: Collected 275 bags of trash from ISU campus and Ames Community.

Blood Drive: 1,600 Donors

Can Sculpting: 4,500 non-perishable food items were donated to the Mid-Iowa Community Action in Ames.

Box tops and Soup Labels: $2,000 donated to the local Ames Community Schools.

Can Drive: $7,915 raised through this years drive

Clothing Drive: 1,700 articles of clothing donated to local Ames organizations to provide for families in need. A record

618 attended

ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ

GreekGETAWAY

One weekend every year, the Greek Community gets to showcase some exciting aspects of joining a Greek organization during Greek Getaway. This preview weekend provides an opportunity for hundreds of high school students and current Iowa State students to see what life in the Iowa State Greek Community is all about. This year’s Greek Getaway on April 1 to 3 and attracted 618 potential new members to the Greek Community, which was a 40% increase from last year, according to Laura S., Collegiate Panhellenic Council Vice President of Recruitment. “We hope that all students that came to Greek Getaway were able to experience a welcoming, informative and fun weekend with our Greek Community,” Laura said. “Hopefully they felt that they too could find their niche here and make it their home away from home.” The potential new Greek Community members arrived Friday evening and were escorted by Rho Gammas, their recruitment guides for the weekend, to their host chapters where they would stay the night. Friday evening was filled with activities for the potential new members and Greek Community members beginning with chapter barbecues and fun-filled block parties. These block parties were hosted by various fraternities and featured themes like Las Vegas Casino, Mardi Gras and Hawaiian Luau . To finish off the busy evening, the guests and chapter members settled in to watch Greek Week Lip Sync finals at C.Y. Stephens Auditorium. The potential new members spent their Saturday going to an informational Greek 101 seminar presented by the Interfraternity Council, Collegiate Panhellenic Council and Multicultural Greek Council Vice Presidents of Recruitment, watching Greek Week Olympics, taking house tours and getting to know one another. Ultimately, Greek Getaway encourages women and men to join our Greek Community, whether it be with formal recruitment for the women, fall fraternity rush or recruitment over the summer for men. The 34 female and 38 male Rho Gammas will also serve as ambassadors for Greek life during formal recruitment and fall fraternity rush.

A record618

attended

By Katie H.

ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ

$4,716

Message from the CPC & IFC Vice Presidents of Risk Management

Jenna Fessler and Joe Hora

CPC & IFC Vice Presidents of Philanthropy and

Community Service

Shannon Cooper and Ryan Helling

Facebook Profile Safety:

Make sure your Facebook account is private and that you don’t list your full name, birthday, hometown or school.

Don’t add people you don’t know as friends.

Don’t overshare and list specific events you’re participating in or take photos that give away your address or car license plate.

Have common sense; Inter/National Headquarters may check your Facebook accounts as well as potential employers.

$4, 719was raised for the

United Way during

the All Greek Pizza

Lunch at Greek

Getaway

KKΓ & FH Kappa Fiesta and FH Burritoville received the awards for Best CPC & IFC Philanthropic Events at Vespers

More than

12,000service hours

have been put in

this semester by

Greeks

ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ

27 28262524

23222120191817

16151413121110

9876543

21

APRILGreek Getaway

Delta Lambda Phi

Founders Day

Dead Week

29 30

Greek Getaway

Lambda Theta Nu & Interested Men of Lambda

Theta Phi Taco Sale

Vespers

Kappa Kakes 9 am - 1 pm

Kappa Delta Founders DaySigma Lambda

Gamma Founders Day

MGC/NPHC Yardshow 11:30

Parks LibraryChi-O Corndogs

9 pm - 1 am

Sigma Phi Epsilon Founders

DayFIJI Concert

Hero’s on Central Campus

5 pm - 10 am

Lambda Theta Nu Founders

DaySigma Alpha Epsilon Slice

for a Cure9 pm - 1 am

Sigma Lambda Beta Founders

Day

Theta Delta Chi Flying for MS 6 pm - 10 pm

Alpha Sigma Kappa’s

A-S-Kakes for K-9’s and

Kitties 10 am - 5 pm

Pi Kappa Scramblers 8 pm - 1 am

FIJI Red Cross Cookout - DZ

Triangle5 pm - 7 pm

DZ Dogs9 pm - 1 am

Gamma Phi Beta Final Stretch 5K on Central Campus

10 am - 12 pm

Theta Chi Root Beer Fest 9 pm - 12 am

Kappa Alpha Theta Cookies

for Casa on Central Campus

7 am - 5 pm

Pi Beta Phi Taco Dinner5 pm - 8 pm

Phi Psi Sliders5 pm - 8 pm

Study hard! Make Deans List!

Eight years ago Rebecca Kirtman, a student at Nova High School in Davie, Florida, passed away in a tragic car accident. Described by her friends and family described as a “passionate, bright, and fun-loving” individual, Rebecca launched a prom dress drive her freshman year in order to provide dresses for young women who could not afford to purchase them. During the first drive, she collected more than 250 dresses for girls around the area to wear with style to their proms. After her passing, many dedicated friends and family carried on her dream of helping others. Together, they worked toward Rebecca’s original goal by keeping her prom dress drive alive. Today there are stores all around the country named after Rebecca that provide the opportunity for those women who would otherwise be unable to purchase a dress, to find the one of their dreams. The core mission of Becca’s Closet is to collect and distribute dresses, however, the end result has become so much more. Recently, Iowa State University was contacted by the Becca’s Closet chapter in Newton, IA and asked to help with collecting dresses for their store.

“They usually go through the University of Iowa, but they were unable to help this year so [Becca’s Closet] contacted the Greek Community at Iowa State,” Erin McHale, Collegiate Panhellenic Council President said. As the opportunity arose for Greek chapters to help, many throughout the Community began to donate their gently used formal dresses toward the cause. The prom dress drive has been a great way for the Greek Community to branch out beyond their usual community service activities and reach out to those in need around Iowa as a whole. Dresses were picked up from the Greek Community for Becca’s Closet on February 25th, but there are always more ways to volunteer. In all 30 dresses were collected at Iowa State. Becca’s Closet is actively involved all around the country, and there are many ways individuals can get involved on their own time. The Newton Chapter is always looking for more donations and volunteers and is also holds several events to support Becca’s Closet throughout the year. Along with the Newton Chapter, another Becca’s Closet Chapter is located in Indianola, IA. For more information on how to get involved please visit the Becca’s Closet website at www.beccascloset.com.

Photos from www.beccascloset.com.

By

Rob

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ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ

More than a Dress

The Greek Relations Executive Council is seeking your input!

Send your story ideas about your chapter’s news, notable alumni and current members for inclusion in one of our publications this semester. We are also looking to include any information on upcoming philanthropies and events you’d like placed on our calendar in each issue of Letters. Finally, we encourage you to send in high quality pictures from your chapter events as they happen throughout the semester.

This is your chance to showcase your chapter to the Iowa State University campus, and parent, alumni and support groups for the Greek Community.

Send all submissions to letters.isu@gmail.com.