The Daily Campus

Issue date: 4/2/09 Section: Focus

Media Credit: Ed Ryan Dan Wanik, a 4th-semester environmental science major, plays guitar Wednesday night during the Greek Week Pageant.

The Greek Community at UCconn came together this past week for Greek Week to raise money for The Hole In The Wall Gang Camp. The week was full of fundraisers and activities that raised $2535.65 for the foundation, according to Delta Gamma sister Amy Nelson, an 8th-semester human development and family studies major, who was in charge of fundraising for the week. Last night the week ended with the Greek God and Goddess Pageant in the Student Union Theatre.

"It was really nice to see everyone come together for a great cause," said Katharine Murphy, a 6th-semester communications design major, and president of Kappa Alpha Theta. "Events like this really show the amount of Greek pride there is on campus, and it is a way to unify the already close-knit community."

UConn's Greek God and Greek Goddess of 2009 were Lamba Alpha Upsilon brother Chris Sanchez and Kappa Kappa Gamma sister Jessica Assaad. The two winners were crowned and sashed after a night full of song, dance and satire.

The night kicked off with President Michael Hogan announcing and introducing the contestants. The pageant consisted of six hopeful gods and goddesses competing for the coveted crowns.

The question and answer session was a time for contestants to not only show their quick wit and thinking skills, but also to show off their creative togas which represented their individual teams.

"Some of the questions were tougher than others, but they were evenly spread between the Nickelodeon and Greek life topics," said Jessica Young, a 6th-semester human development and family studies and psychology double major. "Most of the contestants were able to give really good answers, and they all put a lot of thought and creativity into their togas."

With Nickelodeon being the theme, each team had a chosen show which was used as a team uniform for the entire week, and entire pageant. Themes ranged from "Legends of the Hidden Temple" to "Blue's Clues."

Although the question and answer component allowed contestants to show what Greek life meant to them, it was the talent portion that really allowed audience members to get to know the contestants. Alpha Epsilon Pi brother Ben Rabb set a high standard with his performance of his own original song. Several other contestants followed suit in the musical realm, while others used dance and baton twirling to impress the crowd. Kappa Alpha Theta sister Kristina Salvey stood out from the other contestants when she used her comedic skills to poke fun at the Greek community.

In between every few talent acts, were group performances known as Greek Sings. Several participants from each designated team put together and performed a dance and act routine. The shows were entertaining and creative, and it was Team 5, with their creepy "Are You Afraid of The Dark"-themed dance routine that took the crown for best Greek Song.

Team member Lauren Casasanta, a 6th-semester biological science major was pleased with everyone s participation.

"Watching all of the performances, it was clear that everyone put in a lot of hard work," she said. "I think its really great that everyone from Greek life can come together and have fun while raising money for a good cause."

The night ended with a slide show showing participants the highlights of their week full of hard word and fundraising.

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