Greek Week is a time-honored tradition for members of the Greek community. As good ole’ cunt punt herself once said, it’s a time to foster relationships among the various chapters. For the students, it’s an amazing experience full of mixers, competitions, and hours upon hours of choreographed dance practices. You bond with your sisters, make friends in other chapters and acquire a myriad of t-shirts that you will ultimately pass along to your future little.
But apparently, that’s not how it’s going to be for everyone. This year, Ohio University has effectively canceled their Greek Week, mere hours before it was set to begin.
Late last week, the graffiti wall on Ohio University’s campus was painted on. It’s not uncommon, as this wall is often painted on over and over again. However, this time, the wall was adorned with #Trump2016 and other pro-Donald Trump promotions. A large portion was dedicated to the phrase “BUILD THAT WALL,” in reference to the wall Donald Trump has proposed building in order to prevent illegal immigration.
Basically, this seems like it would have nothing to do with Greek life, right? Wrong.
Members of an unnamed fraternity were the ones behind the graffiti. While there is nothing wrong with supporting Donald Trump, many students have found the message, particularly regarding the stance on the wall, to be highly offensive. The polarization comes from the fact the connotation behind “BUILD THAT WALL” basically supports The Donald’s claim that illegal immigrants are rapists and murderers who are ruining the country. This also all occurred leading up to OU’s international week, which is supposed to help celebrate diversity and learning about new cultures among the student population.
The phrase is particularly harmful to members of the Greek community who are part of multicultural organizations, such as historically Hispanic sororities and fraternities. Since Greek Week is meant to foster relationships among the Greek community, the University has elected to focus on inclusion and education about other cultures, particularly those represented in the Multicultural Greek Council.
“The big picture right now is that some people didn’t feel unified with Greek life,” said the president of the OU chapter of Sigma Chi. “That was one of the main reasons why Greek Week was altered.”
Events that focus on the values of philanthropy, leadership and service will still be given. This includes a canned food drive, various speakers and a day of service to help beautify Athens. However, Airbands — a dance competition and one of the biggest events of the week — is no longer on the schedule. Neither is a ’90s themed field day or a dodgeball tournament. While points will be still be awarded and a winner will ultimately be determined, it will certainly be different than it has been in the past.
Here’s hoping that this brings a more unity to the Ohio University Greek community..
[via The Post Athens]
Image via anonymous tipster
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