By Colleen McGinness
CollegianAssistant News Editor

Approximately 45 percent of Hillsdale’s students belong to a fraternity or sorority and look forward to demonstrating their athletic prowess during Greek Week, a week-long series of competitions.

This year, students are pumping up and honing skills such as jump rope and tugging for Greek Week, which is going on this week.

The competitive week is organized by Men’s Interfraternity and Women’s Panhellenic Councils and is designed to promote unity among the eight houses.

Greek life itself dates back to the middle of the 19th century. Although Greeks have only been competing together on Hillsdale’s campus since the mid 1960s, the week was established in the 1930s in Athens, Ohio.

Ohio University held an interfraternity conference with the National Presidents of both Delta Tau Delta and Beta Theta Pi in 1930 to discuss the need of co-operatives on campuses.
Other campuses adopted the unifying idea, and in 1933, Ohio State University accomplished the first ever Greek Week.

Before the mid 60s, Hillsdale Greeks came together in events like “May Sing,” “Mardi Gras,” and the “Little Brown Jug.”

During May Sing, held each year on Mother’s Day weekend, the fraternities and sororities performed songs from their respective chapters, as well as popular songs.

Ronda Deer, ’60, remembered that songs from South Pacific and Oklahoma! were performed one year. Deer was a member of Chi Omega, and currently serves on Hillsdale’s Alumni Board.

Even the fraternities participated in the musical event.

“The guys did a lot of things they don’t do now,” Deer said.

Mardi Gras was a fundraising event that united the houses into an all-school carnival. Each fraternity and sorority would set up a booth where students paid to play. The house that raised the most money at the end of the night, won the competition. The houses would also perform skits that usually revolved around current events.

When Hillsdale’s Dean of Women CarolAnn Barker was a student in the ‘60s, she was a member of Pi Beta Phi. Although the Greek system did not yet celebrate Greek Week, Barker reminisced about the contests in her day.

“The Little Brown Jug,” first a competition for just the fraternities, provided some controversial fun. The dean of men hid an old jug in the Arboretum, and the men were turned loose on its trail. The first fraternity to find it won, and the Greek men held a celebratory bonfire.

In the spring of 1961, Dean of Women Lillian Comar decided to equalize the competition, and organized a game for the women.

“When the Greek women were looking for the jug, one of the sorority women called out, ‘I found it,’” Barker said. “What a mistake. My best friend and I were standing on the outer rim of the hunt, only to view about ten college co-eds fighting as though their lives depended on carrying the jug out of the Arb.

“Because of the deep scratches, bruises and pulled hair, the Little Brown Jug was not held again for the women,” Barker said.

Greek Week appeared on Hillsdale’s campus in the mid 1960s, and although the concept remains the same as it did nearly 40 years ago, the format has changed considerably, gradually evolving into the current activities.

Past years’ Greek Weeks have included activities for the men such as horseshoes, foosball, Frisbee, ping pong, euchre tournaments, canoe races, chariot races, skateboarding, skeet shoot competitions and golf. For the women, the contests have included pool, backgammon, stilts, big wheel racing and hoolahoop, among others.

The Greeks used to throw an all-Greek party to celebrate the halfway point of the week. The parties included publicized beer chugging contests for the men, and Bloody Mary sipping contests for the women.

Although Deer just missed the days of Greek Week on Hillsdale’s campus, she was still quick to say the Greeks had fun. The fraternities and sororities used to get together often for bonfires and parties.

One popular party site, called the “Delt Sig Chicken Farm,” provided the perfect atmosphere for Greek get-togethers. The men of Delta Sigma Phi used to pay a local property owner to use his land and host a bonfire.

“We would drink and sing,” Deer said. “There was a little bit of making out going on too.”

David Harmon, ’75 graduate and Chairman of the Alpha Tau Omega Alumni Board, remembered Greek Week to be fairly competitive.

“There wasn’t a lot of love lost,” Harmon said.
“It made for some good competition.”

Although Harmon thinks Greek Week has remained pretty consistent, he also thinks the Greek system as a whole has changed.

“The biggest change is we don’t have nearly the student body in the system that we used to,” Harmon said. “But, the college has changed a lot too. Admissions standards are higher and the College is more serious about academics.”

Although Harmon said the system has changed along with the College, he also believes that although the administration supports the system for the most part, it could work harder.

“I don’t think Hillsdale College does a good enough job for students from a social standpoint,” he said. “The Greek system offered more social opportunities back then.”

However, Harmon refutes some student sentiment that feels the administration is completely against the concept.

“The typical frat member thinks the administration is against the Greek system,” Harmon said. “If I thought that, I would not be actively involved. I don’t believe for one minute the administration wants to run the Greeks off campus. There are things that are acceptable, and things that are not acceptable.”

Alumni and active members alike stay in the system because it affords not only social opportunities, but opportunities for philanthropy, leadership and lasting friendship.

“My best friends in the world are ATOs from Hillsdale,” Harmon said.

Today, nearly every Greek system on college campuses nationwide unites each year to participate in the week. However, not all are structured the same.

Greeks from San Diego State University raised and donated $35,000 to support the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation last month during their Greek Week.

The students held events comparable to Hillsdale’s, except they worked together within each event to raise dollars.

Hillsdale’s 1980 IFC President Pete Poiner summed up the week’s purpose.

“Greek Week shows that the Greek system is not only together, but strong” Poiner said. “It shows there exists a common bond between all the Greeks and not just the individual houses. This makes me proud to be part of such a special system.”

Current student, junior Amy Peterson, agreed.

“Greek Week is an awesome time for us to see and talk with other Greeks, and also enjoy bonding time within our own house,” Peterson said.