James Madison University - Bluestone Schoolmaam Yearbook (Harrisonburg, VA)

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I Avoiding getting dunked, senior Dovidson HulPish of Thetc Chi stands on the rim of the tank. Due to the distance they had to throw the ball, many students simply ran to the target and pushed it, en- suring they dunked their friends. Photo by Mindt Westhoff During intermission, members of the break- dance club perform for audience members. The club performed at many events, including the sixth annual Circles breokdance competition, hosted by the university. Photo by Mindi V esthoff oweekinparadise New events during the week help tester Greek unity. Performing at Battle of the Bands, senior Te|as Singh of Shady Potato entertains the crowd. A number of other groups entertained during the event, including True Col- lege Experience and the breokdance club. Photo by Mindi Westhoff An aura of paradise swept through campus during Greek Week. The sun seemed to shine a little brighter and temperatures rose to numbers reminiscent of tropical locations. Even the wind picked up speeds reflective of those on a sandy coastline and attitudes of students evolved into a sunnier disposition during the week in the sun. The Interfraternity Council (IFC) and Panhellenic Council worked together planning the week and hoped to create more unity and involvement within the Greek and campus communities as a vi hole. New events were created, including a new philanthropic event and a spin-off on the game show, Singled Out, a big MTV hit in the 1990s. Junior Ryan Tambormi, IFC community service chair, said, We wanted to come up with creative and new ideas that would increase participation and catch the public eye. March 10 marked the beginning of Greek Week with the debut of the Shack-A-Thon. At 3 p.m., sorori- Anticipatlng her fall, ju- nior Gwendolyn Brontley of Zeta Tau Alpha (ZTA) drops into the water. As President of ZTA, Brantley helped raise money for Greek Week philanthro- pies. Photo by Mindi vVesthoff by katherine schuster ties and fraternities crowded onto the fields outside the Festival Conference and Student Center armed with cardboard, duck tape and trash bags, the only sup- plies allowed to be used. Some fraternities and sorori- ties were very crafty with their shacks. The women of Delta Delta Delta painted their shack purple and covered the roof with trash bags sprinkled with silver glitter. Different colored flowers were pasted all over the outside of the shack, making it bright and colorful. On the other hand, the brothers of FIJI transformed their shack into a tiki hut, complete with an inflatable pool and tiki lights. Very conducive to the theme of Greek Week, their hut was massive and caught the eye of numerous students vyalking past the area. Tambormi and his counterpart, senior Courtney Perrine, Panhellenic community service chair, prepared for the event over the course of four months. With the help of graduate assistant Lisa Fant, their goal was to simulate the life of a homeless individual and raise greek wee 3k

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bweekinparadisel awareness of the growing homeless community. Each fraternity and sorority was required to pay an entry fee in order to participate. They were also given jars to collect donations while they camped out in their shacks. Each organization was required to have at least two members present at all times from 3 p.m. Sunday until 9 a.m. Wednesday in order to re- ceive points. All the money raised from the event was given to the local Habitat for Humanity to help build more low-income housing in the Harrisonburg area. Overall the event raised approximately $3,500. The participation was the highest it has ever been for any single community service event in the past, said Tamborini. Additionally, we found a much happier and more productive drive for each chapter due to their interest in the event and their belief in what they were working toward. The university ' s own version of Singled Out premiered on Monday at 8 p.m. m Grafton-Stovall Theatre. One sorority woman and one fraternity man were selected as contestants and were asked to fill out a survey of their ideal date. Fraternity men and sorority women interested in being chosen by the contestants were asked to fill out a similar survey. The Singled Out committee calculated the results and those seeking a date were released when their answers did not match those of the contestant. The contestant was given a lifesaver to use on the date seeker of his or her choice if they were dismissed from a round. By the final round, three date seekers were left and forced to do outrageous things for the opportunity for a date with the contestant. One date seeker sucked the toes of the female contestant while another gave the male contestant a seductive massage. The contestant chose the top date seeker and received gift certificates to popular restaurants in the Harrisonburg area. The new couples walked away to the cheers of a jam-packed Grafton-Stovall Theatre. Senior Kelly Smith partici- pated in Singled Out and made it to the third round, i thought Singled Out was a really fun experience, Smith said. It was a creative way to bring the Greek community together. On Wednesday, Battle of the Bands was held in the Festival Center Ballroom. Points were again awarded for the number of Greeks that came out from each organi- zation. The majority of the bands that performed had members from a Greek organization. The breakdance club also made an appearance to hype up the crowd. Greeks filled the Gommons on Thursday for Com- mons Day. The annual penny wars took place as each Greek organization was designated a specific lar in which to cram as many copper pieces as possible. Com- petitive organizations were also seen placing silver coins and dollar bills into other organizations ' jars in an effort to give negative points. 2g eatures