It has been a busy week for Greeks on campus.
Greek Week, a weeklong competition that began Sunday, is an annual tradition where sorority and fraternity members, with aid from other campus organizations, engage in friendly competition to raise money for charity.
"It brings the group together in a showcase atmosphere instead of competitive nature," said Paul Kittle, director of Greek life. "The Boys and Girls Club and Auburn City Department of Public Safety are the two beneficiaries of the week."
The Greek community, which accounts for 30 percent of Auburn students, is divided into six teams, each represented by a different color.
"There are seven to eight organizations on each team," said Laura Smith, director of Greek Week. "They range from three sororities to five fraternities on each team."
While raising money is the main goal, teams are also concerned with winning spirit points, which determine block football seating for the fraternities each season.
"The first-place team gets 200 spirit points, second place gets 150 points and third place gets 100 points," Smith said.
Each team attempts to send as many members as possible to each event in order to gain points and become the winner.
The week kicked off Sunday with the SGA 5K run, with door prizes, live entertainment and an appearance from Aubie.
Other events throughout the week included the Miss Greek Week Pageant, coed football tournament and a carnival for Auburn students and the children from Boys and Girls Club.
"The model that we are using now is five years old," Kittle said. "It used to be a lot of events like track and field and tug of war."
While the model has made the week more of a collaborative effort instead of competitive, the money generated from the events highlights the work of the Greek community.
"Last year, we donated about $20,000 to the Boys and Girls Club and bought six defibrillators, so I hope to raise at least $20,000 again this year," Smith said.
In order to raise money, it is essential that the Greek community and students involved work together for a greater cause.
"It has good student directors," Kittle said. "It is a fun week, and they know that there is a good purpose to all their work."
Aside from helping the Auburn community and winning spirit points, Greek Week also aims to unite the Greek community.
"Greek Week is a wonderful way for the Greek community to come together for a common cause--service," said Sarah Sanders, president of Pi Beta Phi sorority. "It is also a great way to meet different people in other organizations."
Greek Week comes to a close today with a new member barbecue for freshmen and bowling night.
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