Upon entering BU Central last Wednesday night, instead of hearing the normal faint music in the background of the atmosphere and the blinking noise of one of the arcade games, there was quiet conversation, the sound of pencils scratching on paper and the occasional pearl of laughter breaking the silence. If you looked closer at the students spread out at the different tables, different Greek letters decorated their shirts. From Chi Phi to Gamma Phi Beta and everyone in between, students were coming together for academics to celebrate this year’s Greek Week.
Among this year’s festivities, Greek Week included a study session where different fraternities and
sororities were able to gain points based on attendance for their respective organizations in this year’s events.Other events included a traditional lip sync, a philanthropy event supporting preschool students, speaker David Stollman discussing fraternity and sorority recruitment and a soccer tailgate to support Boston University athletics.
Sigma Chi Fraternity’s scholarship chair, Sam Howe, says “Though Greek life offers underclassmen a very unique opportunity in terms of learning and leadership skills, every member of a fraternity or sorority is first and foremost a college student. Greek week including group study hours in the itinerary of activities shows the rest of the campus community that we do in fact take our scholarship efforts seriously. Though people often only hear of the social aspect of the Greek system, academics are a vital component to our organizations.”
This year, the Educational Resource Center was a proud part of helping the Greek community get their study on. Retention Program Specialist Patrick Devanney visited the study session and offered tips to Greeks about managing their hectic schedules and making academics a priority. Students involved in Greek life are often balancing academics, internships and part-time jobs, leadership roles both on campus and in their organizations, social lives and volunteering with the philanthropy organizations. Devanney also spoke to students about the different services offered in the ERC- from peer tutoring, writing assistance, academic advising and various workshops- the Greek community was educated about the resources and academic support offered by BU.
“Having group study hours for all Greeks during Greek Week was a fantastic idea,” said Kelsey Mason, Vice President of Public Relations of Kappa Delta Sorority. “Coming from a sorority that places high emphasis on academic excellence, it was a nice opportunity to show the campus that Greeks make school work a priority just like the other students in the BU community. We were able to collectively come together and remind everyone why we’re here at BU to begin with: to receive an exceptional education.”
Congratulations to the sororities for winning this year’s Greek Week and we remind all students, Greek or non-Greek, that our doors are always open for any academic advice needed!
