Last week marked a big step for the Greek community of Furman as the Inter-Fraternity Council and Panhellenic joined forces to conduct our campus’ first ever “Greek Week.”

The event consisted of a week-long competition among teams of sororities and fraternities, the goal being to promote friendship among the Greek community and support various philanthropies in the process. Planned by Panhellenic delegate Erica Robes and her IFC counterpart Jared Crow Tipton, the event proved to be both enjoyable and successful in its intentions.

But where exactly did the inspiration behind this idea lie? Primarily in the deep passion for Greek Week held by various other universities across the country. Although following a similar structure to the events at many other schools, Robes informs us that Furman’s event was “tailored to our Greek community because it is our first year and we didn’t want to make it too heavy.”

Despite the newness of the concept, many exciting events still occurred all over campus last week. Each day posed diverse opportunities for teams to earn points and get ahead of the competition. Some of the most noteworthy events included: an all day blood drive on Tuesday where each donor earned points for his or her respective team, a canned food sculpture contest on Wednesday, and a “Find it at Furman” scavenger hunt that sent teams all over campus searching for clues that instructed the performance of various, quirky tasks.

These activities produced a positive response from members of Greek organizations across the board.

Wilson Roberts, an SAE and active participant in Greek Week, especially enjoyed “not only the philanthropic nature of the events, but also the social aspect of the week” and notes that “the Greek community has never been so close.”

Hunter Wilhoit, a Kappa Delta, echoes Wilson’s enthusiasm, especially voicing her love of “competition for a good cause.”

In addition to the events throughout the week, the entire experience culminated in Thursday night’s party at the Handlebar where the members of Team Aries and Zeus were crowned the winners. The party boasted a bus service, which shuttled students to and from Furman, and attracted over 200 attendees, a number that Robes hopes will increase in future years.

So what do the years to come hold for Furman Greek Week festivities? Robes feels content with the success and structure of the first year and is optimistic for what the future holds. In the years to come, Furman hopes to pair Greek Week with our annual Stroll competition in order to create a more cohesive group of events and get a far broader turnout. The hope is that the stroll will boost publicity, encouraging more and more students to participate in and get excited for Greek Week.

Overall Robes feels that “what we’ve done now is just the foundation … we want to make the event a week of positive community relations and positive Greek relations.”

It is a goal which has received a kick-start through Greek Week’s debut.