Busy weekend for Penn Greeks

Penn Greeks will speak out against sexual abuse, help fund a breast cancer research center and promote Holocaust awareness -- all in a single weekend. Greek Weekend -- an annual tradition for the InterFraternity Council, the Panhellenic Council and the Bicultural InterGreek Council -- will include philanthropic projects, social events and a guest speaker for Holocaust Remembrance Day. This is Penn's second Greek Weekend. The event started in 1998, but was canceled last year after the death of Phi Gamma Delta alumnus Michael Tobin. "[Greek Weekend] is an opportunity to do something good for the community and at the same time have a really good time," said IFC President and Alpha Chi Rho brother Andrew Mandelbaum, a College junior. And according to IFC Executive Vice President John Buchanan, a Phi Kappa Psi brother, Greek Weekend is intended to showcase the strengths of the Penn Greek system. "We aim to expose the rest of the campus to all the different things that the Greek community does at Penn," said Buchanan, a College junior. To mark the beginning of the weekend, Greeks will be participating in the annual Take Back the Night rally, which protests violence against women, particularly sexual abuse. The rally is sponsored by Penn women's groups, and Panhel is co-sponsoring it this year for the first time. "Being the largest women's organization on campus, it's important that we stand up with [other women]," said Panhel President Jennifer Chanowitz, a College junior and Sigma Delta Tau sister. "We want to give the events our numbers and make them feel strong and powerful." On Saturday, the Greeks will take to the streets -- along with Penn's UC Green organization -- to pick up garbage and plant flowers in University City. The effort is part of an Ivy League-wide community service program called IvyCorps. "We'll be? trying to make the neighborhood more beautiful and more presentable," Chanowitz said. The weekend's main attraction is Saturday night's Dance for a Cure -- sponsored by the IFC, Panhel and the BIG-C -- in which participants must collect $20 in sponsor money in order to attend. The money will go toward the construction of the Rena Rowan Breast Health Center, Panhel's official philanthropic cause. Greek Weekend's final event will be an IFC-sponsored program for Holocaust Remembrance Day on Monday. At the program, a former skinhead, who is also a former member of the White Power movement will speak about racism and anti-Semitism. Other events include a Junior Panhel Powder Puff football game, a Greek Shabbat dinner, a Greek coffeehouse and an IFC-sponsored field day for the children in the PennPals mentoring program.