Meet and greet held by Greeks this week

For many freshmen, fraternities and sororities might seem like Greek to them. Penn Greeks, however, are trying to translate. Meet the Greeks, sponsored by the InterFraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council, was held yesterday to give students a chance to meet fraternity and sorority members. The event was part of the annual Greek Week, which runs through Sunday and highlights different aspects of Greek life. Kicked off on Sunday with an IFC forum, the week will encompass many community service and social activities. Yesterday afternoon, most IFC and Panhel chapters set up tables on Locust Walk to demonstrate the strength of the Greek community at Penn. "Freshmen can meet members of the Greek system in a situation where they can talk more casually, as opposed to a party or other social situation," said IFC President Andrew Mandelbaum, a College senior. College senior Ilana Lam, who organized Meet the Greeks for Panhel groups, agreed with that assessment. "It's meant to serve as an informal setting where freshmen can look at the houses and Greeks in general," she said. "This hopefully gets freshmen who otherwise would be intimidated to go and talk and be acquainted." Many of the different fraternities and sororities on Locust Walk yesterday were excited to showcase the Greek system. "In addition to promoting the Greek system in general and showing how we benefit the community, there is also showcasing a little bit of what each individual house if doing," said College and Wharton senior Laurel Lindstrom, who represented the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. Lindstrom said it also gave freshmen women a chance to officially register for spring rush, which is much more formalized for sororities than for fraternities. Although one freshman called the event "pretty confusing and not very informative," others were glad that the IFC and Panhel took time to introduce the Greek system to freshmen. "I would say that the experience was pretty good because I got to see a little of what Greek life at Penn is all about," College freshman Dave Smith said. Members from all of the Greek organizations will participate in this week's activities. On Wednesday, a coffeehouse will be held at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house, with all proceeds benefitting Penn Health System's Rena Rowan Breast Health Center, a favorite charity of the Penn Greek system. And on Friday, a Halloween trick-or-treat event will be held for West Philadelphia kids. The week will culminate on Sunday in the 5-K Ribbon Run, with all proceeds benefitting the Rowan Center. "The week helps combine community service with helping raising money for the breast center, an organization that Greeks are actively supporting," Lam said.