The smell of fresh pizza and the low thrum of music could be heard from the basement of Panhellenic Hall as Greek members recently gathered for an intense game of trivia in honor of anti-hazing week.
Fifty members from 11 chapters enjoyed the event Wednesday, Sept. 19, sponsored by Fraternity and Sorority Life.
“Nationally we have a week for anti-hazing, called National Hazing Prevention Week,” said Leksi Simic, a graduate assistant for Fraternity and Sorority Life and the resident hall director and advisor for Panhellenic. “We were trying to figure out what to do and a way to reach out to students in Fraternity and Sorority Life, and Megan Hammel came up with the idea to do a trivia night to see what everyone knows and go from there.”
Megan Hammel, a senior and vice president of promotions for the Panhellenic Executive Board, researched the questions on Google and then ended the evening with a yes/no question asking members if they “pledge to not haze.” The answer was a resounding yes.
Both sorority and fraternity members ate pizza, placed their paint-coated handprints on an anti-hazing banner and pledged to stand up against hazing.
The game ran for 30 minutes as members answered questions about hazing policies and statistics. The members split into 11 teams and vied for the chance to win $100 toward their philanthropy.
Simic said the goal for her is to see student leaders taking charge and getting the most out of their leadership positions.
“It’s that education piece that I hope they get and they pass that on to each of the classes that they have coming in and going down the line from there,” Simic said.
Kylie Tennis, a senior and vice president of risk management for the Panhellenic Executive Board, said the topic was serious but engaging.
“I just think we really did it to engage the Greek community in something other than what they do as a chapter and brought everybody together and to have a fun night even though it’s such a serious topic,” Tennis said.
At the close of the evening, the men of Sigma Tau Gamma were victorious.
“I think we all know that it’s beneficial to not just raise awareness, but also think about what is already happening in Fraternity and Sorority Life and what has happened as well, especially that a ton of organizations were able to get together and you can provide for your philanthropy,” said Mason Keane, a senior actuarial science and statistics major and member of Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity. “It’s raising awareness on one thing but also being able to give back to something you support.”
While anti-hazing week has been recognized on campus for a few years, the idea of bringing everyone together for a trivia night was new.
“Me personally, I’m very passionate about anti-hazing week just because it fits into the stereotypes of Fraternity and Sorority Life and all we’re known for is hazing, so to just be here and be present in this event and show support for anti-hazing and show that that’s not what we’re about, that’s what I really like,” said Gabrielle Geither, a senior and vice president of recruitment for the Panhellenic Executive Board.
“We’re more than a stereotype,” she said.
The board members said they would like to have a guest speaker come talk to the Greek community sometime this semester.
“While having a guest speaker is the tradition, I’m hoping that we can have both (speaker and trivia night) events next year,” Hammel said.
Angie Meyers, a senior and president of the Panhellenic Executive Board, said anti-hazing week and this event are important to her because it “shows that we’re more than the stereotypes of it, and for the whole community to come together for one week to show that we’re better than that is cool to see.”
Meyers said it was important to see all the chapters come together instead of just one specific chapter raising awareness.