Members of the Greek Ambassadors Program had an opportunity to experience a National Pan-Hellenic Council tradition on Saturday when they ushered at FaceOff 2k12.
Students see GAP as a way to get to know Greek life in its different forms across councils at the University.
Erin Deitrich, a junior history and Spanish major from Peachtree City, is a Greek Ambassador.
“The cheese-ball way of saying it is we bridge the gap between students on campus – not only between Greek students of different councils but also with non-Greeks,” said Deitrich, a member of Panhellenic Sorority Alpha Gamma Delta. “I got involved because I realized that the amount I knew about Greek life was embarrassing and I wanted to know more.”
Greek Life at the University consists of four councils: Panhellenic Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council, Interfraternity Council, and Multicultural Greek Council.
Travis Martin, advisor to NPHC, MGC and GAP, said the program prepares students to be well-versed in the history and traditions of each council.
“These students go through an 8 to 12 week program where they learn about all of the councils with hopes that once they finish the program, they can represent our office at events that we do on campus, such as freshman orientation,” Martin said. “If students come as freshmen and have questions about Greek Life, they are prepared to answer questions about whatever organization a potential student has.”
The program aims to educate its members and disband stereotypes about the different councils.
Marissa Loterina, a junior international affairs and sociology major from Los Angeles, Ca., and a member of Multicultural Greek Council sorority Gamma Eta, said that is exactly what has happened to her.
“AOPi invited my organization, Gamma Eta, to eat dinner at their house. That’s something that I’ve never done before,” she said. “They all waited for us to get there before they started having dinner and that really opened my eyes to see that it doesn’t matter — we may be different but they still had all their sisters there eating dinner together and we had conversations. That made a really big difference for me in my perspective of Panhellenic sororities.”
Greek Ambassadors must attend at least one event from each of their different councils – this includes philanthropy dinners, cultural seminars and step shows like Saturday’s Face-Off.
The show took place in the Classic Center and the audience was filled with Greeks and alumni of the “Divine Nine” — the nine historically African American fraternities and sororities that make up NPHC. The money raised from ticket sales — $20 pre-sale and $25 at the door — benefited UGA Miracle.
Fraternities and sororities in the audience had specific calls for their respective organizations – like AKA’s skee-wee, which they called out every opportunity between MC Rob Haze’s comedic quips. Members danced in unison in the aisles when music came on between events.
The performances themselves were a mix of dance, step and skit acting which combine to create a distinct aesthetic for which NPHC has become known. The members moved completely in sync with each other, performing tricks like stepping as a team while one hung upside down on a partner’s back.
Some groups had guest appearances, such as Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity’s performance, which featured Miss Sandra of Snelling Dining Commons.
Delta Sigma Theta, “The Deltas,” won the competition for women with their performance inspired by Batman. Alpha Phi Alpha won the men’s competition.
This was Loterina’s first time at Face-Off.
“These organizations really put themselves out there and they showed us what they could do,” she said. “They definitely surprised all of us with their ideas, their stepping and everything they came up with. I think you can tell they put a lot of hard work and effort into it. I definitely enjoyed it.”
The night was a chance for members of different councils to experience NPHC traditions, which Loterina and Deitrich said will help bridge gaps between students of different councils and move forward together as a unified Greek life.
“As a girl in Panhellenic, I would walk by and have no idea what they were talking about. Or I’ll hear people say ‘oh, that’s not a real sorority.’ And they are, and we need to understand that they are,” Deitrich said. “We need to understand each other because our impact could be so much stronger if we work together.”
