Lindsey Saxton / Rose Thorn
Members of the fraternity Theta Xi showcase their innovative chariot design. The chariot race was one of many events featured at the Rose-Hulman Greek Games, whose winner this year was Delta Sigma Phi.
On May 3rd, over 250 Rose students gathered to uphold an honored Greek tradition, the Greek Games. All three sororities, Delta Delta Delta, Chi Omega, and Alpha Omicron Pi, and six of the eight fraternities, Delta Sigma Phi, Alpha Tau Omega, Pi Kappa Alpha, Theta Xi, Lamda Chi Alpha, and Fiji, competed to be named the winners of the Greek Games.
There were multiple events in which the fraternities and sororities participated, including a food eating contest (where teams of three ate a half gallon of ice cream, a watermelon, and five hotdogs), a traditional Chariot Race, a pyramid building competition, a mystery competition, mystery throw, and tug of war.
Cody Barron, the Greek Activities Chairman, and the rest of the Greek Games committee, Jake Carr and Scott Minchuk, began planning in early March. Barron said, “Starting the planning early, picking a day and establishing the rules and guidelines, helped out a lot, and basically all that was left in the last two weeks was getting the shirts ordered, the food bought, and cooperation from campus safety and facilities-- shutting down the roads and providing tables.” Barron also said, “This year, we wanted to entice more people to come out and participate, so we made t-shirts to help advertise, and these t-shirts are also going to the teams that won.” He deemed the games a great success because they had a greater turnout than years before.
Chi Omega was named the winner for the sororities, scoring 24 points, keeping their champion status. They won the pyramid, mystery throwing, the eating contest, the chariot race, and placed 2nd in the mystery competition. Morgan Williams, a freshman Chi Omega that participated in the pyramid and tug of war, said, “It was fun to hang out with sisters and show our Chi-O spirit.”
Delta Delta Delta placed second, with 28 people competing in the various events. They won the mystery event and were part of the three way tie for tug of war. Sara Hardin said, “I thought Greek Games went really well for being planned in a week and 4 days. It was a lot of fun and a really awesome way to spend some quality time with sisters!”
Alpha Omicron Pi placed third, scoring 10 points across the various events. Freshman AOII Melissa Galey said, “It was a lot of fun and really showed what the Greek organizations are all about – teamwork and friendship.”
In the fraternity division, Delta Sigma Phi won, scoring 17 points and displacing former champions Pi Kappa Alpha. Sophomore top of the Delta Sigma Phi pyramid Sam Wilson said, “I think it promotes pride in your fraternity and helps establish tradition,” about the Greek Games. Pi Kappa Alpha took second, scoring 16 points, winning the chariot race and the pyramid. Sophomore Zach Pligge said, “The games were a blast. Running the first and last legs of the chariot race was exhilarating, and I do not regret getting frostbite on my fingers from plowing through the half gallon of ice cream.” Alpha Tau Omega came in third with 10 points after winning the eating competition. Also notable, said Cody Barron was the “inventive” chariot made by Theta Xi, a “two-manned shopping cart.”