Last Friday, new members of UCF's fraternities and sororities spent the afternoon at Lake Claire for the Junior Interfraternity Council and Junior Panhellenic Council New Member Veterans Day Barbecue.
Seventy-five new Greeks attended the event, which featured a DJ, beach volleyball and pizza from Lazy Moon. Members from most of the fraternities and sororities on campus attended the barbecue.
Ashley Glover, a sophomore and new member of her sorority, was thrilled that "people are mixing from different chapters."
New member of Theta Chi, Phil Trambley, said that he "enjoyed the opportunity to connect with people we'll be seeing a lot of in the next four years."
Others who attended the event sang its praises for reasons that ranged from "meeting beautiful sorority women" to "free pizza."
According to Nick Constain, executive vice president of JIFC, the event was a huge success.
When asked what he got out of the experience, he replied, "Connections. It was great to meet people from different fraternities and sororities."
Constain hopes that JIFC will continue to work with the Junior Panhellenic Council to play an active part in UCF's Greek community.
"We know that Greeks can have fun together, " Constain said. "I want to prove that we can also work together for the benefit of the community."
In fact, JIFC will be holding a soccer tournament on Dec. 3. All of the proceeds raised will go to the Officer Mario Jenkins Trust Fund.
The barbecue was part of a plan by Junior Interfraternity Council and Junior Panhellenic to promote unity in the Greek community.
Crystal Oliver, the director of chairs for Junior Panhellenic Council, said, "We came into Junior Pan expecting an easy ride, but we discussed making it more significant ... We decided to have a barbecue between new members of fraternities and sororities."
Oliver said that it was "refreshing" to see Greeks from many different organizations socializing. David Zaret, a member of Alpha Tau Omega, agreed.
"Aside from what fraternity you're labeled as, it's important to get together as a Greek community," he said. "I guess we can all get along."
Newly appointed Greek Council Chairman Dan Constain expressed his support for the efforts of Junior Interfraternity Council and Junior Panhellenic Council.
"This event is a step in the right direction in promoting Greek unity, which is a goal that we all have in common," he said. "I'd like to see more events like this on a continual basis, and its good to see the young leadership being interested in this goal."
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