Links We Like

By Alissa Ranger and Blair Girkins

1. Go Abroad! Go Blue! How to Dress Like a European: Avoid These Study Abroad Fashion Faux Pas - HerCampus
Quick tips on the latest European fashion for those studying abroad this summer!

2. From the President's Desk: Thank you, not goodbye -  The Michigan Daily
Attention newest Alum: A farewell letter from the student body President

3. What Can I Do with This Major? - Career Services
Area you on the right path? This website breaks down jobs into categories by major - especially helpful for seeking out internships!

4. Popular Ann Arbor Events - To Do In A2
For those of you staying in Ann Arbor this summer, check out this website for events coming up!

5. Residence hall renovation details released - The Michigan Daily
South Quad and West Quad will be renovated starting in May - look here for the details!

From Tuscany and Florence

By Heather Fendell


Last week my family joined me in Rome to visit me and explore Italy. It was an amazing experience being able to share my life abroad with my family. We spent the first three days in Rome where I showed them all my favorite restaurants, bars, and Trastevere hang out spots. Giolitti's, Tony's, the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain later...we arrived in Tuscany. We stayed in Villa Cora, a beautifully renovated Villa, previously owned by Napoleon's third wife. It was definitely a welcome step up from the hostels I've been used to staying in!

Our Villa was only a 10 minute drive into the town of Florence so we often spent the days exploring around town, shopping in the leather market, and checking out the sights. The highlights of the trip for me was the Tuscan-cuisine cooking class and our 15 mile bike tour of Tuscany.

The cooking class was a fun, easy way to learn how to make some intricate Italian dishes and then get to enjoy the fruits of your labor afterwards. Our chef was funny, helpful, and quickly got everyone
involved in the process. We learned how to make pasta from scratch, an eggplant parm/caprese salad, stuffed chicken wrapped in phyllo dough, and creme brulee.

We finished up our last day with a bike tour through Tuscany. The scenery was amazing and matched perfectly how I envisioned the country side of Tuscany to appear. While the green rolling hills are perfect scenery, they aren't the easiest to bike! Halfway through our journey we stopped at a winery for lunch where they showed us how they made their wine and cooked a beautiful homemade meal for us.

I loved Tuscany for the peaceful beauty that it contained. The greenery there is breathtaking and I am so happy to have seen it first hand.

Thank you Mom, Dad, and Liza for making this a trip I will never forget!

Greek of the Week: Mike Freedman

By Alessandra Garvin

Mike Freedman is a junior majoring in Sports Management. He is the current President of IFC. Before being elected, he also was president of Sigma Phi Epsilon. 

Why did you want to be on IFC board? 
To leave a mark on Greek Life; specifically, to help facilitate the integration of all four councils of Greek Life.  

What previous positions have you held within your own fraternity? 
President of Sigma Phi Epsilon. 

What is the most challenging part of being on IFC board? 
Motivating Fraternities to go above and beyond, while also having to be stern when it comes to abiding by the rules. 

What is the most rewarding part? 
Witnessing chapter presidents become closer and closer, which in turn has been diminishing negative fraternity engagement. 

What have you gained from your first semester's experience on the board?
I've learned that I have the best board someone could ask for.  

What do you plan to do in the fall? 
 I plan to hold more specific leadership sessions tailored towards the tough decisions a President faces on a day to day basis; Greek Life Speaker Series; and to recruit the highest number of people into Greek Life in Michigan history. 

Are there any major projects you've been working on?
Speaker Series, as well as an On-Campus Safety Bus-Route 

Anything else you'd like to share about yourself or your experiences on IFC board and Exec board of Sigep?

The positions I have held have humbled me dearly. Working with amazing people every day who do so much make me realize I truly go to school with the Leaders and Best.

Greek Week Sing and Variety

By Linda Tell

On Wednesday, April 17^th, University of Michigan’s Greek Week held its annual Sing and Variety show. The most anticipated event in Greek Week, each team competed for the first place spot in both the sing and variety events.

First, each team performed a capella medleys to themed songs pertaining to their respective team names. Team President’s Day won first place with their presidential-themed medley, consisting of a standing ovation-worthy solo by one of their male performers. Team Birthday came in a close second, performing a comical child-themed medley complete with child-like costumes and hand movements.

The second act was the variety portion. Each team performed dance routines, also themed, yet not necessarily in line with their team names. First place went to Team Earth Day, who wowed the crowd with impressive stunts and choreography. Team Football Saturday took second, performing a karate-themed dance.

The performances showcased countless talented Greeks, and impressed all who attended. Adam Soslowitz, a member of the Steering Committee, explained, “The scores were really close this year, so I concur with the judges’ scorecards when I say that this year had some of the most amazing routines for variety and performances for sing.”

Though the event was great fun to watch, it was even more enjoyable for the performers. Participating in sing and variety is a great way to meet people and have the opportunity to share a talent. Satish Subramanian, a dancer for Team Thanksgiving, explained, “this was my 4th year participating in variety. The reason I come back every year to do variety is because it's a great way to get close with 8-10 great people that I usually have never met before.” Team Birthday sing captain Hillary Ginsberg explained that “the best part is certainly running it once we've learned it and adding all the little touches to it and having fun at rehearsal joking.”  

Yet, the preparation process wasn’t all fun and games. The event could not have been a success without the hard work and dedication of all of our performers. Tommy Wydra, dancer for Team Baseball Opening Day told me, “we practiced a few times a week for about 2 hours at a time.” This response was consistent with most teams. The team captains put in even more time and energy. Rachel Weisberg, variety captain for Team Birthday admitted, “it was really stressful being captain and getting everyone to come to rehearsals and have choreography sessions on top of it but I think at the end of it, everything came together well.” Indeed, we don’t always think about the amount of work and planning put into the performances. Sing performer for Team Mardi Gras, Alli Komrower, explains, “we were lead by the amazing Rachael Ferreira who is so talented and did an overall great job.”

At the end of the day, sing and variety, as well as the rest of the Greek Week events, are held in the name of charity. This year, Greek Week raised over $50,000 for eight deserving charities. I’m certain that we all can agree with Adam Soslowitz when he says, “when a community as big and influential as Greek Life can come together for a good cause, the difference we can make is remarkable.”

U of M Greeks Take Over Atlanta

By Anna Metzger

On April 8^th, Michigan’s men’s basketball team competed in the NCAA Championship game in Atlanta.  Many members of Greek Life made the trip down to Georgia to enjoy a weekend of sun, free concerts, and two incredible basketball games.   Of this experience, Alpha Phi sophomore Lauren Dolik stated, “Atlanta was absolutely amazing. The amount of Michigan spirit and enthusiasm throughout the weekend was unreal; every single place we went we were eagerly greeted by countless "Go Blue's." It was awesome to be a part of this once in a lifetime opportunity with thousands of Michigan fans from around the world.” Here is a look at how Michigan Greek Life spent this once in a lifetime opportunity:

Fiji and Alpha Phi friends embracing their inner Nik Stauskas

The Macklemore concert

DPhiE sophomores showing their Michigan pride

Phi Delt sophomores cheering from the student section

A group of Sammy and Fiji freshmen

Sophomore Alpha Phi's at the Dave Matthews Band concert

Sophomore DGs at the game

Fiji's enjoying the warm Atlanta weather

Sigma Kappa and Phi Psi sophomores at the Macklemore concert

Zeta's showing their sign at halftime in the Georgia Dome

AXO freshmen and sophomores at the Ludacris concert

A group of Theta Chi freshmen outside of the Georgia Dome

Michigan cheerleaders performing in the park

First Annual Blacktop Basketball Tournament

By Serena Bidwell

This past Saturday, April 13th, Sigma Phi Epsilon and Pike hosted a fraternity basketball tournament. All proceeds went to ICCP, the International Coalition of College Philanthropists, and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. The tournament was held in Sig Ep's old parking lot, which has recently been transformed into a small black top basketball court, the perfect addition for a fraternity house with summer just around the corner. Sig Ep was thankful for have the father of one of their members, Joe Wakeford, install the hoops and finishing the construction on Friday night. The winner of the 8-team braket played Sig Ep in the final game.

This was the first time Black Top has been done. The men in Sigma Phi Epsilon wanted a new programming event that was inclusive of the greek community, fun for their chapter, and would benefit a philanthropic cause. Jack Burke, Akash Nigam, and Sam Dickstein came up with the idea and realized their house was a great spot to host a basketball tournament. While events such as Mud Bowl and Winterfest have been done in the past, there was no sporting event in the spring, and they hope Black Top will now fill the void.

Each participating team donated $250, which was split between the two organizations. $200 of each team's donation went to ICCP, whose proceeds were then funneled to Splash, an organization which helps impoverished urban areas by providing clean, safe drinking water to orphanages, schools, children's hospitals, street shelters, and rescue homes. The other $50 went to the Ann Arbor Veteran's Association, in coordination with Pike.

According to Sam Dickstein, both Pike and Sig Ep were planning to host basketball tournaments on the same day, so they simply combined the plans. It was hosted at Sig Ep because they had better "infrastructure to make the full court happen." Dickstein also commented that the "collaboration was nice because [they] were able to come to joint decisions on rules, game pairings, etc. to make the tournament the best possible."

Many of the games were extremely close, and the semi-final even went into an overtime one-on-one match between Sig and AEPi. Dickstein said his favorite part of the day was refereeing this match between two of the best players of the day in the half-court showdown.

For Charlie Zeller, a senior in Sig Ep, the event was a lot of fun. Not only did Sig Ep host the event, but they also ended up winning the final match against Sig. Zeller's favorite part of the event was the fan support throughout the day. He said, "You could feel the energy surrounding the court for each game. It was great to see each fraternity come out and cheer on their brothers." Charlie, the starting point guard for his team, also mentioned he has been playing basketball since age 4.

As for the future of Black Top, the boys in Sig Ep plan to make this an annual event. Of course, there will be some changes for next year, such as the court being resurfaced to reduce risk for injury and to make it easier to dribble. Second, Sig Ep hopes to add one or two more fraternities, start the games a little later so the finals are played under the lights, and to include an 8 or 9 team girls bracket. 

Zeller is also very optimistic about the future of the event, adding that he wants "people to understand that Saturday was just the beginning of what's going to be an awesome annual event." Zeller envisions BlackTop to be a "UM Greek Life stable and a day that the entire Greek community anticipates every year."

BlackTop keeps the magic of March Madness rolling, even after all the hype for the NCAA tournament has died down.

Greek of the Week: Cassie Boston

By Liz Gorson

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself!

I am a junior from Omaha, Nebraska, and I’m studying Chemical Engineering. I love to play sports and hang out with my friends in my free time (which I rarely ever have). My ideal afternoon would be to play a pick-up game of basketball with all of my friends outside. I also love to experiment with cooking. If I had a kitchen, I would probably be baking all of the time trying to make fun treats.

2. What are some of your responsibilities as VP Social Responsibility?

VP Social Responsibility is an interesting position. There are a lot of pressures to deal with from people inside and outside of the Greek Community, but it is a very self-rewarding position. I work very closely with the VPSR of IFC, Tommy Wydra, to make sure the Greek Community as a whole is as safe as possible. My biggest job is to help enforce the policies we have in place (in the SEMP) to maintain safety at our events. Tommy and I also work with the Judicial Vice Presidents when appeals are sent in to them from chapters who have been sanctioned. In addition to working with the JVP’s,
we also have meetings each month with the Dean of Students and the Chief of Ann
Arbor Police Department. With them, we discuss ways to keep risk on campus as low as
possible. Another responsibility of my position is to plan the Appreciation Tea that the
Panhellenic Association holds near the end of each winter semester. At this tea, we thank
all of the women for their work that makes our association the best it can be.

3. What has your Greek Life involvement been in the past?

Before becoming a member of the 2013 Panhel Executive Board, I held positions in my
chapter, Alpha Delta Pi. As a freshman, I was the Assistant Sisterhood Chair. Starting
in January of 2012 through December 2012, I was the Director of Standards and Ethics
for ADPi, as well as the Co-Dance Chair for our Greek Week Variety team. This year
for ADPi, I am currently the Dance Chair for our Greek Week Variety team as well as
Parent’s Weekend Chair in addition to VP Social Responsibility.

4. What made you interested in VPSR?

The VP Social Responsibility position interested me because I wanted to have a role in
the larger Greek Community than just my chapter. After serving a position similar to this
in my own chapter, I felt that I would be best at the VPSR position for Panhel. I enjoy
having a good time and going to events, but I have a strong passion for making sure
everyone is as safe as they can be. This passion grew as Director of Standards and Ethics,
and I knew the VPSR position would be a position that I was not only good at serving
due to my previous roles, but something that I enjoy doing and take pride in.

4. What do you enjoy about your position?

As VPSR, I really enjoy being able to work closely with all of the sororities and the IFC
board. This position has allowed me to connect with more people in the larger Greek
Community and strengthen bonds between people I have already had the chance to
meet. This position is also very self-rewarding in knowing that I am helping to keep my
peers safe. I know that the policies I enforce are what lower the risk in the community, specifically in regards to social events.

5. What about your position is challenging?

It is not always easy to enforce these policies and to sanction chapters. The pressure from
people, especially my friends, to keep them off of probation is the most challenging part
of this role. They always get upset with me, and I hear it all the time from them how mad
they are at me. I wish they would look at the good in my job and not only the bad. I am
helping to keep our Greek Community safe, and I work with the AAPD so that they can
trust our fraternities when they throw social events. Getting people to believe that I do
more good than bad is extremely challenging.

6. What is your favorite part of Greek Life?

My favorite part of Greek Life is making all of the connections. I feel like anything I
want to do, I know someone in Greek Life who is doing it or who has done it. It’s great
to be able to be confident in knowing that I can probably find someone to help me out if
needed.