Members of the Interfraternity Council joined together last Sunday for the first Greek Community Cleanup Day—a large scale community service event, created, organized, and run by greeks.
Over 120 greeks gave up their Sunday morning and afternoon to give back to Troy. The cleanup day was an idea borne of the Interfraternity Council Executive Board in continuation of the promises made in its resolution passed earlier this semester. It is a first step in channeling their philanthropic work towards the community they live in, rather than raising money for impersonal charities that Troy citizens never see. The Interfraternity Council organized this event with the aid of the Department of Public Safety, the Troy Community Police Department, Sodhexo, and Troy Deputy Mayor Conroy.
The event was held at two separate locations: the12th Street Approach and Prospect Park. On 12th Street, brothers of Pi Kappa Alpha worked hard with officers from the Department of Public Safety. Greeks and Public Safety raked the area and picked up trash. In addition, they covered graffiti on the stairs and removed weeds and brush. The transformation makes the “mini-approach” more inviting and usable than it has been in years.
Other brothers from many fraternities, including Lambda Chi Alpha, the Rensselaer Society of Engineers, Phi Mu Delta, Delta Tau Delta, Alpha Epsilon Pi, and Delta Phi, made a successful effort to clean up Prospect Park. Projects ranged from raking leaves from the playground area to clearing the westward view of downtown Troy. Without the help of fraternity men, the park would still have leaves and garbage left from last fall. Brothers of certain fraternities even demonstrated that they can have fun in such a setting, playing frisbee, football, and swinging and playing on the playground.
In short, the greek community worked vigorously towards achieving their goals set forth in the community relations resolution. Supplies and food for this event were donated by Public Safety, Rensselaer’s Physical Facility Department, the Troy Community Police Department, and individual RPI greek chapters. Even one of the shuttles was used during the day.
Greeks recognize that they are members of the Troy community and have a responsibility to it. As has been shown, and unfortunately not well publicized, greeks have been volunteering for years. Fraternities may have different letters, members, and customs, but their core values are all similar and being a good citizens is one of their main principles. Improving and serving the community is a top priority of many organizations. They look to be more integrated and welcomed by members of the Troy community and “are willing and intend to increase communication with residents and contribute to the community,” as promised by their resolution.
