Greek life at Cornell is more than just a party. On Saturday, Nov. 1, the Interfraternity Council (IFC), the Panhellenic Council and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs will host a Public Service Day.
The purpose of the Public Service Day is for all fraternities and sororities to participate in community service projects and learn new ways to reach out to the Ithaca community. The day will consist of three events:
The Collegetown Cleanup will involve the whole Greek community, as 200 to 300 fraternity and sorority members are expected to join community members for this semi-annual event. Joshua E. Brill '99 and Charlotte Simpson '98, vice presidents of university and community relations for the IFC and the Panhellenic Council, respectively, are the chairpersons, and they will organize the cleanup effort.
"This event," Brill said, "has successfully joined both the efforts of the Greek community at Cornell and the residents of the Ithaca-Collegetown area to pick up trash, tear down old posterings and generally improve the cleanliness of Collegetown. We have always had good attendance and efforts at Collegetown Cleanup from students and residents, and we expect this year to be no different."
Additional support is being provided by several Collegetown businesses and the city of Ithaca's Department of Public Works.
Volunteers will gather at various times beginning at 11 a.m. in front of the Nines restaurant on College Avenue. From there, teams of students and year-round residents will begin their clean-up effort.
Dori Engel '98, a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority, has participated in Collegetown Cleanup in past years. "It was great to get involved and really feel that we are making a difference in our own community," she said. "I'd like to participate in the cleanup again this year."
The Public Service Day retreat will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Statler Hotel with breakfast and introductions, followed by keynote speaker Bobbie MacGuffie '46. MacGuffie, a Pi Beta Phi sorority member and a recipient of numerous humanitarian awards, is a surgeon specializing in children's cancers, plastic and burn surgery. She has been engaged in much public service, including leading aid missions to Africa and establishing a children's hospital in Kenya.
"The Fraternity and Sorority Public Service Day was conceived as a part of the Fraternity and Sorority Strategic Plan," said Randy S. Stevens, associate dean of students. "The program was designed in partnership with the university Public Service Center to promote service learning and to provide more of a hands-on experience in the community.
"I believe that encouraging these types of service learning opportunities will greatly increase the value of fraternities and sororities because it seeks to cultivate greater social responsibility," Stevens said.
The service outreach portion of the retreat involves participating students going to various sites in Ithaca to volunteer their help and services. The sites include Oakhill Manor nursing home, the Salvation Army, Titus Towers, the Reconstruction Home and Ithacare. Four team leaders, all student public service volunteers at the Public Service Center, will lead participants through the day's activities.
"Some of the sites are down to three staff members on weekends, so they are overjoyed to participate and have help," said Kim McKenzie, director of chapter services.
"This is an effort to encourage fraternities to stop throwing parties, charging admission, donating the money to a charity and calling the party a philanthropy event," she said. "I think this is a good opportunity for officers to get first hand experience. It should be a great day."
For more information on the Public Service Day, the Collegetown Cleanup or the Turkey Run, call the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs at 255-5430.