By Maggie Schauer
Murphy News Service
Greek activities that were once lost within the larger overlapping “Spring Jam” three-day music festival have broken out earlier as Machy Days for the first time this year.
Machy Days (“machy” means “battle” in Greek) started Monday (April 21) and ends Saturday (April 26). Spring Jam runs from Thursday (April 24) until Saturday (April 26).
“In the past, we have not been allowed to print Spring Jam on our T-shirts because it is a registered trademark,” said PanHellenic President Talia Saville. “We’ve been moving toward separating the Greek activities over the years, but this year we decided to truly brand the week and find a better way to collaborate with SUA (the U’s Student Union Activities board).”
The Machy Days name was decided in a Twitter “favoriting” contest. Three names were up for consideration, Campus Carnival, Greek Jam, and Machy Days.
Some of the Greek events this week – such as tug-of-war and dodge ball — are not part of Spring Jam and have nothing to do with SUA, but the Greeks have partnered with SUA to put on Ballyhoo (dance competition) and Band in the past and will continue to do so.
The showcase fund-raising event for Machy Days this year was Monday’s “Walk A Mile In Her Shoes®,” the “International Men’s March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence.” The event was an opportunity for men to raise awareness throughout the University of Minnesota community about the causes and serious effects of men’s sexualized violence against women.
Most Machy Days events are sponsored solely by the Greek community. Participants must be affiliated with a registered Greek chapter to take part.
“Machy Days is an opportunity to promote programming that involves community building and a celebration of the many Greek organizations,” said Matt Levine, program director for the Office for Fraternity and Sorority Life, adding, “Chapters are paired together and participate in a variety of events and competitions throughout the week. We’re especially excited this year to continue our collaboration with SUA, while establishing our own unique brand for the first time.”
Maggie Schauer is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.
For a full event schedule visit: http://springjam.umn.edu/.