Fraternity Raises Over $1,500 for Special Olympics
Sigma Tau Gamma (STG) fraternity hosted their annual Greek event, “Sig Tau Spelling Bee,” on Wednesday, April 2 in Pollak Theatre. The event raised over $1,500 in support of their philanthropy, Special Olympics, to help support the athletes and build training centers for their Olympic games.
Pat Swisher, Philanthropy Chair of STG, said, “This is the most money that we have raised to date which is great.”
STG normally hosts their annual event, “Don’t Forget the Lyrics,” but decided to switch it up this year. “I think we made the right decision… We now have a chance to start something new – a new, exciting trivia and spelling game,” said Swisher.
The event began with hosts Brandon Wiener, a theatre major, and Jess Purpura, a chemistry major, introducing the rules of the game. Teams consisting of two members from various Greek organizations on campus were asked a variety of questions, ranging in difficulty from easy, medium and hard. Each team had to correctly answer and spell their responses in order to pass to the next round.
The first category of questions strictly pertained to the University. These questions tested what the players knew about their school and better yet, if they could spell it. Many of the questions varied from, “What is the name of the dining hall?” to, “What famous NFL player played for Monmouth University?”
Additional categories were miscellaneous and were randomly asked to the players.
Jeff Singh, a brother of the Phi Kappa Psi (Phi Psi) fraternity, competed in the event and enjoyed being a part of STG’s effort to raise money for the Special Olympics. He said, “I thought it was very different compared to a lot of the other Greek events we usually have. Even though we didn’t win it was awesome to be a part of their new event.”
Richard Su, advisor of STG, said he enjoyed both watching the event and listening to the audience members sitting near him as they tried to guess the answers and spell along with the competitors on stage. Despite “Don’t Forget the Lyrics,” being a fun, philanthropic event, Su believes “Sig Tau Spelling Bee” engaged a larger portion of the audience. He said, “There were a few minor rough spots in the competition, but… overall, I think the evening went pretty well for a first-time event.”
The winners of the event were two sisters of Zeta Tau Alpha (ZTA) sorority Kara Post, a senior public relations student, and Laura Garcia, a senior criminal justice student. The team won $20 to AMC, $10 to Juniors, four gift cards to TGI Fridays that entitled them to an appetizer or a dessert, and four gift certificates for free meal at Jersey Mike’s.
The fraternity created another way for each Greek organization on campus to compete to win free subs from Jersey Mike’s at the end of their event. STG set-up buckets outside of their event for each organization so they could donate to their designated chapter. Once the event ended, whichever chapter raised the most money won all of the funds and the free subs to Jersey Mike’s. Alpha Sigma Tau (AST) sorority won $105 from the funds that were donated and went towards their philanthropy, Habitat for Humanity.
Su believed there was a “pretty good” turnout at “Sig Tau Spelling Bee,” given that the event was late in the evening in the middle of the week. “It was great to see so many students turn out to support a student-sponsored and student-run event,” said the advisor.
STG President Mike Sasso said, “Overall, I think the event went pretty good. Of course there were our worries because it was our first time trying it out, but after the turnout and the general interest, the ‘Sig Tau Spelling Bee’ might be an event we do again in the future.”
