From food trucks to formals, from pageant shows to The Big Event, Greek Week at Quinnipiac University was in full swing last week. Quinnipiac’s fraternities and sororities held the annual Greek Week celebration starting Monday, April 3. Throughout the week, members of Greek organizations competed in different events for points. At the end of the week, the Greek organization with the most points was announced as the winner. But it was the Lip Sync competition that took place on Saturday night that brought the week to a satisfying end.

“Every year, the Greek Week committee strives to update the week by adding new events and changing the old,” Greek Week chairperson Samantha Dyar said. “Greek God and Goddess has always kicked off the week, and Lip Sync has always brought the week to a close.”

Each sorority was paired with a fraternity for the week, culminating with their collaboration at Lip Sync where all the pairs duked it out on the TD Bank Sports Center floor. This year’s theme was “Decades.” Greek members danced and sang to popular songs through the years, from Young MC’s 80’s hit “Bust a Move” to Britney Spears’ “Toxic.”

The show also featured a bevy of time-traveling scenarios, bringing a sense of nostalgia by reuniting the audience with the beloved duos like Michelle and Uncle Jesse from the ‘90s sitcom “Full House.” One group’s “time-machine” even landed in Eric’s basement from “That ‘70s Show,” as performers rocked out to the show’s theme song “In the Street” by Cheap Trick.

Other songs included Sha Na Na’s “Born to Hand Jive” from the ‘50s, as well as more contemporary ones such as Beyonce’s “Run the World,” which featured some serious dance moves that brought the house down.

The audience had been anticipating the outcome of this year’s Lip Sync. Sophomore history major, Cynthia Clement, went last year and was eager to return for this year’s show on Saturday night. She said she had been excited to watch the progress of the fraternities and sororities throughout the weeks leading up to the competition.

“I’ve seen people practicing late into the night,” Clement said. “It’s cool watching it all come together.”

And practice they did. All competing members had been practicing for weeks on end.

“It’s definitely a big time commitment,” freshman sorority member Ilana Fishman said. “We practiced three times a week for three hours at a time.”

Fishman’s sorority, Pi Beta Phi, was partnered with the fraternity Beta Theta Pi, and the team was the first group to perform on Saturday night.

Many of the performers enjoyed being in the spotlight despite the long hours of practice. Freshman civil engineering major in Delta Tau Delta, Matt Boblenz, admits that it took a lot of time and energy from his normal schedule.

“We practiced a lot,” Boblenz said. “We practiced at least twice a week for five or six weeks leading up to it. And then three times last week.”

This event is definitely one that will keep students coming back, both as participants and eager observers.

Freshman occupational therapy major Adrian Cepeda was asked if she would be coming back next year.

Cepeda said “yes” without hesitation.

While this year’s Greek Week was kickstarted with Kyle Lopez of Beta Theta Pi and Courtney Kent of Phi Sigma Sigma being crowned as this year’s Greek God and Goddess, the week came to a final close with Delta Upsilon bringing home first place, followed by Phi Sigma Sigma with second place. The pair of organizations were also the winners of Lip Sync, gaining the points they needed to put them on top.

The winners of both Greek God and Goddess and Lip Sync were decided by a panel of judges composed of Quinnipiac staff and faculty. The Greek Week Committee helped tally points for the other components of the week such as the Social Media Challenge and Big Event teams. An overall winner was announced at the end of the week based on all of these factors.

The prize?

“Just Greek pride,” Dyar said.

Though no doubt a lot of fun, Greek Week is more than just one big social event.

It is about bringing the Greek community closer together, helping one another and promoting more love and less hatred, according to Dyar. Philanthropy is at the core of each organization, and each values growth, service, leadership and community.

When asked what he enjoyed most, Boblenz referenced coming together to meet other members of Greek life.

“I loved just going to the practices and meeting people from other fraternities and sororities,” Boblenz said.

It is this attitude and spirit that emulates what ended up being a truly great Greek Week 2017.