#fightformatt.
This hashtag blew up my Twitter feed all day a few days ago from our neighbors at Oregon State University. Curious, I clicked on the link to check out the conversation.
Oregon State University’s chapter of Phi Delta Theta began Fight for Matt after one of their brothers was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia over the summer, according to a Daily Barometer article published on Oct. 24. The philanthropy event aims to wain off as much of his medical bills as possible through selling wristbands that read “Fight for Matt.” The fraternity also held a walk-a-thon last week and encourages continuous donations.
Though it’s Phi Delta Theta running the event, the entire OSU Greek Life community has rallied and publicized the event with just as much force.
“Help Oregon State help a fellow Greek!” OSU Kappa Kappa Gamma member Jessie Landar told me, a slogan she plans to use to gain national fraternity support for the cause.
This community-wide support is a gentle reminder to us here about what it means to be a Greek.
As Greek Week here at University of Oregon begins in just a couple of days, tensions will run high between all of the houses for the next two weeks. With events like these we often forget why we joined Greek Life in the first place: for a sense of community. Though we wear different letters, we all ultimately aspire to the same goals, we all live to be good brothers and sisters. We often forget; and it sadly takes tragedies like the passing of a Chi Omega last spring or a cancer diagnosis to remind us that we are one Greek Life, one community.
So as we launch into the week of high competition, think about why you joined Greek Life and remind yourself that the woman in the sorority that’s “too stuck up” or the man in the fraternity known for being “too bro-y” probably has the same reasons as you.