Seventeen sororities and fraternities gathered Monday night in the EMU Ballroom to perform in the grand finale of a week-long string of charity events.
Anchor Splash, hosted by Delta Gamma sorority, brings together the campus Greek community in a friendly competition to raise money for the Oregon School for the Blind and the national Delta Gamma Foundation, which supports Service for Sight.
The night marks one of the sorority’s most anticipated events of the year. Participants performed skits, dance routines and elaborate acrobatics and the senior girls of Delta Gamma acted as judges.
Theta Chi fraternity members serenaded the senior girls with the 1965 hit “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” to win the competition.
Pi Beta Phi won as the best female group with an intricate dance routine to music that included Ray Charles’ “Hit the Road Jack” and Kanye West’s “Gold Digger.”
Pi Beta Phi member and choreographer Hayley DuLong, was thrilled with the victory.
“It feels awesome to win. It’s a great feeling of accomplishment, and it brought a lot of the girls closer together,” she said.
The comical and enticing performances captivated the audience. Sigma Chi members clambered into human pyramids and attempted difficult stunt-work and Alpha Phi’s choreographed dance spanned decades through music and costume.
“You can really tell they put a lot of effort into their performances,” audience member Catrina West said. “There was a lot of originality.”
But the talent show was only the final event. Anchor Splash winners are also determined by the amount of money they raised leading up to the event.
“This is the most successful year we’ve had,” says Meghan McCloskey, Delta Gamma President and Anchor Splash coordinator. “I’m predicting that we will end up making $8,000.”
This year Delta Gamma added a silent auction and required every member of the Delta Gamma sorority to obtain at least one donation from a friend or business.
“It was a very rewarding experience, knowing that we raised the most money this year than any year before.”
Throughout the week Delta Gamma hosted other events, including a “beautiful eyes” penny drive, in which donators correspond their contribution with their favorite pair of eyes, a dunk tank event and a soup can label collection for the Campbell’s “Labels for Education” program.”
Large contributors to the philanthropy include Nike, the University Bookstore, Safeway, and the Glenwood Restaurant.