Spring Weekend, sponsored by the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council, began Wednesday night.
During Spring Weekend, which centers on the theme "Oh, the Places We Can Go," fraternities and sororities battle for spirit points by doing things such as attending an AIDS-awareness assembly and racing in chariots.
"There's much more of a focus on the AIDS Project for this Spring Weekend," Lesley Brown, public relations chair for Spring Weekend, said. "We really want to put more emphasis on the philanthropy."
Spring Weekend began with a program titled "Crowns and Condoms," presented by Kate Shindle, Miss America 1998. The program focused on AIDS education.
"The most important prevention method for AIDS is dialogue," Shindle said. "We need to get the word out to kids and stop administrators and boards of education from withholding information because it involves risky topics."
Spring Weekend continues today with chariot races at 4:15 p.m., a co-ed volleyball tournament on the corner of Fraternity Row and Fairmont Avenue and a barbecue from 4 to 8 p.m. on Fraternity Row.
Tomorrow Spring Weekend will feature a coed football tournament with registration at 9:30 a.m. and the tournament at 10 a.m. on the Pollock Fields. The National Panhellenic Stepshow will take place at 1 p.m. in Eisenhower Auditorium.
During the weekend, there will also be a T-shirt contest and a window-painting contest for spirit points.
"We chose these events because we want everyone to have a good time but also remember to keep philanthropy in mind, which is why we started out with the 'Crowns and Condoms' program," Brown said. "We picked the events that were most popular in the past and also brought back the coed football game, because a lot of people missed that."
Spring Weekend will conclude with the annual AIDS Walk on Sunday. Registration will be at 12:30 p.m. at the Central Parklet, and the walk will begin at 1 p.m.
"The walk not only raises AIDS awareness, it shows your support in the fight against AIDS," Shindle said. "It is really important to get the message out there, and it's great when organizations take AIDS awareness on as a group."
