In the normally quiet Highlands neighborhood, everything changes on State Patty's Day. After a long day of partying, students and visitors alike take to the streets, dropping pizza boxes, bottles and the occasional set of green beads.
But this year, the Interfraternity Council (IFC) is kicking off its "Commitment to Outreach and Responsible Education" (CORE) initiative with "Greek Sweep." Starting at 10 a.m. Sunday -- the morning after State Patty's Day -- members of the greek community will start at the Delta Upsilon fraternity house, 229 Locust Lane, and separate into different groups to clean the Highlands neighborhood.
"We're giving back to the community, a whole day after the students destroy it," Delta Upsilon Vice President of External Relations Sage Perisse said. "I really just want it to be a fun event where people are out helping the community and enjoying social interaction -- not something mandatory where people are doing it against their will."
IFC Vice President for Communications Dan Cartwright said while fraternities may differ from the older residents of the Highlands area, they take just as much pride in their surroundings.
"We are residents of the Highlands area and would like it to look as nice as any other weekend," Cartwright said. "We just want to give back to the community we live in."
As part of the semester-long CORE competition, fraternities will earn 15 points for participating in "Greek Sweep" if 30 percent of a chapter attends, IFC Vice President for Programming Christian Van Horn said.
This isn't the first "Greek Sweep," but previous initiatives died out years ago. Some fraternity members said they can appreciate the value of a program like this.
Perisse (junior-film and video) said he is used to picking up other people's trash, as his fraternity house is located next to Canyon Pizza, 260 E. Beaver Ave. State Patty's Day, Perisse said, is a great time to revive the program because of the debris that will be floating around the day after the student-created holiday.
"It's just trashed," he said of the holiday's aftermath. "People don't worry about getting to a trashcan or dumpster. Things are thrown on the street -- everything from Canyon Pizza plates to beer cans."
In preparation for the event, Delta Upsilon has purchased 20 brooms, 80 trashbags and 200 pairs of gloves. The IFC will also provide additional supplies.
Van Horn said the IFC also encourages participants to bring their own supplies based on the large amount of members they hope will participate.
"I know a lot of sororities and fraternities want to help out. Some are upset it gets so wrecked," Perisse said. "The township spends thousands of dollars in damages, so we just want to help clean up so they will be spending less money in cleanup and we can do a little more goodwill to the community."
