Members of the greek community took to the streets Sunday morning to clean up all the cans, bottles and paper plates another raucous State Patty's Day weekend could throw at them.
The Interfraternity Council (IFC) teamed up with Delta Upsilon fraternity to host "Greek Sweep," recruiting greek organizations to help remove litter in the Highlands neighborhood after a weekend of parties.
Armed with garbage bags and brooms, about 90 fraternity and sorority members gathered at
10 a.m. Sunday to pick up paper plates, cans, bottles and any other trash lying around.
"We want people to know that we care about the community we live in, and this is a great way to show we care," IFC Vice President for Programming Christian Van Horn said.
Those who participated paid $10 each to contribute to the cost of the cleaning supplies and received a green T-shirt listing the names of the fraternities and sororities involved.
While most people walked in groups and picked up trash in their specific zone, others drove trucks around the area to pick up the filled garbage bags.
Delta Upsilon President Justin Robinson said there wasn't as much debris on the ground as he expected, considering how many parties took place during the "holiday" weekend.
Though non-greeks attend fraternity parties and contribute to the mess on the streets, Robinson (junior-information sciences and technology) doesn't mind volunteering to undo some of the damage.
"Everybody's really excited," he said. "If we're throwing the function, it's our responsibility to clean it up."
Volunteers agreed that most of the trash that accumulates from a weekend of parties is usually scattered on College and Beaver Avenues, but borough officials insisted their own crews clean up downtown, said Sage Perisse, Delta Upsilon's vice president of external relations.
Perisse said there will hopefully be plans to coordinate future clean-up efforts, perhaps during Blue-White weekend.
"It's community service, so we don't see it as a punishment," Perisse (junior-film and video) said. "It's something to give back."
