Sunday, April 22, 2012

Why We Roast Away

The following article appeared in The Odyssey on April 18th, 2012.


Are you going to the OSU Spring Game? Yes? Good. No? Well read this anyway. On Saturday, April 21st from 9am – 4pm, the men of Delta Theta Sigma and Alpha Gamma Rho as well as the Committee of 88 will be hosting the 2nd Annual Roast Away for MDA. The event will be held at The Women’s Field House, on Lincoln Tower Field. If you’re heading over to the game, be sure to stop by first. Or after. Or during. If you can’t find us, follow the music as we will have a DJ. We will be selling pulled pork sandwiches for a suggested donation price of $5. With that comes the hefty half pound of delicious smoked pulled pork sandwich, access to an exclusive barbeque sauss, aka a nectar sent straight from Zeus himself, known to us mere mortals as Sweet Baby Ray’s, a bag of chopped taters known as chips, and an ice cold beverage of the soda variety. If you’re not in a hurry, stick around for awhile and play corn hole with DTS and AGR, as there will be plenty of boards available. And again, we will be blessed with the musical stylings of various American musicians selected by none other than the famous DJ Edge of Alpha Gamma Rho.
                As aforementioned, this is the second annual event. The first took place last year at Beta Theta Pi with DTS and AGR. $700 was raised last year for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. You may have heard of MDA before when Firefighters across the nation stop traffic during events with their “Fill the Boot” campaigns to raise money for MDA. For just a simple dollar or two, you received a sticker. Well my friends, though stickers are great and I certainly approve, for just a small suggested retail price of $5 you receive much more than a sticker. For a rundown of the pallet teasing menu, please refer once again to the first paragraph.
                Jokes aside, Muscular Dystrophy is a serious disease. MD deteriorates the muscles over a person’s lifetime, and causes severe issues with everyday activities, such as walking. The event was originally inspired by Olivia Campbell, a Kent State Delta Gamma. Campbell is very active at Kent promoting Greek life, as well as working with MDA. She has been a facilitator at Camp Cheerful, an MDA camp near Cleveland that works with children with MD. She was also recently quoted in the Kent State newspaper this past March. She also gave a speech on Monday, April 9th.
                “The Muscular Dystrophy Association, for example, has become the most fabulous, supportive second family whom I would never have met without my diagnosis. They were there for me through testing, hospital visits, surgeries, school, summer vacation, you name it; and for that, I am beyond grateful. No one ever talks about whom you turn to after the shock of a diagnosis sets in, and they should, because organizations like MDA change lives. I would never say MD made me the person I am today, but I would be ignorant if I didn't acknowledge how greatly it has impacted the person I've become.”
                We as a Greek community are all about service, philanthropy, and brotherhood. In my opinion, there is nothing more touching than a community coming together to help one of our own.
                “Here I am today, a sister of Delta Gamma Fraternity, studying Health Care Administration and Health Services at Kent State. It is because of the many people I have encountered along my journey that I plan on entering the health care field. It’s time for me to give back what I have been given and I dream that one day I will be able to ease the pain for at least one other person, in the way that so many have done for me,” Campbell said in her speech.
                No matter the university, no matter the letters, no matter fraternity vs. sorority, we are a community. We have done great things as an Ohio State Greek Community, and I know that we will continue to support not only our own, but also those that have been “dealt a stack of cards in which we have no clue what's to come.” You can help people like Olivia by making a donation to MDA at our booth or getting some ridiculously delicious pulled pork sandwiches at our Roast Away Philanthropy on April 21st from 9-4 at the Women’s Field House. We are a community. Greek strong.

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