Greek Life hosted a banner competition and sold bracelets on the UA Mall in honor of deceased fraternity member Wilson Forrester to begin its first Drug Awareness Week.
The Interfraternity and Panhellenic councils, which are the governing bodies of Greek Life, are hosting the week and asked chapter houses to create banners. The banners will hang all week in front of respective chapter houses, according to Jessica Hermann, president of the Panhellenic Council.
“Drug free is the way to be” was the slogan on Pi Beta Phi’s banner, which was “catchy” and “not as dry as some of the others,” according to Lexi Sutter, the sorority’s president and a journalism senior.
“Drug use is prevalent on college campuses, and it can’t be swept under the rug,” she said. “People don’t realize that drugs are as widely used as alcohol.”
Sutter said the banner took a couple hours to make, and that a few of the Pi Beta Phi members are in charge of making all of the sorority’s banners. In addition, her sorority hosted a question-and-answer session with a University of Arizona Police Department officer on Monday for UA community members to have an “open time” to ask about drugs and alcohol, according to Sutter.
Tianna Krejci, a junior studying retailing and consumer science and a member of Alpha Phi sorority, said the week is important because it emphasizes staying healthy and can keep people from doing drugs. Her sorority’s banner read, “Get high off life, not drugs,” which Krejci said took sorority member Brooke Roberts four hours to make.
Krejci said she is most excited for the executive board training event today at 5 p.m., where representatives from Campus Health Service, UAPD and Greek Life will be discussing how to spot potential drug problems.
“We all (members of Alpha Phi) get to go,” she said. “It’s good for sisterly bonding.”
In addition, Greek Life members sold $4 purple “W.F.F.’,” or Wilson Forrester Foundation bracelets on the UA Mall to benefit the Wilson Forrester Scholarship Fund. Forrester was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. He died from an accidental overdose last semester.
Jourdan Broadfoot, a member of the Chi Omega sorority and a biochemistry freshman, sold the bracelets and said she was hoping to sell a “pretty substantial amount.” Broadfoot said many people don’t know about the side effects and dangers of drugs, and that Drug Awareness Week could help battle that.
“Drugs are just not worth the risk,” she said. “People don’t always realize the possible outcomes they (drugs) can have.”
Broadfoot added that she is looking forward to Wednesday’s event, where the governing Greek councils will host a speaker for freshmen and new Greek Life members about how to avoid drug use.
“The whole week is very relevant to college life,” said Jason Ikpatt, a freshman studying molecular and cellular biology who was also selling bracelets on the Mall.
