Candy and costumes could be seen everywhere at this year’s Halloween Greek or Treat event, hosted by the University of Arizona Order of Omega Greek Honor society.
The family-friendly event took place Thursday, Oct. 31, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and offered a safe space for children in the Tucson community to come to the UA Mall for Halloween candy and to meet members in Greek life.
Trinity Cullen, the Order of Omega president and primary organizer of Greek or Treat, worked behind the scenes to ensure everything ran smoothly. The event means a lot to her as both a member of a Greek organization and a student at the university.
“The purpose of the event is to give back to the local community by providing an opportunity for local kids to come have a fun and safe Halloween trick-or-treating event and it’s also to encourage a positive relationship between Greek Life and the local community,” Cullen said.
Community service is a significant part of Greek Life and an event like Greek or Treat helps to showcase this.
“One main thing that’s really important in Greek Life is service. It’s one of the main values of every organization and Greek Life as a whole so putting on an event where we can all get together to volunteer for the benefit of our community is a great thing for us,” Cullen said.
Hannah Jacobsen is the vice president of operations for the Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority and oversaw the Alpha Epsilon Phi table at Greek or Treat. Like the other sorority and fraternity members at the event, Jacobsen and the rest of her table got to dress up in costumes and hand out candy to children.
“I think it’s a really good way for Alpha Epsilon Phi and other sororities and fraternities to get their face out there in the Greek community,” Jacobsen said. “Being on Greek Row, you don’t really get to see the Tucson community as a whole when our house is there so being able to come to the Mall where it’s a public space that everyone can come and have fun is just really cool.”
Greek or Treat not only promotes a safe environment for trick-or-treating but also helps to diminish stereotypes that are often associated with the culture of sororities and fraternities.
“A lot of people, when they think of Greek Life, it’s a lot of stereotypes like partying and crazy stuff like that,” Jacobsen said. “It’s much more than that. I don’t think people see a lot of that part. So being able to come together and do a big project like this to promote how good Greek Life is, instead of the stereotypes people see leading up to it, I really like that.”
Hannah Nance, also a member of Alpha Epsilon Phi, was a volunteer at Greek or Treat and said seeing the children have fun at the event was her favorite part.
“I just love seeing the kids,” Nance said. “When I was a teenager, like late in high school, I loved being at my front door and doing the trick-or-treating.”
Nance also said Greek or Treat is a way of showing the local community who sorority and fraternity members really are while still having a fun time at a Halloween event.
