Dozens of students, who are part of the 40+ fraternities and sororities at Fresno State, united for a good cause Sunday.
“We don't live in the best part of town, but as long as we can keep our area clean and our area safe and nice then why not right,” said Megan Orourke, President of Kappa Alpha Theta.
Associated Students Inc. organized this Greek Cleanup Day.
“We want them to be responsible for the area they live in and to be proud of it so that's why we get them out here to clean it up,” said Melissa Ellis of Associated Students Inc.
Crews focused efforts along Millbrook Ave. between Barstow Ave. and Bulldog Lane. The area commonly referred to as Fraternity and Sorority Mall.
Chores included picking up trash, trimming lawns and removing graffiti. Joe Devane says fighting vandalism is a constant battle.
“We'll go ahead and clean it up then we see it and it's back the next day. But I mean the best thing we can do is continuously clean it up because if we do that maybe it will annoy them to the point where they'll stop because they realize it's not going to be there that long,” said Joe Devane, President of Sigma Pi.
This marked one of the first activities for the Greek community since the death of 18-year old Philip Dhanens. The freshman died from what's believe to be alcohol poisoning while pledging for Theta Chi's fraternity. A tragedy that continues to cast a dark shadow over these fraternities and sororities.
“It's very unfortunate, but it's just something we've learned to live with and we're going to move on from that,” said Ellis.
