St. John’s Greek Week kicked off on March 30, where the idea was be Greek or go home.

Athletic competitions of dodgeball and volleyball, on Thursday and Friday of last week, proved to be the beginning of the wildest and most passionate week in the Greek life tradition.

There were no weak Greeks at Cunningham Park on April Fool’s Day as several organizations competed in events to be known as “the cream of the crop on campus.”

The morning began with “Survival of the Fittest,” a set of physical challenges in which a handful of members from each Greek organization participated.

The grueling practices paid off for returning champs Theta Phi Alpha and Sigma Phi Epsilon, as both organizations won the event.

Practices for the event, according to one of the sororities, begin weeks to months in advance.

How intense do these events become? “The events tend to become very competitive,” Aishley Quim and Katie Lienhop of Theta Phi Alpha said.

Those who did not participate, however, did not lack involvement. Each Greek brother or sister cheered on their teammates and provided encouragement to push them to the limit.

Probably the most interesting aspect of the weekend’s events was the encouragement which the groups gave to one another, despite rivalry and the drive by every organization to be No. 1.

“No one talks badly about (or to) another sorority or fraternity because Greek Week symbolizes Greek unity. We cheer on everyone,” Theta Phi Alpha’s Quim and Lienhop added.

Having muscles did not hurt either.

It also would not have been Greek Week without a little hint of philanthropy.

As a break between events, each group snapped on gloves and helped to clean up the park.

“Tug of War” could have ended after an abrupt storm swept over the park. Rain or shine, however, both boys and girls fought tooth-and-nail from beginning to end, with rain soaked onlookers cheering for their team mates.

Cunningham Park was left in muddy shambles by the end of the afternoon with Gamma Phi Beta and Sigma Phi Epsilon as the winners of the competition. Gamma Phi Beta has been the winner of the “Tug of War” challenge for four years running, while Sigma Phi Epsilon proved to be a tough unit to beat.

Brawn and brains were also put to the test at Sunday’s events of bowling and track, in addition to the remaining events including basketball on Monday and soccer on Tuesday.

“Survival of the Fittest” and “Tug of War” were indeed a preview of the efforts that will be put into Lip Sync on April 6 at Carnesecca Arena.