The annual Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity philanthropy event, the Watermelon Bust, is a disgrace to those who are involved in service activities in their community, and it's disgusting to see it mentioned in this paper.
Did none of the spectators at the event have enough common sense to see the problem with destroying fruit in order to collect food for the local food pantry? Did no one question why all the money spent to host the event wasn't just donated to the Gainesville Harvest, the event's so-called "beneficiary"?
The reason none of the Greek organizations do this is because they aren't truly interested in their community.
While service would involve the donation of time and effort to a cause, their philanthropy is only a donation of money or goods, which can be raised through ridiculous social events, such as Kappa Kappa Gamma's wing-eating contest or Sigma Phi Epsilon's "Surf Frenzy."
These philanthropic events serve only as a front to cover up the constant boozing and partying that are central to the Greek system with the idea that they are doing a service to the community. Such hypocrisy should not be glamorized. Hopefully in the future, this paper will focus on events that are genuinely about community involvement.
