Breaking with tradition, Green Key '98 did not kick off with the usual block party. Instead, this year's block party was held during the May celebration of the College's first "Greek Week."
In keeping with tradition, Phi Delta Alpha fraternity will host a band this afternoon, Toots and the Maytals, a reggae group from Jamaica, and Webster Avenue will still be closed off to traffic. However, the Coed Fraternity and Sorority Council will not host a barbecue for students, leaving that to individual houses.
Instead, the CFSC-sponsored barbecue was held during DarCorps, May 2, as part of the Greek Week festivities. A block party, with a barbecue at Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity and numerous other events, was held Friday, May 1.
Greek Week co-chair Karen Yen '99 said no deep reasons were responsible for the change and noted the changes were more a question of finances.
"We couldn't have two," Yen explained, "and while Green Key has always been a success, we decided to focus our attention on Greek Week."
Yen said the Greek Week block party, one of several Greek Week events, was a success.
"The weather was not ideal," Yen said. "But there were still a lot of people at the barbecue and the taco-thon."
Greek Week, a new tradition this year, was a week-long celebration of Greek unity and a chance for Greek members to participate in numerous community service options. Over 350 Greeks participated in DarCorps and various programs furthering local and national community service.
The Greek Week block party replaces a recent College tradition, the Green Key block party, which was originally held in 1996. Despite pouring rain, the original event brought approximately 200 people to a blocked-off Webster Avenue for a band and CFSC-sponsored barbecue.
The block party was created as a chance for all 27 CFSC organizations to come together into "one big social event that will have a positive impact on Dartmouth," then-CFS Director of Programming Jake O'Shea '97 told The Dartmouth in 1996.
That block party was the first attempt by the Council's outreach committee to host events that encompassed the entire College community.
1997's Block Party was also hampered by storms, which cleared up before the actual event started. The band Jim Jones & Punch featuring Earl Bethel entertained students outside Phi Delt.
Phi Delt brother Steve Shultz '98, instrumental in organizing this year's concert for the fraternity, said he was confident it would be a success.
He said with the street closed off, the event shouldn't differ greatly from block parties of past years. While the concert is free, all proceeds from shirt and food sales will be going to the Adam Dansiger '00 charitable fund.
The band Toots and the Maytals started recording in Jamaica in the 1960s, and the term 'reggae' is actually derived from their 1968 song "Do the Reggay." They have toured the world numerous times.
Their music is a fusion of jazz, funk, and of course, reggae. Shultz said they are well-respected within the reggae and music community.
"I would say they are easily among the five biggest reggae bands currently playing," he said.
