Florida International University came alive Monday night as the Alpha Omicron Phi sorority hosted its second annual fundraiser for juvenile arthritis awareness, successfully raising $2,479 for the cause.
Held at one of the Graham Center ballrooms, the event included a dynamic lineup of entertainment activities to attract a diverse crowd of students, faculty, and community members and raise awareness. These activities were judged, and two organizations were crowned by the end of the night. The attendees contributed a $10 entrance fee, with all proceeds directed towards arthritis research.
The evening started with the “Summer Fest” fashion show, a collaboration between Alpha Omicron Phi and Strike Magazine, a student-run fashion publication. The models strutted down the runway in the latest summer trends. Apart from styling the models, Strike Magazine’s booth added to the excitement, offering attendees a photo op at their beach-themed photo booth to go with the theme of the runway.
“Summer Fest symbolizes excitement, waiting for break and not having school,” said Isabella Menendez, editor-in-chief of Strike Magazine, regarding the theme of the fashion show.
As their second act, Greek life members took the stage for a lip-sync battle, showcasing their energy and creativity. From nostalgic classics, such as “Breaking Free” from “High School Musical” to the hip-hop classic “Hot In Herre” by Nelly.
However, something unexpected happened to one of the performances. There was a sound malfunction that left their music playing very low so that neither the performers or audience could hear it. Dancer Isabella Rodriguez expressed how she and her group felt during this incident, saying, “The first time we went, we were really excited but the music was very low…it turns out no one could hear.”
To give the group a fair chance in the competition, they were able to perform again with their music playing just right. “When you’re on stage you think it’s on you and your nerves that are making the music low,” said Isabella Ortiz. ”We got to go again with the music super loud, which is what we intended in the first place.”
To conclude the activities, members also participated in an art competition where they had to draw what they were told by the hosts in under two minutes. They were given different things to draw such as a panda, rubies, and wheat.
“It’s the best way to showcase our silly side and it’s a great way to raise money,” said Arianna Rosado, president of Alpha Omicron Phi.
After the performances, there was a quick break for the judge’s votes to be counted (One of the writers of this story was a judge). All three sections of the competition were judged on five categories: energy, creativity, preparedness, costume design, and moves. This determined who the first-place fraternity and sorority was going to be.
Throughout the event, the hosts reminded everyone about the importance of raising awareness for juvenile arthritis. Fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu and sorority Alpha Xi Delta took home the trophies in all categories.
Julian Davis contributed photos ands video to this story
