Greeks spend holidays doing public service
By Tina Park Special to the Kansan
Trick-or-treating, eating turkey, shopping, getting presents and Santa Claus are some of the things that we think about when the holiday season rolls around and it gets closer and closer to Christmas time.
The smiling faces of little kids and the caring and loving atmosphere that seems to be everywhere during the holidays are other things that we look forward to.
One group of students that is thinking of others and willing to give the extra time to help others or spend that extra dollar during the holiday season are students in the greek community.
The greek community has always been active in philanthropies and volunteering for community service throughout the year, but the idea of helping others in the community becomes even stronger as the holidays approach.
Panhellenic representative Carrie Neiner said that there was nothing across the board that all fraternities and sororities do together.
"Specifically around the holiday season there is no one joint project." Neijer said.
But this year, one joint project greek houses did together was going door-to-door, trick-or-treating for cans.
Two sororities were paired against two fraternities. They were to go trick-or-treat around a specific block, and the
Other activities sororities and fraternities take part in during the holidays are shoveling snow for the elderly, caroling at nursing homes, making Christmas cookies for the Boys and Girls Club and inviting the children to the house for a gift exchange and a visit with Santa Claus.
team who got the most cans won. Another joint activity that the greek houses are trying this holiday season is Christmas caroling.
"Some of the things that the houses do individually are ringing bells at the outlet mall or gift wrapping for Christmas," Neiner said.
Trina Rudolph, Panhellenic chair for Alpha Chi Omega, said that her house had a Halloween party for children, who went room-to-room, trick-or-treating for candy.
"For Thanksgiving we skip a meal, and the money we would have spent on that meal is donated to the Salvation Army," Rudolph said.
Phoebe Louis, a Kansas City, Kan., junior in Delta Delta Delta sorority, said that she always looked forward to the excitement and anticipation of the holiday season because it is a time to buy things for people other than yourself.
Hilltop children learn about different cultures
"The best thing about volunteering and giving during the holidays is to see how people's attitudes change and the excitement on people's faces when you know that you have helped them," Louis said.
By Lora Cornell
Special to the Kansan
On the first day wooden shoes are filled with hay.
On the second day an Advent candle is lit. On the third day a pinata is broken, spilling candy onto the carpet.
Children at Hilltop Child Development Center spend two weeks learning how different cultures celebrate during the winter months.
Ann Miller teaches 3-, 4- and 5-year-old children. She said she spent each day teaching about one country or culture. She said she decorates her classroom's walls with students' artwork related to particular holidays.
Miller said she thought that teaching children about different cultures was important. Jan Conrad, kindergarten teacher, said. "We do it to broaden their perspectives
— make them more accepting of differences."
Conrad said that students' parents would come to the day-care center and discuss how they celebrate a holiday. She said last year a parent educated her classroom on the Japanese New Year.
"The children dressed up in kimonos and had a good time," Conrad said.
Miller said parents did not complain about their children learning about other cultures.
"This excites the parents," she said. "Children will go home and teach their parents something that they did not know."
Miller began teaching at Hilltop 12 years
ago. She said she did not teach about religious or cultural celebrations. No one at Hilltop did.
"For so long we were afraid to do Christmas," she said.
Miller said she became more aware of teaching about different cultures when Hilltop was trying to get accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. To achieve accreditation, Hilltop needed to increase cultural awareness.
"When we first started teaching there was nothing," Miller said.
Since then, more material for cultural education has become available.
Among the holidays included in the celebration are Diwali, the Festival of Lights Celebration in India, the Chinese New Year and Hanukkah.
Not all classrooms at Hilltop learn about such a variety of religions and cultures. Wendy Wyatt, who teaches first graders, said that in her classroom she focused on the cultures represented. She said the children did activities related to the holidays discussed.
Assistant Director Pat Pisani said children learned that other cultures' holiday celebrations could be just as much fun as their own. Learning differences pertaining to holidays make the children more tolerant of other cultural differences.
"I think children who are aware of different cultures and their holiday celebrations are more accepting of people being different in other ways," Pisani said.
December 8, 1993 K-you • COMMUNITY
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