Posted on Wednesday, November 17, 2010
¾¨Ó㴫ý's Sigma Nu fraternity proved David can beat Goliath with a little help from classmates and friends. The victory in the nationwide contest results in a $5,000 donation to the Mario Lemieux Foundation, the fraternity's philanthropy, and a spring SIGMApaNUza concert on campus.
With 1,500 undergraduate students, ¾¨Ó㴫ý was one of the smallest colleges competing in the national CreateMyTee.com Sigma Nu charity competition. But ¾¨Ó㴫ý's Epsilon Psi chapter of Sigma Nu generated support from the entire campus, along with family and friends, to win the contest with 6,842 votes. ¾¨Ó㴫ý also won the three mini-contests in October.
Southeast Missouri State University was runner-up with 4,654 votes, while Albion College, Indiana University, and the University of Tennessee rounded out the top five. The contest had over 21,000 votes and was conducted via Facebook and open to all Sigma Nu chapters in the United States. It was sponsored by the online t-shirt company that was founded by Sigma Nu alumni from Albion College.
Zakhoury Adams, a senior media art major from Allentown, helped coordinate the ¾¨Ó㴫ý Sigma Nu efforts.
"Winning this national contest would not have been possible without the support of the entire ¾¨Ó㴫ý student body and our families and friends who voted every day," Adams said. "The brothers at Sigma Nu created an excellent plan and worked very hard to generate support from our classmates, family, and friends. We wanted to win the contest so we could donate $5,000 to the Mario Lemieux Foundation, which provides funding for cancer and neonatal research."
"I am very proud of ¾¨Ó㴫ý and Sigma Nu for pulling together to defeat the big universities," said Student Government Association President Leigha Krivacek, a senior business administration major from St. Augustine, Fla. "We are all Titans at heart."
Representatives from CreateMyTee.com plan to present the check to ¾¨Ó㴫ý in April and are making plans for a spring concert on campus. Details will be announced once finalized.
Contact Adams at adamszj@westminster.edu or visit for more information.
