The Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) highlighted its five chapters at their annual MGC Showcase on March 31 in the Russell House Ballroom.
The MGC consists of five multicultural interest greek life organizations, two fraternities and three sororities: Alpha Sigma Rho, Delta Phi Omega, Kappa Delta Chi, Pi Alpha Phi and Phi Iota Alpha. Each organization features a specific cultural group such as Asian American, Southeastern Asian and Latin culture.
“I think it's really important just to see that USC is not, we are a predominantly white campus, but that's not all that we are,” Emily Barros, MGC secretary and a second-year public health student said. “We are very different. And I think that MGC kind of just showcases, like highlights the different ways with that.”
The MGC showcase offers an annual event for the groups to gather and spend time celebrating their organizations. The chapters introduced themselves with a video or PowerPoint explaining their organization's history and values and then began the main event, strolling and marching.
Students lined up and began a synchronized dance called a stroll, with many having their own take on a stroll. Strolling is inspired by The National Pan-Hellenic Councils' history of strolling and some MGC organizations have incorporated their own versions of strolling into the traditions of their chapter.
"Everybody has their own little bit of a take on it. So it's very interesting to see all that together. As for the music, for us, we incorporated Gasolina because it's a very common, popular Spanish song — we are a Hispanic organization," Barros said.
Four out of the five MGC organizations participated in the strolling, while the last chapter, Phi Iota Alpha, one of the oldest Latino fraternities, marched.
Marching is when the brothers link arms and recite memorized lines representing the March of the Andes, where a liberator of Latin America carried his army through the Andes mountains.
"(Marching) goes to reflect on the history that we teach our members within the fraternity, our history is based on the independence of the entire Latin America, and we choose the values of five individuals who specifically were able to achieve that," Michael Ayala, a fourth-year marketing student and member of Phi Iota, Alpha said.
The showcase helps to increase recruitment and rushing while also educating students on campus about the different multicultural Greek organizations available to join, Judith Triama-Beltran, MGC vice president of publicity and a second-year biology student, said.
“At the end of the day, every class of students, even four years from now, they're going to have a different experience, similar to when I had my own experience,” Marie Silver, a USC 2017 alumni and MGC alumni said. ”MGC does exist to bring cultural awareness and understanding in a variety of capacities, including different heritage’s.”
MGC’s chapters are always recruiting new members for their organizations. Even though they started out small, the organizations are all beginning to grow exponentially, according to Silver. Just this year, MGC added Pi Alpha Phi, an Asian American interest fraternity to their council.
“I wanted to to be a part of a sisterhood and I researched Delta Phi Omega and I figured this was a really good thing for me to join,” Isha Patel, a first-year public health student and Delta Phi Omega member, said.
Find out more about MGC and their chapters on their Instagram.