The Geneseo U-Knighting for Change is a weekend of programs dedicated to celebrating life at Geneseo, sponsored by the Inter-Greek Council. The event will start on Thursday Sept. 27 and will continue through Sunday Sept. 30.
Last year’s Geneseo U-Knighting for Change event received the Amy Vojta Impact Award in the risk-reduction category from the Northeast Greek Leadership Association in March 2012.
The fun starts on Thursday night with a Late Knight Fall Fest that will feature candy apples, pumpkin painting spin art and a caricature artist. Geneseo First Response, Geneseo Village Police and University Police will host informational tables to answer questions students might have about how to stay safe on or off campus and to offer information about alcohol abuse, hazing and risk reduction.
Friday night’s festivities include two talks by keynote speaker Corey Crochetti titled “All In” and “Chasing Authentic Success.” Students can register through Geneseo Opportunities for Leadership Development to attend “All In” in the GOLD Leadership Center from 5-6 p.m.
According to Wendi Kinney, coordinator of Greek affairs and off-campus living, “All In” “talk[s] about how many adults see current millennial generation students as a lost generation who are kind of disconnected and unengaged … It’s trying to teach students about how they can re-engage with their communities to show that they’re not a lost generation.”
From 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. in the College Union Ballroom following “All In,” Crochetti will present a second talk, “Chasing Authentic Success.” Kinney said this talk is about helping students identify what barriers stand in between them and their goals and how to not lose sight of what they’re looking to accomplish, amidst the college distractions.
Next up is the Wadsworth Street Block Party on Wadsworth Street from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday Sept. 29. The four sororities with houses on the street, Phi Kappa Pi, Sigma Delta Tau, Phi Lambda Chi and Alpha Kappa Phi, will host various events from face painting to a bounce house. The block party is open to the Geneseo community as well. According to Kinney, there was a strong community turnout last year with village residents bringing their families.
The events wrap up on Sunday Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. on the College Green with a candlelight vigil in memory of Arman Partamian, a student who died in 2009. The event is a reflection on the negative impact of alcohol abuse and hazing on campus and alcohol or hazing-related deaths nationwide. The program will also include a banner signing.
The events, though hosted by Greek organizations on campus, aren’t strictly for or about them.
“The women who created the program felt that the Greek community was uniquely positioned to create cultural change on campus,” Kinney said. “The community really has the opportunity to have a positive impact with these events.”