“It Takes A Village”: Alpha Phi Won Greek Wars
University of Oklahoma’s Alpha Phi sorority chapter won the annual Greek Wars competition hosted by Women’s Health Advocacy.
Since 2019, Women’s Health Advocacy has hosted Greek Wars, a two-week donation drive where sororities and fraternities compete to donate the most period products.
“The university can only fund so much stuff by itself, so making it fun and making it a competition [that] goes towards an important cause that impacts probably half the student body is super important,” Alpha Phi President senior Sophia Polanski said.
This year, nine sororities and fraternities participated in the competition, which ran from Sept. 16 to Sept. 30. Together, they collected more than 41,000 period products, with Alpha Phi donating the most at 17,416 products.
“The fact that there were so many girls willing to donate made me pretty happy that they were willing to go the extra mile and buy products for someone other than themselves,” Alpha Phi Vice President of Philanthropy and DEI junior Carley Scroggins said.
Following the competition, Alpha Phi received a customized trophy and a softball signed by head softball coach Patty Gasso. On Oct. 21, the Sassy Sifter food truck visited the Alpha Phi house, offering a free dessert with drink purchase. Owner Lynsey Bonner said she was proud to be part of the initiative.
“This is a female owned business. So anything that has to do with supporting other women, I just love and this is a great cause … I hope that next year they’re able to get even more donations,” Bonner said.
Women’s Health Advocacy President senior Rachel Nichols said the donations help fill period product stations across OU’s campus.
“Greek Wars are our almost sole providers of [period] products. It’s really hard to get the number of products we need to maintain 80 stations,” Nichols said. “Greek Wars is really one of the only outlets that can give us such a large amount in such a short period of time.”
Women’s Health Advocacy aims to normalize conversations about menstruation while raising awareness of issues such as period poverty. Nichols believes Greek Wars is a step in the right direction
“I think it helps people have an investment in their own community. If they’re contributing to the solution, it makes them feel like they have a stance in that fight against period poverty,” Nichols said.
Polanski said Alpha Phi members are motivated to participate because they see how their contributions directly benefit the OU community.
“I think the girls like it because they can actually see what their donation is going to … we all use those resources every day whether it’s in Price or in Gaylord,” Polanski said.
Although Greek Wars focuses on women’s health, fraternities were encouraged to participate. Nichols believes men have a role to play in addressing period poverty.
“I’d like to see more men from our community help with our mission and engage,” Nichols said. “I think it can be a little awkward, a little uncomfortable, but ultimately, it takes a village to create the solution.”
Nichols hopes Women’s Health Advocacy will collaborate with government officials in the future to influence policies and legislation related to women’s health.
“We’re definitely doing the boots-on-the-ground work of service, supplying the products. But what happens when our supply runs low?” Nichols said. “We shouldn’t be the only ones who are in charge of it. We want it to be a shared responsibility throughout our entire community.”
Women’s Health Advocacy plans to hold its next donation drive in spring 2027.
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