When we think about greek life at Binghamton University, a number of things come to mind: namely, off-campus house parties and kegs. “Dance Your Heart Out,” an on-campus dance party meant to unite fraternities, sororities and all other students is something new.

The event, which is being organized by the newly-formed Greek Life Committee, is to feature student groups such as BU’s Dance Team, Masti and International Flag Dancers (see Page 2). All profits will be donated to the Boys & Girls Club of Binghamton and Haiti relief.

Though separate campus and community groups have organized fundraisers to raise money for Haiti, Binghamton University has yet to gather together for one comprehensive charity event. Even the vigil held on campus saw a turnout of around 150 — way too low for a school with an enrollment of almost 15,000.

“Dance Your Heart Out” will be a great opportunity for greek life, along with other students on campus, to organize together and do something good for the both the local and international communities. At this point, simply talking about the Haiti tragedy is no longer enough, and we applaud the Committee for being among the first to take action in a fresh way.

Student groups on campus can come out together, take advantage of the discounted group fees and represent their organizations at this campus-wide event.

The event can also strengthen the greek reputation on campus and show that there is more to those organizations than parties. We hope that this Committee continues working toward its goal of uniting greek life and students across campus to fundraise for the local charities and community organizations.

It’s particularly admirable that the Greek Life Committee isn’t SA-chartered and therefore has no working budget. The group is taking a risk for a good cause, and it would be nice to see it pay off.

Fraternities, clubs and organizations are always in competition to see who is the best on campus, so let’s take advantage of this opportunity to see everyone come together for a great cause and use their talents.

At the very least, you can help a good cause and have a fun night at the same time.