Greek spelling bee benefits charity

When Pi Kappa Alpha brother Rob Siravo stepped up to the podium to spell a word, he asked the… When Pi Kappa Alpha brother Rob Siravo stepped up to the podium to spell a word, he asked the emcee to put the term into a “sexual” sentence.

After proctor Rachel Kasab of Kappa Kappa Gamma refused, she used the word “genital” in a a more PG sentence.

“Men have a genital,” she said, as a room full of Greeks burst into laughter.

Unfortunately for Siravo, he spelled the word “G-E-N-I-T-L-E” and was knocked out of the early round.

Pitt sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma hosted the second annual Spelling Bee last night in front of a packed auditorium in 120 David Lawrence Hall. All proceeds went to Kappa Kappa Gamma’s national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental, which promotes literacy.

Kappa Kappa Gamma philanthropy chair Dani Marks said that the event raised about $500.

Two Greeks per house could participate, each of whom had to pay a $15 entrance fee. Admission to the event was $1. A total of 32 people  from 16 sororities and fraternities participated.

“We decided to have the Spelling Bee again because we had a really good turnout last year,” Marks said. “The Greek community is pretty tight.”

She said that Tuesday night was a success.

Kate O’Brien of Delta Zeta sorority won the spelling bee with the word “sebaceous,” which means secreting fatty material, after she faced off against Phi Delta Theta fraternity’s Ryan Geibl. Her prize was a Visa gift card worth $50.

Geibl spelled the word first, but incorrectly.

“I knew he spelled it wrong, so I knew that all I had to do was spell it correctly,” O’Brien said. “I wasn’t expecting to win at all.”

Reading Is Fundamental is the largest nonprofit children’s literacy program in the U.S. RIF provides books and literacy resources to children and families who need assistance.

“[The Spelling Bee] promotes literacy because that’s a big issue in America today,” Marks said.

According to the National Center for Educational Services, 14 percent of American adults perform at below basic-literacy prose level.

O’Brien said that this event demonstrates that people can’t always rely on spellcheck.

“A lot of people actually thought these words weren’t that hard,” she said.

Words ranged from “abrupt” in the first round to “pusillanimous,”  which means marked by timidity, in rounds toward the end. The Greeks loudly cheered on the participants representing their house. They let out gasps as words got more difficult, forcing them to put their skills to the test on the likes of “pedagogue.”

John Talcott, assistant coordinator of leadership development and Greek Affairs, served as a spelling judge for the event. The Spelling Bee was organized with strict rules so there wouldn’t be any discrepancies. The competition lasted six rounds.

Participants could ask for definitions, but some decided to ask if their definition was correct.

“‘Bomb’ as in ‘bomb dot com?’” asked Dani Rather of Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority.

While “conjoin” gave one speller difficulties, a misspelled “fetus” received laughs.

Kevin Kaney of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity spelled “invalidate” wrong after he said that it was his favorite word.

“Give us the ‘Blue Steel,’” someone shouted from the crowd.

By the end of the night, no matter how embarrassed or disappointed the participants felt after walking away from the podium, they were doing it out of generosity. Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity’s Michael Pugliese didn’t have to spell “generous” correctly in order to give to charity.