In efforts to build stronger relationships between UMass Greek life and the Amherst Police Department and Fire Department, Theta Chi fraternity, with help from Dunn & Phillips law offices, was able to host hundreds of guests at a free outdoor barbecue at their house located on 496 North Pleasant Street this past Saturday, February 27th, 2016.

From 1 to 4 p.m., attendees were treated to all of the backyard favorites, from pulled pork sandwiches, to burgers and hot dogs and all of the works in between, all while enjoying outdoor games and music. With the sun shining, the event was exuberant and joyful, which was reflected by laughs and a smile on every face.

The Building Bridges Barbecue will be nationally recognized by the fraternity, with anticipations of extending this event to future years because of the great turn out and success of the event. Partnering up the fraternity, Amherst Police Department and the offices of Dunn & Phillips made for a groundbreaking event enjoyed by many as a start to a long series of outreach efforts. Aside from this weekend’s event, the fraternity is actively working towards the planning of another large event scheduled for this upcoming fall.

Relationships between students and the law enforcement of Amherst have not been on the best of terms following past years’ headlining topics, but students believe that things that have happened in the past on campus do not reflect the feelings that currently hold true. The Amherst Police Department and Fire Department have had their share of interactions with UMass students, but Theta Chi and the rest of the UMass Greek community hope that these public safety officials know just how much they are appreciated and respected. The event this weekend showed the willingness to move past old tensions, and instead learn valuable safety skills to prepare for the upcoming weekend this March.

Theta Chi, along with other fraternity and sorority members of the University of Massachusetts Amherst genuinely care about how they are seen by the town of Amherst, and continuously seek out opportunities to disprove negative stereotypes that are linked to them by the surrounding community.

March is known to be one of the wildest months at UMass, as people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in an event called ‘Blarney Blowout.’ While most of the people who partake in this event are not UMass students, the prevalence of the event cannot be ignored.

The brothers of Theta Chi have made pledges to stand in support of Amherst Police and Fire Departments for the weekend of March 5th and beyond. Despite efforts to seize the partying on and off campus however, some things are out of the control of students who do act accordingly during times like these. Instead of avoiding to acknowledge that celebrations may occur this upcoming weekend, fraternities and sororities at the university are planning to act retroactively.

UMass Greek life is already anticipating to spend the morning after the celebrations cleaning up the streets following Blarney. On March 6th, they hope to counteract disturbances that Amherst residents may have faced and make sure that the town stays clean. Saturday initiated a positive attitude going forward into this upcoming season. “It was an exciting day for Theta Chi, UMass Greek life, and the student body as a whole. We had a wonderful time forming connections with the local police officers and firefighters. They are truly amazing people,” shared Theta Chi’s President Nick Rampone. The Building Bridges barbecue marked as an important step towards repairing the relationship shared with community members and officials; a relationship that all of Greek life hopes to see grow strong.