Strike Out for the Cure

It was a blast to the past for University of California - Riverside (UCR) students, at the 13th annual Strike Out for the Cure bowling event. Sergio Marquez of Delta Tau Delta organized the 80's and 90's themed event, a night of cosmic bowling at Universal Strike, a bowling alley in Moreno Valley. Strike Out for the Cure, one of the largest philanthropy conducted by students of UCR, is part of a series of events and fundraisers organized by Delta Tau Delta leading up to Delta Queen, which takes place in the Spring each year. "The theme is great because everyone can get into it," said Gamma Phi Beta sister Gilliana Spring, who continued to sing the words to Michael Jackson's Thriller. Delta Queen, which is co-chaired by Marquez of Delta Tau Delta, is an annual fundraiser and beauty pageant in which different participating sororities choose a contestant for the Delta Queen title. The pageant categories include talent, formal interview, fundraising, and more. Seven sororities at UCR will be participating this year, including Kappa Kappa Gamma, Delta Gamma, Gamma Phi Beta, Omega Zeta Chi, Sigma Kappa, Alpha Chi Omega, and Sigma Pi Alpha. Most of the funds raised will go to the City of Hope Medical Foundation, a Cancer Research and Treatment Center, for cancer research. A smaller portion of the funds will go to a scholarship that this year will be held in memory of Jeremy Harrison, a brother of Delta Tau Delta who passed away from leukemia. "We lost our brother to leukemia. I have family members who I have lost to cancer. So this event is really important to me," said Taylor Wall, who served as chairman of Delta Queen this year. Wall added that this year, the event was opened up to many more organizations than just the Greek circles at UCR. "We don't want this to be your ordinary 'frat event'. This is more than that. We are giving back and getting involved." Marquez, who has been a member of Delta Tau Delta for a year, says that he knew since the day he learned about the fraternity, that he would join. "I didn't want to just network, I wanted to serve the community. and I get to do this through Delta Tau Delta," Marquez said. "We have raised over a quarter of a million dollars in the 13 years that we have had this event," Marquez added. "I am happy to be part of this event, and meet new people that I wouldn't have met otherwise!" said Jonathan Colquitt, member of Delta Tau Delta and Delta Queen coach for Delta Queen contestant Jessica Martinez. The fraternity makes a trip to Duarte in the spring to personally deliver the funds raised which Wall says makes the involvement all the more tangible.