On Sunday March 25th the GSA marched alongside the York, Ryerson, and U of T Scarborough’s Greek/Hellenic Students in the annual Greek Independence Day parade.  It was a beautiful sunny March afternoon and the GSA brought out a record attendance of 20 students, the most from any other University. Afterwards we went for lunch to Megas Restaurant with Scarborough and York’s HSA.  Thanks to everyone that came out and walked! Zhto Ellas!

For the week of March 19-22 the GSA turned U of T Greek! This was the first time ever that the GSA expanded its famous Greek Day to Greek Week.  Greek Week was made up of two bake sales, an electoral debate, Greek Day, a Lamb roast, and the GSA Executive Elections. This was by far the hardest, most exhausting, and most successful event the GSA has ever pulled off.

On Monday March 19th we held our first bake sale at the Galbraith Atrium on the St. George side. A quite venue, we attracted many engineers with our homemade tiropita/spanakopita and fresh Frappes. On Tuesday March 20th we held our second bake sale in Sidney Smith Hall.  We sold homemade baklava, loukoumades, Greek Cookies and many more. Tuesday night we held an electoral debate between our two Presidential Candidates and Secretary-General candidates. Both pairs were asked questions by the current executive council, GSA members, guests, and the debate mediator, George Gretes.

On Wednesday March 17th we hosted our annual Greek Day at Sidney Smith Hall. We served a $5 dinner plate (Free for GSA members) of either Astoria Souvlaki or Messini Gyros with rice, potatoes, and salad. We also sold more homemade baked goods along with Frappes. With record breaking warm temperatures, we moved Greek Day outside to the patio of Sidney Smith and sold our dinner plates to passerby’s. This was also the first day of GSA voting.  Thursday marked our second-ever Lamb roast.  From 7:00 Dimitri Kyriakakis, Kostas Katsanevas, and George Anastasakos set up a 34lbs lamb on a spit and over a charcoal souvla. Throughout the day we watched as the lamb roasted. We served ice cold Frappes, bbq souvlaki on a bun, homemade baked goods. The weather was absolutely perfect as everyone waited for the lamb to finish roasting. Voting also continued as it was conducted by Kelly Kefalianos from UTSC’s GSA, Despina Versallis from Ryerson’s HSA, and Despina Ritsakis from York’s HSA.

Overall Greek Week was a huge success. Please visit our online album to check out all the photos! The GSA would like to thank all the executives, directors, associates, and friends of the GSA that helped make the week possible and all of the members that came out to enjoy all the Free food and vote. A special thank you to our event sponsors/donators: Astoria, Messini Authentic Gyros, Markham Station Restaurant, Select Bakery, Serano Bakery, and Ellas Meat Market.

On Thursday March 1st 2012, the GSA attended the University of Toronto Students Union’s annual Unity Ball. The Unity Ball is a dinner, awards show, and dance for the best student clubs/organizations at the University of Toronto. For the second consecutive year, the GSA won a U.T.S.U. Student Leadership Award. This year we were awarded with the most outstanding cultural group award. The award was accepted by the GSA President (Dimitri), VP Internal (Stacey), VP External (Kostas), and the Athletic Director (Chris Vassos).  Once again, the GSA filled an entire table and was delighted with the subsidized dinner ticket. Dinner included a delicious buffet followed by a fantastic dessert buffet. Various performances were presented during dinner including dance groups and a presentation by the Muslim Students Association. The night was topped off by Chris Vassos winning the top prize in the raffle, winning an HP Laptop.  It was truly a successful night and just goes to show how dedicated and well-rounded the GSA is at U of T.  We would like to thank the U.T.S.U. for all of their hard work and thank the GSA for once again winning an oustanding student leadership award.