Oxford News

It is not often that Miami will find its president balancing on a teeter-totter in front of the Phi Delt gates on a Friday afternoon.

But President David Hodge, along with his wife, Valerie, and daughter, Meriem, "teetered" for charity Friday to help raise money for Delta Tau Delta fraternity's national philanthropy Adopt-A-School.

Members of Delta Tau Delta took turns teetering on a custom built wooden teeter-totter from 8 a.m. until

3 a.m., from Wednesday until early Saturday morning.

Donations went to the local Adopt-A-School program, which brings Miami student volunteers into area K-12 schools to assist students and teachers.

"We had a great time and everyone here has great spirit," Hodge said. "It's important to make the community around us very special."

Steve Dealph, director of the Cliff Alexander Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and Leadership, said Miami's Delta Tau Delta chapter is very involved with Adopt-A-School and aside from raising money, also provides some of its own members as tutors for the program.

"There's so much need and a lot of cost," he said. "This year the goal was just to do it."

He added that next year the fraternity hopes to make it a 24-hour a day, week-long event.

Melissa Healy, associate director in the Office of Community Engagement and Service, is responsible for the Miami Adopt A School program. She said the program has grown from about 240 volunteers to around 465 in the past year.

"Miami students, both Greek and non-Greek, are eager to volunteer," she said.

Healy added that Adopt A School is a semester-long program with a minimum commitment of one hour per week. She said the program also provides transportation to and from Adopt A School sites.

Sign ups for fall semester will begin at 6 p.m. Sept. 25 in the basement of the Hannah House. For more information, visit www.muohio.edu/adoptaschool.