A conversation on the meaning of the theme with JP Lueck and Leah Lopez
On Friday, September 19, Charity Week co-chairs Leah Lopez, Philosophy and English major and John Paul Lueck, Computer Science major announced that this year’s theme will be “Ancient Rome”. Charity Week will take place October 19-25, 2025.
When asked why they chose this theme , Lueck said, “Well, we brainstormed a lot of ideas … I really wanted to do pirate Charity Week, but after getting these ideas in front of us, including Rome and Greece, we realized that Rome has infinite depth in terms of ideas.”
Lopez said , “It just had a wider scope in terms of event planning, and we figured, like everyone could relate to the event, like it wasn’t specific to one group… All of us are immersed in the Western tradition in general, which is based in Rome, and we also all go to Rome, so we thought that it would be relatable and easy to dress up in togas and get involved.”
Since most of the student body spends time studying in Rome, the issue of nostalgia may be a point of contention for this year’s theme.
“That’s a big criticism we got, that this is just a sort of nostalgic recreation of the Rome semester, but it’s not, because when you go to Rome, you’re seeing modern Rome. You’re seeing, you know, Italy, whereas if we do this for Charity Week, then we’re gonna get Rome as it was in 0 AD. And so it is kind of new, it’s making things present that are super old,” said Lueck.
“I think it’s fun because you kind of make a caricature of whatever the theme is. You’re doing a throwback and making the past thing present, but you’re also making fun of it at the same time,” said Lopez.
When asked how Ancient Rome could be accessible to students who have not spent a semester in Rome, Lueck said, “The trick is to avoid making Charity Week like, one big inside joke, where it’s like ‘remember this?’ and make it more of a thing that anyone can get into. And then, it makes the freshmen and sophomores excited for Rome.”
To the same question, Lopez said, “That’s why it actually works perfectly, because the juniors have been to Rome and we’re familiar with it. It’s our job to make Charity Week fun, accessible, welcoming, and just insane.
“If you’re willing to be weird with the stuff that you’re doing for Charity Week, I think people will dig that,” she said.
While the junior class selects charities to donate to at the end of the week, the theme of Charity Week is often key to its success. In 2023, the Class of 2025 ran Ye Olde Charity Week, full of Medieval themed decor and costumes. Due to enthusiasm for the festivities, the junior class broke the all time record, raising over $40,000.
“In order to make more money for charity, I think you just have to have a plethora of events… We already have so many ideas that we want to turn into reality,” said Lueck.
Stay tuned for more updates on Charity Week 2025.