Facebook news feeds have blown up recently as thousands of University students rush to join online competitions for Aspen Heights and other housing communities that award winners with cash.
Aspen Heights began the first competition Jan. 23, promising a $500 prize to the University sorority that garnered the most support. The Aspen Heights Facebook page made posts mentioning every sorority, and participants were asked to “like” the post that mentioned the sorority they wanted to win.
Erica Moffatt, Aspen Heights sales and marketing manager, said the idea for the competition was a way for the housing community to show support for University Greeks, who make up a large of portion of Aspen Heights’ residents.
“Everyone’s on Facebook all the time,” Moffatt said. “Why not reward them for interacting with us online?”
Sororities could choose to use the $500 prize for philanthropies or a social event, and each chose to support philanthropies, she said.
The number of participants soared to the thousands, a reaction Moffatt said she did not expect.
“We expected there to be a good response, but not that big,” she said.
Phi Mu won the competition with nearly 5,000 “likes,” and Kappa Delta narrowly landed in second.
The effort has raised awareness of Aspen Heights among students through word of mouth and visits to their Facebook page, Moffatt said, though that was not the goal of the contest. She said Aspen Heights’ page had more than 2,000 likes before the competition but grew to about 8,000 afterward.
But the popularity of the contest created some negative competition among the Greek community, said Clare Huesing, pre-nursing sophomore and member of Pi Beta Phi sorority.
Huesing said she voted but did not promote the competition as much as others.
“Greeks respond to these competitions,” she said.
Moffatt said the strong reaction and Aspen Heights’ desire to continue to give back has lead to plans for more competitions involving different University organizations. Future possibilities are still in the works, she said, but Aspen Heights has some ideas, including promoting student involvement with Aspen Heights Africa, a project aimed at providing housing for the impoverished.
The Cottages of Baton Rouge has also become involved in Facebook competitions, offering $1,000 to both a University fraternity and sorority who get the most comments and “likes” on The Cottages’ page by Friday.
Claire Langlois, sports administration junior, said she noticed the competitions on Facebook because she has many friends in sororities.
Promotions for the competition were frequent on Facebook, Langlois said, but the popularity did not bother her.
“It’s good for philanthropies and good for The Cottages and Aspen Heights,” she said. “It helps build a positive reputation.”
Anna Rodriguez, civil engineering freshman, said constant Facebook posts motivated her to get involved even though she is not in a sorority.
“But they should go beyond Greeks and reach out to other organizations,” Rodriguez said.
 
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Contact Brian Sibille at [email protected]