Matoula Malkiopoulous, the University's only Modern Greek language lecturer, volunteered to teach the language to students for free after the Greek department was cut.

The fifth annual Day of Demeter, a day of service dedicated to the greater Cornell and Ithaca community, kicked off on Saturday.

Over 1,200 Cornell students found themselves doing everything from cleaning up Collegetown to harvesting carrots Saturday as Into the Streets celebrated its 16th annual day of service in Ithaca. Organized into approximately 140 student-led teams, volunteers made their way to over 60 Ithaca-area agencies to lend a much-appreciated hand.

The day began with an 11 a.m. kickoff in Barton Hall, where groups had a chance to mingle and have lunch before their projects began. While the 1,268 registered volunteers, a substantial increase from the 500 students in 2005, represented a wide variety of Cornell clubs and organizations, volunteers were motivated by a similar interest in community service.

While the majority of Cornell students were asleep this past Saturday morning, 150 members of the Cornell Tradition and a handful of staff and faculty helped take part in a Community Clean-up in Collegetown.

Although the hour was early, members of The Cornell Tradition had good things to say about the program.

“I’m really happy to be a part of such a great organization as The Cornell Tradition,” Lauren Cohan ’11 said. “Not only do I receive scholarship money, but I also take part in some wonderful activities with some wonderful people.”