The Daily
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Mississippian
Vol. 102, No. 26
The Student Newspaper of The University Of Mississippi | Serving Ole Miss and Oxford since 1911
Students balance Greek life and other involvement By Jessi Ballard jaballar@go.olemiss.edu
As the Panhellenic and Interfraternity Councils host formal sorority and fraternity recruitment this week, hundreds of freshmen will receive bids to join Greek organizations. It is no secret that sorority and fraternity commitments take up a large part of a student’s time. This intensive commitment may be the reason there is a lack of athletes, ROTC members and band members involved in Greek life. “There weren’t any athletes in my pledge class,” said Kelle Esherick, senior hospitality management major and former Kappa Alpha Theta. “I don’t think people usually do both.” She mentioned that despite the lack of athletes in her pledge class, the sorority definitely looked for people who were well rounded and involved in the school and community. Junior Phi Kappa Psi and
ROTC Army member Andrew Mann said he doesn’t think his involvement with both ROTC and Greek life benefited or hurt him in any way during recruitment. However, Mann, a junior criminal justice major, did say that his dual involvement makes things a bit more stressful for him. “This past week I missed part of rush because of ROTC, and in the past I’ve had to miss things because I had to drill for the National Guard.” Mann maintained that when it comes down to it, ROTC comes first. Junior exercise science major Taylor Irby, track and field high jumper and member of the Kappa Delta sorority, said she feels she has more stress than the average student. “It’s pretty frustrating sometimes when I’m sitting in class and hear people talk about being tired or stressed,” she said. “I wouldn’t want it any other way. I love track and my team and I love my sorority sisters.”
Irby and Mann both encourage students with other commitments to still go through recruitment. Mann said there are benefits of being dually involved. He gets to spend time with different people with different goals and attitudes. He did mention that other students should first consider their schedules to decide if they can do both activities. Ole Miss Assistant Director of Bands Randy Dale, a 2001 graduate, said that when he was a student, the pressure of involvement in multiple campus organizations greatly affected his decision not to rush. He said being in band or similar activities allows students to feel that joining a fraternity or sorority is unnecessary. “Talk to other students who have done it first,” Dale said. “Get an idea and feel out what you’ll be doing. Sometimes students don’t realize the commitments that you take on until it’s time for midterms.”
FILE PHOTO (AUSTIN MCAFEE) | The Daily Mississippian
Sorority actives, recruitment counselors and potential new members participate in the 10th Annual C.A.R.E. Walk last Thursday.
Student Union crosswalk causes frustration By Amina Al Sherif aalsher@go.olemiss.edu
KAYLA MACARTY | The Daily Mississippian
The crosswalk in front of the Student Union gets crowded in between class last Wednesday.
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Every student and visitor who drives or walks through The University of Mississippi campus is acutely aware of the obstacle of crossing the Student Union crosswalk, whether by vehicle or on foot. Moving like a slow-motion Tetris game, the Union crosswalk delays vehicle traffic due to heavy pedestrian movement between classes, or vice versa, depending on whether you are behind the wheel or trying to get to class. According to Isaac Astill, director of parking and transportation, nearly 12,000 parking stalls are filled every day with traffic on campus, indicating that almost as many vehicles drive through campus on a daily basis. Ron Biggs, the general manager of Oxford Transit
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Management, which runs the O.U.T bus system, confirmed that the culprit crosswalk causes buses to fall anywhere from 10-20 minutes behind schedule, at times causing the entire transit system to lag in schedule. “In many cases, a passenger ends up waiting a longer period of time waiting on a connecting bus,” Biggs said. The holdup of vehicle traffic at the crosswalk has caused emotions to rise. Sara Arnold, publications editor for the Southern Foodways Alliance in Barnard Observatory, drives her vehicle across the crosswalk every day and said that “people in cars get very aggravated” when held up behind the wheel, and the holdups can last anywhere from five to 10 minutes. Cobra Security employees said that while the crosswalk
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does not affect them, it definitely affects the four-way stop by backing up traffic moving toward the Union. Oftentimes a University Police Department officer is seen directing traffic at this narrow chokehold. Astill said the Ole Miss campus is migrating toward being a pedestrian campus where more and more vehicles will only be allowed on the perimeter. John T. Edge, director of the Southern Foodways Alliance in Barnard Observatory, said he believes the campus should be primarily pedestrian, as the campus’ priority is the students being able to move from class to class. “The problem is the cars, not the students,” Edge said.
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