Ucf 2 20 14 proof1 by Hohulin

February 20, 2014 | Volume 3, Issue 19 | Orlando, FL

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SPRING BREAK CREEPING AROUND THE CORNER page 2

5 tHiNGS tO DO BeFORe YOU GRADUAte page 4 WiNGS FOR UCF page 6 AMeRiCA tHe GReAt page 10

Editor's note

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SPRING BREAK CREEPING AROUND THE CORNER

Now I bet your wondering what I’m doing in a few days for my SENIOR spring break, huh? Get ready. Start the drumroll now. I’m about to completely and totally contradict myself because I’m driving down to Key West and staying in a three star hotel…lavish I know. I’ve put months and months into planning my past three spring breaks and, well, this year (now that I’m 21 and legally allowed to chug fireball) I want a daiquiri in hand and a beach to sit on. The difference between my past spring breaks and my senior spring break is simple. Senior year is S-T-R-E-S-S-F-U-L. Bottom line. I have more going on this year than I had in my past three year of college COMBINED. So do I want to add something else to my already ridiculously marked up planner and plan an extravagant over the top spring break, or do I want to simply book a hotel and pick out skimpy bathing suits. Option two please. Whether you’re going to Europe or Daytona Beach, spring break is amazing for one reason… no school… FOR 7 DAYS. So enjoy your vacation and be safe because you’re parents do a lot for you every single day, don’t make them bail you out of jail for public urination, just don’t do it. Don’t be that guy.

Hello UCF Knights and happy third week of February! Wow, did I really just say that? Are we seriously Zeta Tau Alpha Editor-in-Chief at the end of the THIRD Cassie is a junior studying Englishweek of February? You know creative writing. You may contact her at cwilk92@knights.ucf.edu. what that means… SPRING BREAK IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER! To be honest, I’m usually not that pumped for Spring Break and here’s why. College has taught me to understand that every single night out or themed party is going to be THE BEST NIGHT EVER until a few days pass and we’re moving onto the next BEST NIGHT EVER. So I try not to get that excited about “bright/tight socials” or “white trash bashes” because in a few days, everyone is going to forget about said night and you’re left looking desperately nostalgic and weird.

CASSIE WILKINSON

Spring break is the most stereotypical college vacation ever. I picture neon tank tops, giant mugs, plenty of dumb pictures to ruin your future, lot and lots of sand in strange places, and parents waiting to hear from police officers at 4am. In past years, I’ve tried to plan spring break’s that fall opposite of the “classic” wasted beach party. My freshman year I visited New York City and had an absolute BLAST. The following year I attended Snowball Music Festival in Colorado, which was VERY different considering the climate. While all my friends were dieting so that they could look like the skeletons propped up in Anatomy class, I was CHILLING on the couch online shopping for the warmest beanie I could find #WINNING. Then of course last year I drove up to New Orleans with a bunch of my friends and attended Buku Music and Arts Festival, while most of my friends were stuck on a boat for four days which is my actual nightmare.

tHe ODYSSeY At FlORiDA EXECUTIVE TEAM President

Matthew Gruda, Sigma Nu

CREATIVE TEAM Editor-in-Chief

Cassie Wilkinson, Zeta Tau Alpha

OLYMPIA MEDIA GROUP 888.272.2595 | OlympiaMediaGroup.com Will McGuinness, Managing Editor Grant Hohulin, Designer

The Odyssey is a private entity not associated or governed by the University of Central Florida or UCF Greek life oﬃce. The views and opinions shared in The Odyssey are those of the writers and do not necessarily reﬂect the views and opinions of The Odyssey and Olympia Media Group.

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Greek life traditions

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STEPHANIE GOENAGA Zeta Tau Alpha

Stephanie is a senior studying human communication. You may contact her at smgoenaga@knights. ucf.edu.

Greek life traditions

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5 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU GRADUATE They say that your college years are the best years of your life. These four years are filled with late nights, great friends and unforgettable memories. It’s the stage in your life where you are allowed to take chances and be spontaneous. These are the years that you will look back on and reminisce about many years from now.

HEATHER HENDERSON Kappa Kappa Gamma

Heather is a sophomore studying journalism and marketing. Yo u m a y c o n t a c t h e r a t heather51013@knights.ucf.edu.

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City Beach, cruises and Key West are always popular choices for Florida Spring Break getaways. It can be as close or as far away from school as you want, but your budget usually determines the location. “I booked a cruise to the Bahamas with some of my best friends for Spring Break. It’s my first time doing something for Spring Break, so I’m really looking forward to it. I know I’ll come back with a ton of unforgettable memories,” said sophomore Meredith Reagin. If you’re into philanthropy and service work, there are also Spring Break volunteer trips where you can travel to different cities or states to volunteer with other students.

The key to making unforgettable memories is to be spontaneous and familiarize yourself with the word “yes.” If your friends ask if you want to road trip to Miami for a UCF football game for the night, or even something as small as a late night Steak’n’Shake run, why not say yes? The most random and spontaneous things can result in some of the craziest and most unforgettable nights during your time in college.

Take a look at five things that many college students agree will complete your college experience. Some of them can also be combined so you can cross off more than one at a time. Go on a road trip with friends. There are few things better than going on a road trip with some of your closest friends. Making a great playlist for the car and stopping at random points to take photos and try dive restaurants is unlike any other experience. Even if you decide to just go to a friend’s hometown for the weekend, you can still make it into an exciting and memorable trip. Aweekend away from campus makes for a fun and inexpensive way to travel and forget about studying for a bit. Go visit friends from another college. Speaking of road trips, why not go visit some of your high school friends at their colleges? It’s always interesting to see the difference between UCF’s nightlife compared to other universities. Your friend will know all the ins and outs of the city and will know the good places to go, so you won’t be left lost or guessing what to do next. Invite some of your new friends from college so they have a chance to meet some of your old friends from back home. It’s a good excuse for you to go visit friends and you’ll have a free place to crash. Go on a Spring Break trip. Everyone loves a vacation, especially when it’s with all of your friends. Take advantage of your week off from strenuous classes and plan a getaway. Panama

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Go to a music festival. Concerts have always been a fun event to go to with friends, but they’ve been upgraded to bigger and better music festivals like Ultra, Electric Daisy Carnival and Bonnaroo. Music festivals offer a mix of your favorite artists with an even better mix of eclectic people. Even if you’re not into the type of music, the people watching and atmosphere are reasons alone to attend. Although most people might see music festivals as the stereotypical place to drink and do drugs, senior Jenny

Wells, avid music festival attendee, sees them in a completely different way. “College is about finding yourself. You find the right major, organizations, and friends that best suit you, but a lot of people don’t realize that finding yourself can go beyond the student union and your classrooms. Going to a music festival can give you that unique experience where you can disappear from the reality of work and deadlines to live freely, happily, and 100% yourself. It provides an atmosphere where you can explore who you are in a way that no textbook or professor could ever teach you,” said Wells. Get involved. As cliché as getting involved sounds, it’s one thing that students don’t take advantage of enough. Getting involved is a great way to feel a sense of belonging in such a large university. There are so many organizations like sororities and fraternities, both Greek and education-based, clubs and intramural sports that can give you the opportunity to meet new people, make more memories and gain connections with numerous people. Even though a strong work ethic and plenty of experience are crucial when entering the real world after graduation, it’s really all about who you know. Meeting people during your time at college and forming friendships with tons of different people in different organizations could benefit you later down the line, even if you don’t think so right now. So if you’re a senior who is looking to graduate in the next semester, or a freshman who is just beginning, take advantage of the time that you have in college at UCF. Make the most of all the opportunities you have. Be spontaneous; make memories and friendships that will last, even long after graduation.

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WiNGS FOR UCF There’s a lot of thought that goes into

A: Strangely enough,

creating a club on campus at UCF. Ben

this idea all started with

Heller, a member of the Lambda Chi

Red Bull. Red Bull has a

Alpha Fraternity, is amongst those

great student internship

students who plan to create one of

program that I am

their own.

extremely interested in.

KAILEE SMITH Zeta Tau Alpha

Kailee is a senior studying interpersonal organizational communications. You may contact her at kaileesmith21@aol.com.

My friend told me that as a Red Bull rep the company wants you to use your I sat down with Ben and got all

imagination and push the boundaries to find the best way to promote their

the details on the club he is hoping

product in the most creative way possible. Hence their slogan “Red Bull gives

to get approved by SGA. It got me

you wings,” translated as the sky is the limit. This mentality led me to think,

questioning, what does it take to start

“Why don’t we have an opportunity like this for all students?” This is a great

a club on campus? He filled me in on

way to for students to express their creativity and learn life-long skills that all

all the aspects that go into creating a

employers and professors have been preaching to us to learn. And on top of that,

club, and let me be the first to tell you, there’s a lot you need to brainstorm before you approach the approval. Q: What exactly is your club?

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this will give you some concrete material to put

This club is called Wings for UCF and will be an easy way for students to get some real world experience in marketing, ad/PR and promotions, within a team based, stress-free environment.

A: This club is called Wings for UCF and will be

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on your resume and to talk about in interviews. Q: Did you come up with it on your own or with help? A: My friend Morgan actually helped me come up with the idea. It quickly evolved into a student helping student service where we will

be a non for profit marketing firm essentially. We will have an organization,

an easy way for students to get some real world experience in marketing, ad/PR depending on how many students we have possibly more, and our goal will and promotions, within a team based, stress-free environment. It will be a way

be to take their event and make it the best event they have ever put on. I want

for students to learn and enhance essential skills in business that all employers

students to be able to see success and feel the achievement of helping a fellow

are looking for such as: ability to work in teams, communication, networking,

student organization out. Also for them to break all their attendance, fundraising,

time-management, just to list a few.

and charitable records for that organization, depending on what the goals of

Q: What inspired you to come up with the idea?

that organization are.

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Q: What are you hoping will come out of this club?

Q: How do you plan to promote your club to the students at UCF?

A: I’m hoping that this club will give students these life-long essential business

A: I plan to use business classrooms and Greek organizations to promote my

characteristics and make them more valuable than a student not in our club to a club. I’ve already asked around and everyone I’ve spoken to has given me prospective employer. And hopefully, as we get bigger, students will be able to great feedback. Every college student is looking for the next great thing to put choose which organization event they want to market so they can see the direct

on their resume to make them stand out from the student sitting next to them.

impact of their efforts on the organization that they truly care about.

Well with Wings for UCF, the opportunity is knocking on their front door, by getting hands-on experience with some concrete numbers and material to put on

Q: Will LXA have any influence on this club?

your resume, you can impress future employers with. This club will hopefully promote itself, but I will use my connections to help boost the process.

A: LXA can have an influence on this club but it’s not influencing the club currently. What I mean by this is, maybe LXA will have an event that a group of

Q: Is your club going to require any kind of dues?

students want to work on to make it succeed. The students will work together to figure out the best way to use online and face-to-face marketing to make

A: I’m not sure about the dues quite yet. It depends on if we have any costs

this event the best event that the organization has ever put on with the help of and what we plan to do with the students when we get started. If we charge Wings for UCF.

dues, it would be to pay for some lunch-ins where we have speakers come and talk to us about their experiences in the business world, or to use that money

Q: Has the club been started already or is it still in the works?

to help market the event that we are working on. The idea would be that the dues would pay for the ideas of the students, so they can have a bigger scope

A: The club is in the very early stages. I just got my professor to sponsor the

of what they can do to market their event.

club, the next step is to give it to SGA to get the process going with getting it approved, fingers crossed. Q: How does someone start their own club at UCF?

Q: How often are you planning on getting your members together? A: I would plan on having the club meet either weekly or biweekly. These meetings will be time for students to talk about their pros and cons, along the

A: There are multiple steps with starting a club at UCF. You need a sponsor and a club that isn’t already made at UCF. Then the process gets taken to SGA for approval and verification and then we get into the logistics.

process so everyone can learn what works and what doesn’t work. We will also have guest speakers to tell students about their experiences that they’ll be able to take with them when going about marketing their event and working with teams.

Greek life traditions

tRUe liFe: i’M A NeW MeMBeR

Joining a sorority can be an exciting yet stressful experience. Oftentimes people don’t truly Zeta Tau Alpha understand what a sorority Stephanie is a sophomore studying even is until they are a part of journalism. You may contact her at singinstar935@aol.com. one. Being part of a sorority is such a wonderful and rewarding experience that I would highly recommend to anyone upon entering college. There are always rumors that people tend to speculate about what goes on in a sorority but until you actually become a part of one, you don’t truly know how amazing it can be.

STEPHANIE ISAAC

When I went through rush week I was extremely nervous. I really had no knowledge of what exactly went on within a sorority other than the philanthropic events. I was scared that maybe I wouldn’t be liked by the girls and that I wouldn’t fit in. However, as each day of rush progressed I felt more and more comfortable with my decision to join a sorority. The girls were wonderful as they made me feel so comfortable and at home. Now that I found my home away from home in Zeta, I have never been so happy. The bond I feel with my sisters is like nothing I have ever experienced before. There is no greater feeling

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then knowing you always have someone to talk to and go to the house at any time and know someone will be there for you. Due to the fact that UCF is such a large school, a sorority makes it feel smaller. Being a new member of a sorority can be intimidating at first. Your pledge class becomes your closest friends when entering into a sorority as they went through the same process with you. A lot of girls who have been in a sorority for a few years already have their life established and often do not have enough time to become close to the new members. This is why I would highly recommend becoming close with your pledge class and participating in all of the events your sorority has to offer. Going to your sororities events helps you to get closer to your sisters and create everlasting bonds. Being a new member is also a very exciting experience. During this time you get your big sister and get initiated. It is a wonderful and fulfilling experience. Getting your big sister is such a great feeling. My big sister is amazing and I don’t know what I would do without her. She is always there when I need her and I am so blessed to have her in my life. I would never have met her if I hadn’t joined my sorority. Overall being in a sorority gives you ample opportunities to not only help out in your community but to meet amazing girls that become your sisters. The bonds formed within a sorority are so meaningful and make going to college that much more enjoyable. I have never felt so close to a group of girls and cannot wait for the years to come.

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AMeRiCA tHe GReAt BAILEY GLESSNER Sigma Nu

Bailey is a sophomore studying hospitality. You may contact him at baileyglessner@aim.com. 3.

Well it’s that time of the year again and unless you’ve been living under a rock or stuck in a coma for the past week or so, you should be fully aware that the 2014 Winter Olympics are in full swing. Every two years, we all gather around, strap on the good Ol’ red, white, and blue and actively keep track on sports we’ve never heard, nor do we care about, as we hope to see the U. S. of A come out on top of this PG version of a world war. Here in the land of the free, we pride ourselves on always being one of the top contenders in both summer and the winter games. The most prideful part is listening to our great star spangled banner play for millions, sorry, billions across the world as our athletes hoist their well deserved medals of honor. So what is it that makes our country so great? Is it the fact that we can wake up knowing that we can be whatever we want to be? What about having all you can eat buffets? Here is my list of the top 5 things that I believe make America the greatest country in the world. 1.

The Men and Women Serving for Our Country

I’ve grown up in this great land having long; late night talks with my grandpa. He was Korean vet, earned two purple hearts, and turned out to be the kind of man I strive to be one day. He’s told me of his time in the service, his sacrifices, and his courage it took to go off to war at 18. Many people may complain about the amount of spending this country does on our military but I assure you they weren’t complaining come 9/11. We’re the land of the free, because of the brave, which brings me to my next reason… 2.

If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It

How lucky are we that we live in the land of opportunity. A place where we can dream as big as we want to and turn that dream into a reality if you work hard enough for it. We call it the American dream. One time I was at home watching TV with my mom. What’s normally a grueling couple of hours of the real housewives, instead, was a lifetime movie called “Homeless to Harvard”, the true life story of Liz Murray. Murray is a girl who came from a rough, dysfunctional family and, if you couldn’t tell by the title, worked to make something of herself. The amazing thing is, this is only one story out of thousands, if not millions, that this country was built on. It just goes to show you that you can be as successful as you want to be; all you have to do is put the work in and make it happen.

Sports, Sports, Sports

One of my favorite aspects of this country is our athletic culture. We love sports, simple as that. Football, basketball, baseball, hockey, golf, if we can get together, cheer, and drink beer, you better believe we’ll have a game on. What draws us in is the culture. Think about it, we wear our team’s colors proud, yell chants, make hand gestures, and tailgate like there’s no tomorrow. Our athletes are the highest of quality. In the 1992 summer Olympics we had the Dream Team, 20 years later we fell back asleep and encompassed a new dream team that dominated the world. Let’s not forget about Peyton Manning or Adrian Peterson (Manning is the man, pun intended). It’s athletes like these who represent us both nationally and internationally proudly proving to the world that the best of the best sport the red, white, and blue. 4.

Freedom

It shouldn’t come as a shock to you that we are not the only free country in the world. Actually the vast majority of the world is free. So why is this in the top 5? Freedom is, and will always be, in my top 5 because it is the rock in which this nation I call home was built upon. Freedom wasn’t something given to us, our for fathers overcame blood, sweat, and tears so we could enjoy freedom of religion, freedom to become educated, freedom to pursue our dreams, even freedom to walk around wearing nothing but a smile (although that tends to be frowned upon). It’s a value we hold dearly and must never take it for granted. Without further ado, the last thing that makes this country the best there is… 5.

The South

As a Florida Hoosier (Indiana born, moved to Florida), I must say that the south is probably the best part of America (geographically speaking). We have Florida, which has Disney, beaches, Key West, and Jimmy Buffet. We have Louisiana, home of the Robertson’s, New Orleans, and that piece of heaven I like to call authentic Cajun cooking. We have the country music capital of the world in Nashville, Tennessee; we have beaches spreading up and down the Carolina’s, and we can’t, of course, go without mentioning the SEC, the greatest college football conference there is (although we’ll add FSU, UCF, and Clemson to the list). I’ll also give an honorable mention to Ronald Reagan. No explanation needed. Although I narrowed my list to five, there are many more reasons why I love this country and why, year after year, we continue to thrive. It’s the land of opportunity for a reason. Great leadership built us, we’ve had our ups and downs, but we persevered through the good and bad. Like the athletes repping us in Sochi, we must to work to continue to improve our nation. Whether it’s sports, science, technology, whatever it is, it’s up to us to keep this country on top. Go Team USA, Go America, bring home the gold!

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FLAPPY BIRD: THE GAME OF HOPE AND GRIEF

As for those of you who MELISSA didn’t get the chance to PROCKO download and play the Zeta Tau Alpha life-ruining game, don’t fret. Really. My personal Melissa is a freshman studying anthropology. You may contact her high score is a miserable at mprocko@knights.ucf.edu. 4 and just like the rest of the ‘Flappy Bird’ playing community, it’s not getting much higher. iOS user, Ahhccwat, said in a review that “my family called an exorcist to try and remove this devil game, but flappy bird had already firmly gripped my soul.” Yet, they still rated the app with 5 stars. Luckily ‘Flappy Bird’ can no longer posses any souls with it’s taunting simplicity. With our increasing use of technology, it’s not a surprise that an app can become famous overnight. But how did the game ‘Flappy Bird’ gain so much popularity that it has caused the developer, Dong Nguyen, to actually remove it from the app store? The game consists of simple, low quality graphics and an tempting allure to beat your high score of probably no more than 10, yet it’s still gained popularity over the world. However, the developer, Nguyen, couldn’t “take it [the publicity] anymore,” causing him to remove the app from the App Store entirely.

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Nguyen tweeted right before he removed the game saying: “I can call ‘Flappy Bird’ a success of mine. But it also ruins my simple life. So now I hate it.”

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So if any of you have downloaded ‘Flappy Bird’ and are so close to the point of insanity that you want to delete the app entirely, think twice. iPhones with the app actually are increasing in value and are going for higher amounts on eBay than a phone without it. The game was developed last May, but it’s gained popularity more recently in the last few months. It was reported that the game makes $50,000 a day in ad revenue. Nguyen tweeted right before he removed the game saying: “I can call ‘Flappy Bird’ a success of mine. But it also ruins my simple life. So now I hate it.” Most of us are right there with you, Nguyen. Gamer and ‘Flappy Bird’ “addict,” Josh Constine, stated that “the only way to win is to not play.”

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RACE, LOVE, WISH missing article

CHRISTINA MONROE Chi Omega

Christina is a sophomore studying advertising and public relations. You may contact her at christinamonroe@live.com.

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