WEDNESDAY
September 21, 2005
Optimist the
Vol. 94, No. 10 1 section, 10 pages www.acuoptimist.com
Starting strong
International interest
Safe at home
The Wildcats won their second conference game Saturday, page 10
The Study Abroad program in Oxford this spring is already full, page 5
The volleyball team scored three wins at home this weekend, page 10
Clubs say ‘let the bidding begin’ Small clubs experience difficulty attracting members n Even after officials and club members tried encouraging potential pledges to consider their second or third options, not all clubs saw an increase in numbers. By MITCH HOLT Opinion Editor
BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer
Frater Sodalis member Cameron Hartsell, junior political science major from Gilmer, walks down the line of Frat pledges, known as Brats, on the steps of the Administration Building during Friday’s Bid Night.
More than 250 begin pledging season with Bid Night By MALLORY SHERWOOD Managing Editor
is different this year because it includes juniors, sophomores, transfers and students from all types of life. She said this year the Flames, as the pledges are called, are fresh and new, not GATA legacies. Barker said the Flames responded well to the allnight festivities that ended at 7:30 a.m. “Half of the girls expected
Inside the Optimist
Please turn to page 8 for a collection of photographs from Bid Night
Students ran around campus Friday night and early Saturday as social clubs iniScott Brooks, Galaxy prestiated more than 250 pledgident and senior finance maes during a weekend filled jor from Coppell, said the with secret activities, comNovas persevered throughpetitions, food and history out the night and gave evlessons. erything they had while perFor the first time in sevforming the activities. eral years, all Brooks clubs made it said his fathrough the “Half of the girls expected Bid Night to be really hard, vorite acnight smoothly tivity was and the other half didn’t know what to expect.” without injuries watching Abra Barker, president of GATA or illnesses. the Nova’s GATA, one reactions to of the oldest the secrets social clubs on campus, wel- Bid Night to be really hard, of Galaxy as well as hangcomed 17 pledges, who will and the other half didn’t know ing out with the other club be seen wearing bright red what to expect, but they tired members. skirts, shoes and lipstick for really quickly,” Barker said. “I love to see the reaction the next several weeks. “We are a very competitive on the Nova’s faces when they “Every pledge class is club so we had a lot of run- are introduced to the club’s different, and we have to ning activities. We run around secrets,” Brooks said. “You come at them with a differ- and scream and sing around can just see the excitement ent attitude to adapt to who the GATA fountain and hang on their faces when they figthey are,” said Abra Barker, out with the Frats. I think our ure it out.” GATA president and senior Flames really enjoyed the All clubs participate in seintegrated marketing com- evening.” cret activities, which add to munications major from Bid Night also went the allure of the evening, he Flower Mound. smoothly for the 39 Galaxy She said the pledge class pledges, called Novas. See BID page 7
BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer
Pledges for Gamma Sigma Phi, known as Siblings, yell club sayings as they hold watermelons in the Beauchamp Amphitheater on Friday afternoon.
Campus Life took a much different approach to social club bids this year than it has in the past, attempting to bring more attention to smaller social clubs that have been suffering from lack of numbers in the past and present. “During rushing, a particular effort was made to try to encourage girls to consider all the clubs and not simply focus on two or three,” said Autumn Sutherlin, adviser for Tri Kappa Gamma women’s social club. The approach began with an informational meeting where an announcement was made explaining that not all women who rushed a club would receive an invitation Mike Spell, adviser of social clubs, said that this was difficult because in the past, there have always been certain clubs willing to offer invitations to women who didn’t receive bids from their first, second or third choices. This former approach was not an option this year. At this meeting, said Spell, one of the women advisers talked about how in college she did not receive a bid from her first choice, gave her second choice a chance and ended up becoming an adviser for this club. “We worked to emphasize that there are positives to being a part of a smaller organization,” he said. After the first meeting, the spearheading advisers organized two meeting times for women who did not receive bids from their first choices, a time that was designated to bring these girls together and hopefully get them to form a group and pledge a smaller club. No one attended either See
RUSHING page 7
Students help Lake Stamford victims recover from flood n David Davis, Haskell County judge, said he is frustrated after state officials left residents “to fend for themselves” after a flood destroyed homes and possessions. By TIFFANY TAYLOR Features Editor
One month after Lake Stamford rose and flooded its lakeside communities, residents still don’t have electricity. Permanent residents are on their own to pull up ruined floors and cover up water stains on the walls, without the full force of the government, since Gov. Rick
“It’s not thousands and thousands of people, but on a family basis—it’s everything they had.” Dr. Jeff Arrington, associate dean of Campus Life
Perry did not designate the site a disaster area. David Davis, county judge of Haskell County, said volunteers from surrounding areas are appreciated by himself and the victims of the flooding. Since several government agencies, such as FEMA, ORCA and NRCS, have decided the event does not qualify as a natural disaster, Davis said the county has been relying heavily
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
on private organizations. “We have so many people who are unable to help themselves. They don’t have the financial means or the physical means,” Davis said. Seeing the need for more manpower, a group of 50 students and members from University Church of Christ joined private organizations in relief efforts Saturday, said Jeff Arrington, associ-
ate dean of Campus Life. Arrington worked with graduate students from the Psychology Department and the Marriage and Family Counseling Institute to assess the needs of more than 100 homes owned by permanent residents. Unlike the majority of the group from the university, the graduate students went door-to-door in groups to find out who was a permanent resident and what needs they had. “You ask them to relive this nightmare, so you can fill out some places on your See
STAMFORD page 7
ANNA CARROLL/Staff Photographer
Jennifer Waters, freshman exercise science major from Loganville, Ga., and Haley Dilling, freshman marketing and graphic design major from Vero Beach, Fla., clean up debris Saturday left after Lake Stamford flooded in August.
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