U University News Thursday, October 11, 2012
unewsonline.com
the
Vol. XCVII No. 7
A student voice of SLU since 1919
Living the greek life at SLU
Fraternities, sororities offer students a variety of experiences
ΦΔΘ ΑΔΠ ΣΦΕ ΔΣΦ ΓΦΒ ΒΘΠ ΔΓ
ΚΔ
Σ ΑΕ
ΑΔΓ
By CHRIS ACKELS Senior Staff Writer
Alex Tepoorten was on the fence. “I didn’t know if I wanted to join a sorority or not,” she said. “I didn’t know what it was all about, and to be honest, I wasn’t really sure if it was for me.” She had heard all the negative connotations. She knew the stereotypes, those promulgated by movies and newscasts and state schools. She felt she could make friends through other means. But she also had noticed other sorority girls on campus. She admired their drive, their involvement, their unified passion. She recognized something in them. “So the last night before recruitment began,” she said. “I decided I’d give it a shot.” Active members of a fraternity or sorority on campus make up approxi-
ΤΚΕ
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mately 18% of Saint Louis University’s student body. One-thousand, four-hundred and sixty-one students are a part of what is known as the Greek system, a group of social organizations dedicated to the building of friendships and celebrating shared values. SLU has nine fraternities and six sororities on campus, engaging 541 male members and 920 female members. Each of them is a chapter of nationally and internationally recognized organizations, and all have Greek letters to their names. For many, fraternities and sororities provide an outlet to meet friends and develop bonds based on mutual interests and common personal values. “Right away I could feel the impact of being in a fraternity,” says sophomore Kevin Fitzsimmons, who rushed Sigma Phi Epsilon during his freshman year. “All of a sudden, I really felt like I was a part of something.” The first week of freshman year
ΖΤΑ ΦΚΘ ΣΚ is, for many, a whirlwind of getting to know new people and adjusting to a new place. Greek rush events try to help provide some structure to this process, especially for students who do not know many classmates coming in. “I was far away from home, and I didn’t know a single person,” says sophomore Carlie Lavin of her freshman year experience. “The recruitment process allowed me to really put myself out there and meet people.” Lavin, now a member of Alpha Delta Pi, says her sorority friends are like the sisters she never had growing up. Joe Orf, vice president of the Inter Fraternity Council and senior member of Phi Delta Theta, said that fraternities and sororities are so much more than just a social gathering. The benefits, he said, go way beyond just making friends. See “Greek” on Page 3
By WOLF HOWARD Associate News Editor
INSIDE:
Courtesy photo of Tony Teabon
Students vote in a mock presidental election hosted by OneWorld magazine on Wed., Oct. 10 In addition to the flyers, tables were set up with a more detailed description of the beliefs and policies held by each camp. The stand was dedicated to Romney Oct. 8 and Obama on Oct. 9. On Oct. 10 OneWorld held a mock election, with the booth displaying the same information from the first two days side by side. Romney’s table was decked out in red with posters detailing Romney’s
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promises should he win the election. These commitments included his intent to approve the Keystone Pipeline and begin to repeal Obamacare within the first day of his presidency. Obama’s table was lined with blue and gave information about his intention to continue to strengthen and reform social programs such as Medicare and Social Security, as well as his dedication to continued economic stimulus and his
2 OPINION
By KRISTEN MIANO News Editor
The tiny wooden crosses in the Quad last week raised some eyebrows at first. Though the Cemetery of the Innocents has been a standard part of Students for Life’s Respect Life Week, the display has undergone a makeover. “We modified the Cemetery of the Innocents to include five subjects this year, many of which don’t traditionally align with what people think of when they think of pro-life issues,” said Students for Life president, Patrick Grillot. “This year we included things like rape, poverty and physician-assisted suicide instead of just abortion and the death pen-
alty.” The expanding of the display was not the only change, however. Students for Life also included a new ‘Garden of Justice,” which consisted of fake flowers meant to represent some of the positive aspects of the pro-life movement. “The Cemetery of the Innocents is usually pretty negatively focused, but we wanted to promote the positive movements happening on campus and else where,” Grillot said. The Garden of Justice featured statistics relating to Saint Louis University’s Pregnant and Parenting Services, the efforts of Campus Kitchens, the See “Life” on Page 3
Photoc courtesy of Julia Gilbert
OneWorld event highlights election LiveOneWorld Magazine has started the ‘Be An Informed Voter’ campaign this semester with the hopes of keeping students in the loop about the upcoming presidential election. The ‘Be An Informed Voter’ campaign is about giving students unbiased information that can help them make educated decisions in the upcoming election. OneWorld was stationed in the quad handing out flyers containing information concerning the various policies of President Barack Obama and presidential candidate Mitt Romney, as well as the Libertarian and Green Parties. “We realized that it’s more important to be an informed voter, not just a registered voter, especially with this generation,” Managing Editor of OneWorld Magazine Mary Shannon said. “We wanted to be able to provide unbiased information on both Romney and Obama and the other secondary parties.” Each flyer was comprised of a summary view of the economic, foreign, social, education, environmental and healthcare policies of each candidate.
Students support pro-life efforts
progress in job creation. The source of the information for OneWorld’s posters and flyers varied. “We have multiple sources. We got a lot of the information from each candidate’s website and from their published platforms, but we also have secondary unbiased sites as well,” Shannon said. “We didn’t want to focus on anything See “Election” on Page 3
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Kristen Miano/ News Editor
Melissa Ohden, an abortion survivor, spoke to students in the Lee Lecture Hall on Tues. Oct. 9 as a part of Respect Life Week.
SLU ranking slips; B-school improves By DERRICK NEUNER Senior Staff Writer
In the recently released 2013 edition of “America’s Best Colleges,” U.S. News ranked SLU 92nd among nearly 270 institutions listed in the magazine’s “National Universities” category. In the 2012 edition of the list, SLU was ranked 90th. The University’s undergraduate business programs took a major jump in this year’s rankings, rising to 87 from 115 last year. The magazine also gave high marks to SLU’s undergraduate programs in entrepreneurship (No. 13) and international business (No. 18). “I’ve said for years that we’re a top 50 school. So what we have to do is tell our story, Ellen Harshman, J.D., Ph.D., dean of the John Cook School, said. “Our students are great, our faculty are terrific, and there’s great scholarship here at SLU. But it doesn’t matter if nobody knows.” Earlier this year, U.S. News named the University’s health law program No. 1 in the nation for the ninth consecutive year. In its “Best Graduate Schools 2013” issue, the magazine also ranked several other graduate programs in the top 25, including public health administration at No. 9, geriatric medicine at No. 13, entrepreneurship at No. 17, international business at No. 20 and supply chain management at No.
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21. Harshman notes that among Midwestern schools, SLU’s ranking rises to No. 20. That puts the university amongst good company – schools like Notre Dame, Ohio State and Creighton. Among the highlights of the recent rankings are the undergraduate business programs, which have been under Harshman’s direction since she became dean in 2003. She attributes the rise in the Cook School’s profile as the result of a concerted effort to spread the word about SLU and her high-profile position among fellow business school deans. “A lot of these rankings are done by reputation, which is done by deans and chairs,” Harshman said. “I work hard to be visible and be a leader among those deans.” Currently, Harshman is on a national committee rewriting accreditation rules for business schools in the United States. She also notes that two faculty members from SLU have left in the last year for deanships at other institutions. But while the rise in the rankings is an encouraging sign for the university, the numbers fall well short of the strategic goals of the SLU Board of Trustees and Lawrence Biondi, S.J., university president. In a letter sent to the SLU community See “Rankings” on Page 3
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