R u s h is g o in g g re a t th is y e a r by Heidi Lundy Newspeak Staff A fter a slightly slow start at the G reek K ick-Off, Rush ‘89 is going very well. Peter Tousignant estim ates that 50% o f the freshman class is rushing. The K ick-O ff was three Fridays ago in Alden with a live band. It was great w eather outside, and although A lden’s gloom iness was offset by an excellent G reek turnout, only about 60 freshm en showed up. A ctivities since then have been much better. One of the nights o f house tours was post poned because o f bad w eather, but they were very successful on M onday and T hursday. Interested rushees w ere given calenders at every house telling o f their events for the next 7
weeks. Activities over the past couple of weeks have included Carnival Nights, Casino Nights, a G o lf Night, a Hot Legs C ontest, and a lot o f Monday night Football and pizza. In addition to these events, individual freshm en are invited to dinner to sam ple the co o k 's specialties. The food served and the kind o f events chapters hold say a lot about the taste o f each frater nity. The WPI Food Service has noticed a decline o f alm ost 500 people on the last couple Friday nights, pointing to the fact that rush activities (m any fraternities had outdoor barbe cues the first w eekend) were very well attended. Because the houses are limited this year in the am ount o f weekly rush events they can have, there is a greater
em phasis on having the rushees come dow n to the house to study. The IFC is pushing academ ics heavily and freshm en have been taking advantage o f the extra help. Any rushing fresh men should know that they can get help anytim e. There are also IFC tu toring sessions every Tuesday and Thursday night in the lower wedge w ith rep resen tativ es from every house. T herefore the longer Rush period is going to be successful. Pete T ousignant feels that the freshmen will have had enough time to make friends and not be so insecure that they cling and “go where everyone else goes.” The fraternities want to get to know freshm en for w ho they are, ju st as the freshm en should find the house they feel they have the most in com m on with.
T here are notable disadvantages to the longer Rush. Freshmen males are getting itchy watching fem ales going freely to fraternity parties where al cohol is being served. The Interfrater nity Council understands that for stu dents being away from home for the first tim e, drinking seem s like the natural thing to do. but dry rush was som ething that was decided on for the good o f everyone and it must be en forced. It is difficult because sports teams are recruiting too and they often have o ff campus parties, where broth ers will see freshm en drinking and there isn ’t much they can do about it. In the beginning, before brothers and freshm en get to know each other it is very easy to break dry rush rules. There have been incidents reported o f freshm en drinking at fraternities un
known to the brothers of the chapter. These freshmen should understand that they are putting the house in jeo p ardy of breaking dry rush rules. Be cause the IFC cannot be everyw here all the time, enforcem ent becom es an issue o f honor for each individual house. C onsidering that last year at this time the fraternities already had pledges, and this year they still have 4 w eeks entertaining to do, freshmen have plenty o f tim e to m ake the right decision. Freshmen are obviously interested this year. Pete Tousignant stated that it is up to the fraternities to do a good job with Rush, because it’s only what they m ake o f it, and he thinks that Rush is going great this year.
The Student Newspaper of Worcester Polytechnic Institute Volume 17, Number 20 Tuesday, October 10, 1989
Security increased around Institute Hall by Gary DelGrego Graphics Editor Security has been increased in the area surrounding Institute Hall re cently in response to a num ber of vandalism s. V andalism has been a problem since the.sum m er when renovation of the building began. N um erous inci dents such as the spreading o f carpet glue on w alls prompted the stationing of a WPI police officer in the building when the contractors were not w ork ing. A fter freshm en moved in the van dalism d id n 't stop. On two separate occasions rocks were thrown through w indow s in Institute Hall. Early Sat urday m orning (Sept. 30) som eone spread a polyurethane solvent on the carpet and w alls o f the first floor, ruining the carpet and a section of painted wall. According to Janet Richardson, Dean o f Students, C am pus Police have no suspects and only
an eyew itness account o f an individ ual in a Lambda Chi jacket fleeing the scene after one o f the rocks was thrown. Vandalism w asn’t restricted to Institute Hall. Three large rocks were thrown through the window etched with the WPI seal. Replacing the window and etching will cost at least $2,000. It is unknown if the incidents at Founders and Institute Hall are re lated. More im portant than the m onetary dam ages incurred is the potential for harm ing som eone through acts o f senseless vandalism . O ne of the rocks was thrown into a student’s room and the solvent spread over the first floor hallway was potentially flamm able. Freshmen in Institute Hall were understandably concerned that som e one could get seriously injured. They felt victim ized by circum stances be yond their control and were, accord ing to Tom G hosh, Student Hall Di
rector, scared and concerned that the security o f the building was inade quate. To voice their anxiety a letter was sent from the residents and R A 's in Institute to Peggy Jablonski. Direc tor o f H ousing. The letter stated that the students felt terrorized and wanted both increased lighting around the perim eter and additional police pa trols. The Dean o f Students O ffice along with the O ffice of Housing and R esi dential Life "responded immediately 1o the students’ concerns”, according to Tom G hosh. They ordered extra patrols and will have additional light ing installed within a week. In addi tion, m eetings with the residents o f Institute were held to hear their con cerns and inform them of the actions taken in their behalf. The school is planning to offer a reward for any inform ation. W PI has taken the van dalism seriously and will deal se verely with w hoever is responsible.
Facts about blood donation by Megan Moore Each year, many student o r ganizations at WPI sponsor Red Cross blood drives. Blood drives such as these constitute approxi mately twenty percent of all the blood which is collected by the Red Cross in the New England area. By supporting blood drives, WPI students, faculty m em bers, and staff m em bers can help to ensure that there is alw ays enough blood to meet the constant demand for blood. O ften, many people walk by the blood drive sign-up table, which is either set up in the W edge or in the mail room , without giving much thought to donating blood. These people do not realize the signifi cance of taking one hour out of their schedule to give blood. D onating blood one time contrib
utes to the treatm ent o f two or three sick or injured patients. Additionally, a patient has a blood supply on hand w ithout the burden o f finding others to do nate blood. Since every individ ual has the potential of becoming a victim , donating blood while in good health allows every individ ual to have blood available in case o f sickness or injury. On W ednesday. O ctober 11. and Thursday. O ctober 12. the Red Cross will be accepting do nations between 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. If you m issed sign-ups, they will gladly accept those who come into Alden Hall without making an appointm ent. Help support this blood drive, as well as other blood drives that will take place during this school year, by giving one hour of your ; time to give blood.
Sorority Rush should be fun and relaxing Alan Allen of the Eggs of Evolution provides guitar raunch Saturday in the Pub NEWSPEAKSTAKK PHOTO/BILL BARRY
by Rebecca Reilly As a freshman last year I rem em ber being very confused about rush and sororities; where should I go, and when? What should I say? Should I go at all? This year things are differ ent. Rush starts the first day o f B-term instead of A-term. Hopefully this has given all the freshm an women a chance to see the true character o f each sorority before rush begins. The best attitude to have during rush is to think “ I may or may not decide to pledge a sorority, but rush is fun." Rush is a good way to meet other women on cam pus since m eet ing women is not such an easy thing to do from day to day. It is also interest ing to learn more about each sorority. Up to now you have probably only had the chance to guess what each sorority is like based on a few sisters you may have m et or things another person may have told you. Each woman should have a chance to form an opin ion about each sorority based on first hand inform ation. D epending upon who you may have talked to you have probably
heard many different things about sororities and rush. Sororities are groups of w omen who share common values, goals, and friendship. Som e times it is very hard to decide what sorority to pledge, or w hether to pledge at all.* Greek life is not for everyone, so you may decide not to pledge, and that is fine. If you are interested, how ever, sorority can be a m ajor asset to you during your college years and long after. W hen choosing a sorority you should consider many things. Talk to as many sisters from each sorority as possible, and see if you feel com fort able with them. O f course everyone will feel slightly uncom fortable be cause you are meeting these people for the first time. Try to learn as much as you can about all aspects o f the sorority. Ask the sisters about philan thropy projects, social life, academ ic aspects, mottos, values o f the soror ity, and any other questions you may have. R em em ber that this will be a m u tual choice, not only is the sorority
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