Northwest Missouri State University - Tower Yearbook (Maryville, MO)

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Alpha Sigma Alphas LIndsey Wood and Lesley Daniel welcome their new sisters with signs, balloons and carnations. Thirty four new women joined the Alphas on bid day. photo by Christine Ahrens Calmly searching for a sign she made for her rush sister, Shaunda Wages parts from the mass of screaming women. Alpha Sigma Alpha gave their Rho Chis and new sisters gifts on bid day.p ioto by Christine Ahrens Traditionally by Sarah Smith L IVcrSG The parties were over, the crying had stopped and the emotions and stress of sorority rush had ended. However, two weeics after bid day, the women of Tan Phi Upsilon started iheir rush in the quiet confinements of tiie Millii an Hall lounge with a friendly ice breaker and a game of Charades. Tau Phi was an independent, social sorority that was unlike the larger, more well-known Greek sis- terhood organizations. One of the more obvious differences was size, which included 17 active members and 1 1 potential members. Active sis- ter C;indy M. Roberts said the small number was one of the benefits of joining an iiidepeiutent Greek organization. 1 like that 1 know all of the girls in my sorority personally, Roberts said. 1 know them by name, what ' s going on in their lives and things like that. Another, less obvious, feature of the sorority was the diverse amount of people it attracted. Tau Phi escaped the stereotypes many sororities shared and accepted girls who believed they did not fit in with the larger organizations. A lot of the girls say we ' re different, Roberts said. For example, when they rush we go around and have them say why they rushed or why they are rushing. A lot of them say our sorority just fits them better personality-wise. Another difference between Tau Phi and other sororities was that the fall trimester marked their 10-year anniversary. However, it was not only the group ' s University anniversary, but also its na- tionwide anniversary. This was because the Northwest chapter of Tau Phi was the only one in the country. When the organization was founded in 1990, by Kathleen Volger and Lisa VVolkwitz, it was creat- ed under the idea that the women who joined were individuals who were to remain individuals. This idea was instilled into Jenny Johnson when she became a member. She was only one of the women who abided by the rule and understood its purpose. They were trying to get people who would be themselves when they were in the sorority and not conform to sorority stereotypes, Johnson said. Ten years after their founding, Tau Phi had al- most quadru- pled in size. However, the ideas and pur- pose behind the organization held fast and In a race to see who can drink from a baby ,. .,...., , were as diverse bottle the fastest, Amy Sue Glasz participates in Tau Phi Upsilon ' srush.The the campuS tO independent sorority ' s rush was three- which It was days long, and filled with Ice breakers, bom. photo by Sarah Smith . ¥tf Rush 15

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Changing Imditions Computer Rush cut that time to just a few minutes. It made rush 100 percent easier, Panhellenic President Jenny Falilstrom said. The decision to purchase the program was made for two reasons. The first being the ease of matching bids, and the second was to ensure that all of the sororities met their national new-member quota. The program helped sororities improve their numbers by better spacing the returning invitations during rush. Despite the program, the total number of rushees was still below expectations with only 146 new members. Some attributed the lower number to how rush was held one week later than it had been in years past. Fahlstrom had a different perspective. People said that they wanted to wait until they were sophomores because they wanted to get settled in first, she said. While sorority rush was evolving, some aspects of fraternity rush remained the same. Open rush began Sept. 11, for the men, with a variety of social and food events. Tau Kappa Epsilon opened with an ail- you-can-eat taco banquet and later in the week they had a barbecue and a catered dinner. Maintaining a five-year tradition, they invited the women of Sigma Kappa to their house, sung to them and gave each new member a carnation. The Sigma Kappas returned the serenade with a song of their own. The guys really enjoyed it and the girls fti THf rxninoBniMn ' HYl Dl Photos ■ Video did too, Shawn Emerson, TKE rush chair, said. Well, at least I hoped they did. A graffiti party at the Kappa Sigma house, a smoker vnth the men of Phi Sigma Kappa and casino night at Delta Sigma Phi house were some of the other rush activities hosted. Campuswide, fraternity new pledge numbers rose to almost 200. People are looking for a type of family, Emerson said. A fraternity offers a home away from home. 14 Student Life ' iCrCTTini TIii[?HFTTTK!«rira

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Actio Performances Spontaneity prompts an evening of laughter by Burton Taylor Improv a la Mode, a lab series, offered the- ater students an opportunity to expand their comic skills as thespians. In its second year, Improv a la Mode was even more of a success, Kevin Busv rell said. Last year, I think tliere were a lot more people who saw it, and this year a lot more came back, so I think we were more successful in that as- pect, Buswell said. Director lason Daunter said the audience played a key role in the performance because they fueled the comedy, which could either make or break the success of the show. BusweU said the audience was very receptive to the type of performance they attended, and helped create humorous situations. I think they reacted very well and they un- derstood the type of performance it was and accepted the fact that everything wasn ' t re- hearsed, Buswell said. Other than a rehearsed introduction and con- clusion of the show, Buswell said most of the improv was created entirely on the spot at the demand of the audience ' s suggestions. He said the only way they could prepare for the randomness of the audience ' s direction was to play games similar to those that might arise on the night of the performance. The six of us worked together well as a team, Buswell said. We basically knew where every- one else was going and could work together with that to make it more funny. All of the per- formers were very good at improv and knew how to work together as a group. The work was not complete at the end of the comedy, however Many of the students quickly shifted gears to prepare for other fall perfor- mances and even the improv acts to come. Experts on monkey dung, Sage Kimbrough, Steven Sakedo and Kevin Buswell share their experiences with National Geographic Host Reid Kirchhoff. Improv a la Mode took place in the black box of the Mary Linn Performing Arts Center.photo by Christine Ahrens Bir FXTn»oRniMtRv Photos ■ Video =7=;; 16 Student Life