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

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RUSH • Appreciate the Start of Sisterhood Many experience joys and pain of the sorority pledging process during Fall Rush 2003. by Jessica Schmidt ies and activities came together in Women with crossed fingers and open Bid Day invitations to see which tk started with Sororit - Tea in the Sororities participating m formal recruimnent performed a song and dance for the potential pledges. Sororit ' presidents spoke to them about what sororiry- life had to offer. The Sorority Tea helped clarify some things tor me, as to what the sororities here on campus do and such, freshmen Amanda Granger said. The next evening, the women met in the Union Ballroom to have their picture taken and questions addressed. When Friday approached, the potential pledges were assigned to Gamma Chi groups to attend the first recniitment parties. Forty Gamma Chi leaders, and three alternates from different sororities participated in the recruitment process. For the past two years, Sigma Kappa member Jill Awtry chose to be a Gamma Chi. I got to experience both sides of recruitment, Aw tr - said. My sophomore year, I went through it as an active member, and for the last two years I went through recmitment as a Gamma Chi. CH ' erall, I like being a Gamma Chi better, because 1 feel you really get to know the girls better, you get to see the real person. Gamma Chi ' s were not allowed to reveal which sorority they belonged to and had to seclude themselves by staying in a local hotel for the duration of recruitment week. Potential pledges realized the seriousness of recruitment the second day of parties. Sororities and p itential pledges had to drop one another Saturday night. Desiree Campbell and Li: Vamon rela. alter welcomins; thi- new pledges to their sorority on bid day. Campbell and Vamons ' sorority Sigma Kappa welcomed 20 pledges who joined 57 active members, photo by Wilj dye I think the worst part of recruitment is chixising who to drop, Sigma Kappa Sherry Bowen said. You feel that you don ' t get enough time to know the girls, and then you have to make a decision based on a first impression. The dropping process hit pledges the hardest. Dropped by five sororities on the first drop day, sororities dealt Granger the unexpected. 1 didn ' t expect to get dropped, Granger said. You go into it with the mindset that you will be dropping the sorority, not that they will be dropping you. It was hard for me to deal with the rejection. But it didn ' t change my perception overall about the Greek system here at Northwest. Granger had the option of continuing on with recruitment but chose to back out because she did not believe she could see herself as a member of the remaining sorority. For those that sur ' ived, the final and most formal party of recruitment week happened Monday night. After potential pledges attended one or two preference parties, rhey had to decide which sorority they wanted to pledge. Preference Night was my favorite night because it . iftimied my decision and made me feel closer to the girls, .■ lpha Sigma Alpha pledge Emily Andrews said. Bid Day concluded recruitment week. The women gathered in the union ballroom to await their invitations. For Phi Mu pledge, Maria Mendez, Bid Day was her favorite part of the week. It was really nerve-racking because 1 knew 1 wanted Phi Mu, Mendez said. When 1 opened my letter and saw that it was a Phi Mu invitation 1 started crying and ran outside and hugged girls that 1 had ne er talked to before. On Bid Day outside the union anxious sororities stood waiting with banners, signs, T-shirts, gifts and silly string. After opening invitations, new pledges were allowed to run outside and meet their new sisters. Gamma Chi ' s, anticipating their release, pounded on the windows and waved. After all the pledges were announced, the Gamma Chi leaders were finally freed and allowed to see their Msters once again. For the new pledges, they were ready to start making new friends and memories. Although Granger and others like her did not recei ' e a bid, there were hopes for next year. At this point I will probably go through recmitment again next year, Granger said. 1 have learned from my experiences, and 1 would do it again because I now know what to expect. fy Sftjicfewt fi e

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Preparing soldiers for battle and teaching humanitarian assistance, Stephen Terry r.irt . .1 the U.S Army ' s Civil Affairs and Psyctmlogical Operation Commands Division. ' One thinM you can ' t teach is how to deal with the death of a fellow soldiei, Terry said. thuiv iuhniiwd fn Su ' p it ' ii Tim- Unless a person has lived through such horrific conditions, they ' ll probably never know how blessed we are as Americans. Alan Hargreaves ■ I Ma + ■

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Chccrinu tor their member uuoK.a in iIk- ienijiln Rush prixzess, Tri-Sigm.i sisters giuher in front tit the Student Union. After the excitement died down, ) Toup photos were taken in front of the Pell Tower, i h.to f Mi Dye Ci You feel that you don ' t get enough time to know the girls, and then you have to make a decision based on a first impression. Sigma Kappa Sherry Bowen jy Alpha Kappa Lambda brothers, Ryan Hansel, Nick Smith and Dennis VanAusdal cheer on the Kansas City Royals at a home game. Rushcos attended the game with acti ' e members during Rush Week, ifcjio kn Tn-ivr Haws opening experience by Trevor Hayes When 1 thought ot Greek lite, 1 thought of the stereotypical drunken parties and guys taking advantage of intoxicated girls. My eyes were opened to a different world during Fall Rush 2003 after I went undercover as a pledge tor Tower. When I started Rush, I chose two open houses. One gave away free pizza and the other had sign- ups for a free Royals ' game, which proved the theory true. The way to a man ' s heart is food and sports. At my first stop Tuesday, after my tour of the house, a car drove by blaring its horn and a girl popped out of the sunroof with her shirt over her head. I thought to myself, ' My God, what have I got myself into, I ' ve only been here 10 minutes. ' We toured the house and talked about soda, giving girls soda and how much they like soda. 1 kept thinking to myself, ' You were right, you ' re not going to fit in, you ' re not a drinker, smoker or a womanizer. You don ' t belong here. Why did you even volunteer for this assignment? ' Soon, I found myself on the porch of the house, talking to a few guys about beer, girls and baseball. Then, I met the president, and we talked about high school. I felt myself loosening up a bit and didn ' t feel as tense as 1 was when I first arrived. The next night, 1 went to another house and took a friend, which helped me relax. They showed us around the house, with their sunken in dance floor and blacked out windows. 1 also saw a funnel connected to the gutter, so people could pee off the balcony instead of going down a floor to the bathroom. 1 met a few guys who 1 related to and ate a lot of free pizza, something 1 hadn ' t taken advantage of the night before. Overall, I had a much better time than expected. On the drive home, 1 found myself questioning my original opinions and thinking about joining. I ' d met people similar to myself. The next Monday, I went to a bonfire held by the first house. The county ' s burn ban kept the fire out, so we stood around and talked more about baseball and the Kansas City Royals game. They really seemed like my kind of guys. When I checked my voice mail Tuesday, I ' d received messages from both houses. They made sure I was okay and still interested. I was shocked that either house even called. 1 didn ' t think they cared. I was impressed. I had to be at the house at 4 p.m. for the game. When we got on the bus, I started talking to the president. He told me about ripping mailboxes out of yards, and I told him about my adventures with a sledgehammer in high school. 1 was being sucked in but in a good way. I debated the whole way to the game if I should become a pledge or keep my secret. At the game, they gave each of us two tickets so wc could get two Royals ' Believe! ' T-shirts. Then we went up to our seats. We cheered, talked baseball, ate peanuts and won both the game and Krispy Kreme doughnuts. It was a night full of brotherhood. On the trip home, I talked to the rush chairman. 1 told him I was undercover and hadn ' t considered jiiining, but that 1 had changed my mind. I thought I had shot my chances ot being able to join, but he told me he appreciated my honesty. I signed my bid, but missed the next meeting. When I got in touch with the guys, they said my bid didn ' t clear. We ' re really sorry dude, the president said. It is completely our bad. You ' re a cool guy and we are really sorry. Please feel free to rush again in the spring or next year. After the experience, I learned that Greek life wasn ' t what I ' d thought. There were drunken parties and womanizers out there, hut for the most part, these guys were like real brothers.