Austin Peay State University - Yearbook (Clarksville, TN)

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AboveuMatt Eric- son and Marcy Matlock watch the derby week com- petitions while sit- ting in the shade in front of the Wood- ward Library. Right-Under the watchful eye of Harned Halls' wil- low tree great plans are being made to defeat the enemy. Derby Week . . . competition that acts as a uniting force on campus by Brenda Teasley One of the most talked about and enjoyed occasions on Austin Peay's campus is Derby Week. Derby Week is sponsored annually during fall quarter by the Sigma Chi Fraternity. Derby Week has numerous purposes and objectives. The week is a combina- tion of activities designed to create a sense of involvement in the student body. especially freshmen. This week helps to improve sorority relations. The activities draw the Greek world closer together and also creates unity between Greeks and other students on campus. Derby Week makes the stu- dent aware of fraternity functions, gives a sharper view of Greek life, and its activities serve as a public relations project for the fraternity. The main purpose of Derby Week is to raise funds for Wallace Village, which is the national service project of Sigma Chi Fraternity. Wallace Village is locat- ed in Broomfield, Colo. and all funds above the actual costs of Derby Week are sent to the village to further the work being carried on there. All colleges that have Sigma Chi chapters have a Derby Week or an ac- tivity similar to this to raise money for Wallace Village. This week is extremely popular on campus because it involves both participants and also the specta- tors. The fraternity encourages all inter- ested campus women to participate in these activities. The events of the week are strictly on a volunteer basis and are

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Left - Kathy Gupton gets quite a surprise when she visits the co-ed restroom at the Alpha Tau Omega house. tNote: Just to re- lieve the minds of all you worried parents - he's fully clothedD Bottom Left - Steve Casper rocks his favorite ibaby', in his room at the Alpha Tau Omega house. Below - Even though most of the rooms in the frater- nity houses are quite comfortable, some are more so; at the Sigma Chi house they come with and without rat holes, the rats cost ex- tra. 191

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designed for the enjoyment of the par- tipants and spectators. The brothers of Sigma Chi stress the fact that anyone can participate in Derby Week. Alpha Phi Sorority, Chi Omega Sorority, Kappa Delta Sorority and Sevier Streakers, an independent team, were the teams participating in the 1976 Derby Week at Austin Peay. Each team was given four brothers as coaches and guides for the week. Derby Week includes many activities in which the organizations participate. These involve constructing a model of the Sigma Chi crest, decorating a mer- chant window and hunting derbies which are distributed and hid in various shops and stores in the city. These ac- tivities make the area merchants more aware of the program of Derby Week and this helps gain support for the fra- ternity and its service project. Derby Week is divided into a wide scale of events that occur each day. The week is kicked off with an open dance which the entire campus is invit- ed to attend. The next two days are set aside for derby chases and spirit nights. The derby chases are held in the afternoons in the bowl and each girl attempts to capture as many derbies as possible from the brothers to obtain points for her team. Two evenings are designed as Hspirit nights. Each team is given a specific time to go to the Sigma Chi House and perform, where they are judged for Above-Although the games are usually rough, the injuries are minimal, since the idea is to capture derbies, not kill fellow students. Left-Karen Beakley pursues a derbied runner with the zest of a football linebacker, as two unidentihed competitors barely miss the prize.