University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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Six members of the El Grupo Dance Team perform one of their repretoire of traditional Latin-American dances at Waterloo Park 21

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Groups Keep a Variety of Traditions Alive On a campus as large and with as many students as UT Austin has, there are many divergent interests. University students find friends with the people they meet in class, where they live or where they work. But many find their niches in the University community through membership in a club or organi- zation with others who share the same interests. More than 450 groups are listed as registered student organizations on cam- pus, and they focus on subjects ranging from exploring caves to serving as offi- cial hostesses at University functions; the Red Ryders Preservation Society, formed to preserve democracy, and the college councils, formed in part as an answer to the void left by the departure of student government. New special interests groups are formed for a narrow, often recreational purpose, typified by the Surfing Club or the Flying Club. These are the newer clubs. There are organizations which have been around as long as the University itself, such as the Longhorn Band and Alpha Phi Omega, a service organiza- tion. Some traditional groups, such as GDE, the women s equivalent to APO before Title IX opened APO to both sexes, have seen their popularity wane. Circle K, on the other hand, returned to campus this year with renewed enthusi- asm, drawing prominent administrators, such as President Flawn, as speakers. There was one organization which, though relatively new, kept alive the tra- ditions of the past. The El Grupo Univer- sitario de Danza y Arte Folklorica. UT s Latin American style dance company was created to keep alive the traditional dances of the Latin-American culture. The group is only six years old this year, and has grown in popularity, within the University community and outside of Texas. 20

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Amidst a festive backdrop of brightly colored crepe-paper flowers, the women of sorority present Lido da Austin in the 1 98 I Round-Up parade. 22