Thursday, September 8, 1988TThe Battalion/Page 3
088
State and Local
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By Laura White
Staff Writer
For some, the word 'rush’ brings to mind
parties, free beer and drunk greeks, but to
fraternity rush chairmen and the greek ad
viser, ‘rush’ means a lot of hard work and
dedication, with the reward of 25 new
pledge classes.
For many fraternities, the rush process
actually began last spring with the planning
and advertising of parties.
“Sometime in April or May we decide on
our goals,’’ Sigma Chi-Rush Chairman Paul
Cox said. “The chapter as a whole gets mo-
tivated-and decides on concrete ideas.”
— Pi Kappa Alpha Rush Chairman James
Martingano says, “It’s a big job. We have six
or seven events over the summer. The post
ers, cards, mailouts and all the other adver
tising have to be ready way before fall.”
Not all fraternities participate in summer
I rush, but all 25 fraternities are busy in the
I fall recruiting new members.
Rush officially began Aug. 30 with the
Fraternity Live Seminar, an orientation
program for rushees. The rush for new fra
ternity members ends Sept. 14.
Greek adviser Charles Goodman said,
“During that time, rushees get a chance to
meet individual members of fraternities
and gather information about the chapters.
At the end of that period, rushees have the,
opportunity to accept or decline any bids
extended to them.”
Fraternity membership is becoming an
increasingly sought-after goal, Goodman
said.
“The number of rushees is way up,” he
said. “We fully expect 500 men to pledge a
fraternity this semester, which is a new re
cord. We’re really excited about it.”
The Interfraternity Council has imple
mented several new programs in the past
few semesters, including reducing the rush
period and placing a time limit on how long
prospective pledges have to accept bids.
Among the most significant changes this
year is the introduction of the ‘Bid House.’
Fraternities will submit their bid lists at
noon on Sept. 14. The lists are posted by 5
p.m., when the rushees receive a packet
containing their bids.
“This means that the rushee will then
have the opportunity to receive all his bids
at one time in an impartial environment,”
Goodman says. “Fraternity representatives
will be there and the rushee will have all the
information he needs to make his decision.”
Fraternity members have mixed feelings
about the new program.
Greg Roden, rush chairman for Phi
Delta Theta, said,“I think the Bid House is
a good idea. It gives each fraternity an equal
starting point. Before this year there was
big competition to see who could get a bid
to the rushee first.
“This way everyone is sober in a big audi
torium and they can start their decision
making process without the pressure that
used to exist.”
Steve Greiner, rush chairman for Theta
Chi, disagrees.
“I think the Bid House is more imper
sonal,” he says. “We used to have a personal
bidding system where we could extend the
bid as a fraternity. Now we have to get our
fraternity’s name implanted in the rushee’s
mind before he enters the auditorium.”
Martingano says he sees both problems
and benefits with the new bidding system.
“Rush is kind of confused with the new
‘Bid House’ system,” he said. “A lot of peo
ple don’t know what’s going on. The other
way was a little more personal, but f can see
that the new program will eliminate the un
dercutting among fraternities that used to
take place.”
Regardless of the bidding system, frater
nity members say they are looking forward
to getting to know their new pledges.
“I really enjoy the chance to meet new
people,” Greiner says. “Rush is the lifeb
lood of the fraternity. If we get a good
pledge class then motivation and involve
ment in the chapter itself increases.”
Goodman said, “I’m excited about rush.
The system has really grown over the last
few semesters. We’re a lot more organized
and the number of prospective pledges is
higher than ever.
“We are seeing men from residence halls
and the Corps going through rush. This
could be in part attributed to the fact that
fraternities are making a more conscious ef
fort to become more involved on campus.”
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Library, APO campaign reduces noise
By Kelly S. Brown
Reporter
THE
Sterling C. Evans Library
Texas A&M University
Airplane’s wreckage
includes beer cans
By the time a student enters col
lege it is expected that the rule of us
ing a ‘whisper voice’ in the library
has become something of a natural
reflex.
Walking through the Sterling C.
Evans library, however, especially at
night, it is apparent that many stu
dents’ whisper reflexes are in poor
shape.
Because of the growing problem
of excess noise in the library, the li
brary and Alpha Phi Omega have
started a campaign — called The
Quiet Zone — to battle the noise.
“The noise level has gotten out of
hand and the number of complaints
is growing,” Candace Benefiel, pub
lic information and humanities ref
erence librarian and originator of
the campaign, said.
“The library wants to show the
student body that w e are just as con
cerned about the problem as every
one else, but we need everyone’s co
operation to be effective.
“It’s primarily a public awareness
campaign with more eye-catching
signs and APO members passing out
fliers. It’s aimed at every individual
who enters the library,” she said.
Ron Lott, a junior .animal science
major, said, “It’s embarassing that
there has to be an actual campaign to
decrease the noise level in our li
brary. I go there to study and expect
quiet, instead I hear people socializ
ing. I guess something had to be do
ne.”
Benefiel says, “We want the stu
dents to think about w'hy they are
there, while respecting the students
studying around them. We also en
courage students to politely tell noisy
students to quiet down. Everyone
should get involved, because main
taining the noise level should not be
left up to the monitor alone.”
A monitor walks around the li
brary at night asking noise- and no
food-violators to follow the library’s
rules of courtesy.
“As a matter of courtesy and ma
turity, college students should be
quieter,” she says. “They are ex-
{ jected to be mature enough to be-
tave appropriately, and it’s a shame
that this has not been the case.”
Designated talking areas are lo
cated in the student lounge on the
second floor, and the group study
areas on the third and fourth floors.
Other options exist for groups
needing an area to talk but not nec
essarily to use the library resources.
Beginning Sept. 12, the MSG,
Sbisa Dining Hall, Pavilion and the
Pie Are Square snack bar will be
open at night to students looking for
an alternate study place.
“We’re not throwing the students
out,” Benefiel said. “We’re here to
provide a service, not deny it.
“We realize that students need to
discuss' assignments and we’re not
asking for total silence, only that the
noise level be decreased — a lot,” she
said. “It’s up to the students to follow
and enforce the “Quiet Zone” policy.
The library is not a place for social
gatherings, nor is it a slumber par
ty-”
EL PASO (AP) — Open beer
cans were found among the
wreckage of a small airplane that
crashed east of El Paso last week
end, killing three brothers and an
8-year-old boy, an investigator
said.
Witnesses saw the plane diving
steeply at low altitudes and buz
zing a pickup truck before it
crashed Saturday, National
Safety Transportation Board in
vestigator Armond Edwards said
Tuesday.
Open beer cans were found
among the Cessna 170A’s wreck
age, and people questioned dur
ing the investigation said the pilot
and his two brothers had been
drinking, Edwards said.
“There are indications that
there was some drinking going on
while they were flying,” Edwards
said.
Killed in the crash were the pi
lot, Dennis R. Peterson, 37, of El
Paso; Kevin Peterson, 34, of El
Paso; Bernard John Peterson, 30,
of Austin; and Justin Hafiey, 8, of
El Paso. Hafiey was the son of the
pilot’s employer.
A man who knew the Petersons
told Edwards he was driving a
pickup truck near the West Texas
Regional Airport — where the
lane took off — when the plane
uzzed the truck.
Other witnesses reported see
ing the plane dive closely to the
ground and then pull up sharply,
Edwards said.
Authorities said a preliminary
investigation showed the plane
was flying low when a wing struck
the ground, forcing the nose into
the ground and causing the plane
to tumble and break apart.
Dennis Peterson liked teasing
the ground, Phil Barrett, owner
of West Texas Regional Airport,
said.
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Texas A&M University Art Exhibits Presents
ASPECTS OF BRITISH PAINTING
Detail of Edwy and Elgiva: A Scene from Saxon History
William Hamilton (1751 -1801)
1550-1800
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Detail of Three Views of the "Amity Hall" with a
View of Dover and the White Cliffs
Robert Dodd (1784-1815)
Detail of Posthumous Portrait of Henry VIII with
Queen Mary and Will Somers the Jester
English School, 16th Century
From the Collection of the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation
September 8 - October 31, 1988
Rudder Exhibit Hall
Exhibition Opening Thursday, September 8, 1988
Lecture by Dr. Nadia Tscherny, The Frick Collection, New York City
‘‘From Kin to Kine: The British Fascination with Portraiture”
7:00 p.m. Rudder Tower Room 701
Reception to follow the lecture in Rudder Exhibit Hall.
Thursday, September 22, 1988
Lecture by Dr. David R. Anderson, Associate Professor, Department of English, TAMU
“The Moral Power of the Image for the Eighteenth Century English Collector”
7:00 p.m. Memorial Student Center Room 201
Thursday, October 13, 1988
Lecture oy Dr. James M. Rosenheim, Assistant Professor, Department of History, TAMU
“The English Collector in Historical Perspective”
7:00 p.m. Memorial Student Center Room 201
Docent tours of the exhibition are available by calling 845-8501.
Dillard's is pleased to announce
the formation of the Fall '88
College Advisory Board
The Dillard's College Advisory Board is being formed with
the intention of developing a direct communication link
with the Texas A&M University student body. Our goal is
to use this feedback in a constructive manner to better serve
the student customer.
Applications are available for college men and
women at Customer Service and are due Sept. 13.
Contact Pam Johnsen at 764-0014
Dillard's
POST OAK MALL, HARVEY ROAD AT HIGHWAY 6 BYPASS, COLLEGE STATION