By Victor Drabicky staff reporter Members of the Interfraternity Council voted Monday to recognize the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity as an associate member to the council. The Sig Eps previously held associate membership status but had their membership revoked because of internal problems, said Tom Sullivan, director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. "The Sig Eps were taken off of IFC because they weren't chartered nationally, and they had plenty of time to charter," Sullivan said. "IFC extended themselves by allowing the Sig Eps more time, but they still didn't have their charter. There was also an issue of grades and recruitment, and IFC just felt that the Sig Eps were not ready to operate at the level required by the IFC." However, the Sig Eps officially received their national charter on Jan. 22, making them eligible for fraternity status on campus, said Royce Carvalho, Sig Ep president. "Since we received our charter, it has just been a matter of the Student Organizations Committee getting our request and then figuring out what to do with us," Carvalho said. "Our request sat on a lot of desks for a while, and there is a lot of red tape it had to go through to get from the end of January to now." As an associate member of IFC, the Sig Eps will have a voice on the council, but not a vote, said Walker Moody, IFC president. Now, the Sig Eps have a year to fulfill all of the IFC requirements in order to become eligible for full-member status on the council. In addition to the normal requirements for a group to be recognized on campus, IFC proposed six additional requirements for the group, including a raised grade point average, a campus-wide philanthropy event and a Greek education program, Carvalho said. "We have already received SOC and IFC approval, and we had more than 50 percent of our chapter participate in the TCU LEAPS program, which were three of the six requirements," Carvalho said. "We still have to work on our philanthropy event, our grades and our Greek education program. These requirements will be top-priority for our chapter. I will be talking with my executive board over the next couple of weeks to see if we can knock out the last three." However, the Sig Eps do not have to fulfill all six requirements in order to gain full member status, Moody said. "(The requirements) are to help foster our relationship with the Sig Eps," Moody said. "They are a clear explanation of where (IFC) wants them to be. They could ignore (the requirements), but they are not. It shows how much they want to be on the council." The Sig Eps first joined the TCU community in 1997 but have never acquired full fraternity status. Sullivan said part of the reason it has taken more than two years for the Sig Eps to become involved in IFC was because of a timeline set forth by their national chapter. "The national chapter of each fraternity has different criteria for their chapters," Sullivan said. "The requirements for a Sig Ep chapter may be very different than those for a Pi Kappa Phi chapter. That is one reason why it is unfair to compare the amount of time it took the Pi Kapps to charter to the amount of time it took the Sig Eps to charter." Myles Hayes, a senior studio art major, has been part of the process since 1997. He said despite the lengthy chartering process, he is proud of where the chapter is now. "Over the past three years, I have worked with (more than) 60 guys to get our charter," Hayes said. "I am absolutely satisfied with IFC's decision and am ready to work even harder to meet the rest of the requirements. I have full confidence in our younger members and our chapter as a whole that the requirements will be met." Sullivan said he is proud of both IFC and the Sig Eps for their work on gaining council membership. "I think IFC handled the situation very maturely," Sullivan said. "It would be easy to kick the runt out of the litter. Instead, IFC looked at the Sig Eps as a valuable group on this campus that operated in the same style the community wanted to see."
Victor Drabicky
By Jaime Walker staff reporter Junior James Applebury said he is a member of the House of Student Representatives Finance Committee because he wants to have his opinions represented. But when it comes to how much the Student Government Association spends on food, he said no one listens. As the House prepares to pass the budget for the 2000-2001 fiscal year, Applebury, a chemistry major, said he is concerned about how much of the $113,000 proposal will be allocated to meals and snacks. "Each committee chairperson has snacks at committee meetings," he said. "Then the House pays Intercom $500 to eat dinner at (its) meetings. I just think that is really hypocritical because the very first thing we cut from every bill that comes to us for conventions is money for food." Meredith Killgore, vice president for programming and member of Intercom, said if people understood the purpose of Intercom, they would be more likely to support the work it does. "I understand the concerns people have about providing us with student funds, but I think those dinners really facilitate the cohesiveness of our group, and that connection is important," she said. Intercom, which comprises appointed members from most campus organizations, is designed to bring campus leaders together to prepare a presentation to the Board of Trustees. "I see our dinner as a thank-you," Killgore said. "We put a lot of extra time and energy into the presentation, and we do that on top of our other responsibilities. I think the money is worth it because our presentation can be so important to the board." Student Government Association Treasurer Stine Lunden said the money set aside for snacks and the Intercom meal is a minor but necessary expense. "We offer a little bit of food as a reward for hard work and an incentive to keep doing well," she said. "The same thing happens all over campus, and in the whole scheme of the budget, that cost is minimal but goes a long way toward making our representatives feel like what they do is appreciated." The SGA budget is fully funded with student fees and based on a student enrollment forecast by Director of Financial Services Dick Hoban. "Each student who takes nine or more hours pays $20 per semester to the student government," he said. Lunden said the SGA, House and Programming Council budgets are included in the same proposal because SGA encompasses both branches. "The way SGA is designed, House and PC are both part of that," she said. "Although there are three separate budgets, all of them go through House because they are the legislative body of the students. We ask the representatives to focus on the House, however, because the PC budget has already been thoroughly reviewed. We expect the representatives to focus predominantly on the SGA and House portions of the budget proposal." PC's budget totals $162,000 of the SGA's $275,000 allotment, or 60 percent of all student fees. Killgore said each PC committee chairperson goes through a rigorous budget proposal process, and for that reason, representatives can feel confident in the PC portion of the budget. "Part of our mission statement says our organization is designed to both educate and entertain the student body," she said. "Our programming is designed to do that in a variety of ways and on a grand scale. We make sure that each of our budgets is very meticulous. We do a lot of research for our budgets, and that is a good safeguard for all of us." House committee chairpeople are also asked to write a detailed budget, Lunden said. "Although the process is not nearly as stringent as PC, each chair(man or woman) must outline their plans for me in detail," she said. Lunden said each chairperson must provide both reasons and calculations for the money he or she wants budgeted. "It is not at all our intention to waste student money," she said. "It is as much my role to make sure the money we are given is spent appropriately, as it is to ensure that committees do not overspend it." Lunden said each committee is given money based on what plans their proposal outlines. She said that in most cases, budgets do not change from year to year. According to the House budget, the Permanent Improvements Committee has been allocated the most money for the next fiscal year - $27,500. Permanent Improvements Chairwoman Jennifer Jost said her committee gets a large budget because most of the on-campus improvements people associate with House come from her committee. "Much of what we do costs a considerable amount of money," she said. "Just in the past couple of semesters we have bought equipment for the Rickel (Building) and computers for the Reading Room in the Student Center." Lunden said students also benefit from all of the other committees. "We are the student government," she said. "All of our committees are supposed to impact student life on different levels. One major source of student funding is from the Conferences and Conventions budget." The $5,350 given to this portion of the budget is specifically set aside for campus organizations, Lunden said. "Students need to know that we have this money available," she said. "It is truly for them and their organizations, and it's not hard to get it either." The budget, as well as the Academic Affairs survey, will be discussed at the House meeting at 5 p.m. tonight in Student Center Room 222. All students are encouraged to attend.
Jaime Walker
By Jill McNeal staff reporter Sophomore economics major Maria Yabrudy said she is wearing a yellow paper star with the name of Joseph Muscha Mueller pinned to her shirt this week in remembrance of his suffering during the Holocaust. Mueller survived the Holocaust. Six million others did not. "With every star, a card is given out with information about that specific person," she said. "That way it's not just that this tragedy happened to X number of people, but that each person had a life, a family, a story." Uniting Campus Ministries, Hillel Jewish Student Organization and TCU Peace Action are sponsoring Holocaust Memorial Week with a display in the Student Center Lounge, a candlelight service and a 12-hour prayer vigil. Aaron Goldfarb, a senior music education major and president of Hillel, said this week holds a special significance for him. "I have less family members than I should have because of the Holocaust," he said. "My family history was cut short in a horrific manner just because of religious beliefs." Goldfarb said he wants to make sure students don't forget about the Holocaust. "The more time that passes since World War II, the more important it is to remind people of what happened," he said. "I want them to know and say that this really did happen, and it's not just a figment of their imagination. Be educated, and don't take a passive role in the world or in your own life." Yabrudy said wearing a star makes the Holocaust more personal for her. "These are the names of people just like us," she said. "People stop me and ask what the star is for. I tell them it is Holocaust Memorial Week and that we are remembering those who suffered and what they went through. This way it is imprinted on our minds, and we can make sure nothing like it ever happens again." The Rev. John Butler, minister to the university, said the yellow stars, reminders of the ones used by the Nazi regime to track individual Jews, and the personal information that go with them symbolize the connection between ourselves now and a person with a story back then. "The Holocaust shapes each and every one of us in terms of how we define other people, even though those definitions can be arbitrarily and artificially negative," he said. "We must always be on our guard that we don't repeat similar kinds of activities as a society." This year, for the first time, Butler said 600 yellow flags with be placed in the ground in front of Sadler Hall. "Each flag will stand for 10,000 victims," he said. "We are honoring them, like what you would see in a cemetery." Butler said Holocaust Memorial Week relates to everyone. "We need to see this in larger terms than just the Jewish community," he said. "There are things happening all around us for which we are failing to act to preserve the dignity and justice of other groups of people." Yabrudy said the personal stories of the Holocaust remind us how we should act on a daily basis. "We need to be aware of the discrimination and hate they suffered," she said. "When we remember the courage they had, it makes us value and appreciate what we have a lot more."
Jill McNeal
By Kasey Feldman staff reporter Inclusiveness and diversity will play important roles in the future of education, said Mike Sacken, a professor of education, at the First Conference on Inclusiveness. "Inclusiveness is important in the field of education because teachers do not have any choice in (whom) they teach," Sacken said. "They must teach the children that are brought to them, and we cannot teach children that we do not understand or care about." The conference was held Friday and Saturday in the Dee J. Kelly Alumni & Visitors Center to help educators better understand the concept of inclusiveness, said the Rev. John Butler, minister to the university. Speakers included educators from around the nation, a local pastor, TCU professors and representatives of TCU's International Foundation. Cornell Thomas, special assistant to the chancellor for diversity and community and former chairman of Educational Foundations and Administration in the School of Education, said the conference focused on three tracks: identity, presence and individuality. Thomas said those three tracks lead to inclusiveness. Identity means knowing who we are and what we believe in, Thomas said. He said this identity is different for each society, culture and person, and people should embrace those differences. Thomas said presence is the impact each person's identity has on the community, and intentionality means controlling that impact for good. Diana Munro, a senior marketing major, said her favorite parts of the conference were the roundtable discussions. "We got to hear what other people thought about inclusiveness and share our feelings," she said. "We also got ideas for how to promote diversity." The topic of the Friday morning keynote speech was identity. The speech was given by Benjamin Barber, a political science professor at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. Barber has written 14 books, including "An Aristocracy of Everyone" and "Jihad vs. McWorld." Walker Moody, a junior psychology and Spanish major, said Barber was a powerful and entertaining speaker. "Often, I have enjoyed a book and then was disappointed when I heard the author speak," Moody said. "Some authors are just bad speakers, but he was so clear and eloquent and dynamic." Moody said Barber spoke about bridging gaps between the races and praised TCU for working toward inclusiveness and diversity. Trupti Desai, a junior biology major, said the International Foundation was involved with the conference because it is concerned with how to educate its members and other students about inclusiveness. "When international students come to (TCU), they often feel separated from other students, and students returning to TCU after studying abroad feel the same," Desai said. "They realize that students here are not as inclusive or knowledgeable about other cultures as students in other countries."
Kasey Feldman
By Omar Villafranca staff reporter The versatile writing of Russian-born Anton Chekhov will be center stage as TCU Theatre presents three plays by the author. The plays "Swan Song," "The Night Before the Trial" and "The Bear" will be performed at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in the University Theatre. David Murden, a junior theater major, is in "Swan Song," directed by Brock Rush. Murden said the play is about a 68-year-old actor who realizes his life - which was full of just small parts - is over. Murden said the character struggles with whether he has talents. "Chekhov was one of the premier writers of his time," Murden said. "The play is an introspective one that breaks a lot of rules in theater. I would tell non-theater people to go and be entertained by the variety of what's being shown." Chad Chaney, a senior theater television major, said "The Night Before the Trial," directed by Jonathan Fielding, is a romantic comedy. "It's a little different than your ordinary show," Chaney said. "The audience plays a role just as big as the cast does." Chaney said the play is about a gigolo who is charged with bigamy, forgery and attempted murder. "If you want to see a comedy, this is the show," he said. "If you're sick of the ordinary show, stop by for a night of Chekhov." "The Bear" is directed by associate professor of theater George Brown. "The play is an off-the-wall romance about a young widow who decides to lock herself up in her house after her husband died," Brown said. "She meets a Russian calvary officer, who is big and rough like a bear, and finds romance." TCU Theatre will be taking this play to an international audience under the direction of Brown. The actors are traveling to Togliatti, Russia, at the end of this month to perform at the First International Classic Russian Playwrights Festival on the Volga. Admission to the plays are free to everyone. For more information, call the TCU Theatre box office at 257-5770.
Omar Villafranca
By Sarah McClellan Skiff staff Three students were selected Friday to lead TCU's student publications. Following a meeting of the Student Publications Committee, Joel Anderson, a senior news-editorial journalism major, was named editor in chief of the Skiff, and Matt Jones, a sophomore news-editorial journalism major, was named editor in chief of Image magazine. Ashley Anderson, a junior advertising/public relations major, was named student publications' advertising manager. The newly appointed staff members said they have plans on how they will lead the publications next school year. Joel Anderson, of Missouri City, has been on the Skiff staff for 2.5 years. He said his plans for the Skiff during Fall 2000 include more in-depth stories and news features. "The past two semesters on the Skiff have been the best since I've been here, and I want to keep the progress the same," he said. "I'd like to keep improving the overall quality of the paper. I see myself as an organizer of the paper." Joel Anderson said he expects his new role to prepare him for his future in the field. "The Skiff played a major role in my love for journalism," Joel Anderson said. "It's great training ground for any journalist-to-be because people know the quality of the Skiff." Jones, of Sikeston, Mo., has served on the Skiff as design editor for the past two semesters and as features editor this semester. "I am pleased and proud to have been selected to lead Image," Jones said. "I would like to increase campus readership and recognition of the magazine. I want to, if nothing else, find a way to increase visibility and help people understand that the magazine is devoted to them." Ashley Anderson, of Granbury, has been on the Skiff staff since Fall 1999, when she started as an ad sales representative. "I came into that job knowing that I wanted to be ad manager," she said. "I love to set goals for myself. I think the position is a very high honor." The ad manager position entails a variety of tasks, including selling ads to clients, working with the Skiff editorial board to get ads placed, teaching the ad personnel how to sell more effectively and encouraging the staff, she said. "I am ready to teach the staff how to be excited and motivated with their job and look forward to coming in," she said. "I'm so excited to have the opportunity to lead other students in advertising."
Sarah McClellan |
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