Friday, November 9, 2001

Students endure ‘Survivor TCU’
By Sam Eaton
Staff Reporter

For a group of 42 TCU students, ‘Survivor’ is not just a television show. It is a part of their lives each morning as they compete for $100 in the Army ROTC’s PT Survivor competition.

Jonathan Kohn, a junior biology major, said the competition was a ROTC recruitment effort and it is also a way for the organization to increase visibility on campus.

“It shows that their worst nightmare of getting up at five in the morning for PT is not so bad,” Kohn said. “We always want to recruit people, but it’s also ROTC wanting to be involved with TCU students and being a part of the campus.”

PT test consists of two minutes of push-ups, two minutes of sit-ups and a timed two-mile run. There is a score chart based on age and sex to determine how many points one would get for each event. Pratt said ROTC cadets are required to participate in two or three mornings of PT per week.

Kohn, a cadet who is helping out as a drill sergeant, said holding the competition benefits both ROTC and those participating.

“It’s really brought up morale within the corps,” Kohn said. “Now we get to show our friends and classmates what we do in the mornings.”

There are 42 contestants remaining from the original 104. These 42 have remained faithful and showed up every weekday since Monday, Oct. 29, all vying to win the grand prize of $100.

The contest runs through next Friday.

Cadet Sergeant Andy Pratt, a junior elementary education major, said if there is more than one survivor remaining at the end of the 15 days, the winner will be determined by a physical training test.

Whoever receives the highest cumulative score will be named the winner.

“Today we went over to the stadium and ran up and down the ramps, “ Pratt said. “Then we stopped to do some push-ups. You get to choose your own level of activity.

There are some people who want a better workout, and they’ll go with the fast group.”
Pratt said she was surprised at the number of women in the competition.

“Only 26 of the 104 people who signed up were men,” Pratt said. “There are only six male survivors at this point.”

Melissa Young, an assistant professor of speech communication and the only faculty member competing in PT Survivor, said she was glad to see such a good turn out.

“I’m really impressed with how many people came out and how organized the ROTC people are,” Young said. “It’s fun to see students who are in my classes taking on a leadership role.”

Of the remaining 42 survivors, 30 are affiliated with various campus organizations.

If the winner turns out to be from an organization, Pratt said, ROTC will mount a plaque in their honor in the cadet lounge. Delta Gamma sorority currently leads all organizations with 15 survivors remaining.

Delta Gamma President Heidi Ohl, a survivor, said she encouraged sorority participation.

“We’ve learned a lot about everything they do,” Ohl said. “We have a new respect for them and how hard they work.”

Pratt said she was pleased to see that attendance has not dropped this week.

“I was expecting (attendance) to drop more this week because of exam and paper time,” Pratt said.

Young said she had always been active, but PT Survivor was forcing her to be more disciplined.

“This was a good challenge to get back into it,” Young said. “I prefer to workout in the mornings, just not quite this early.”

Sam Eaton
s.m.eaton@student.tcu.edu