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^ WWW.GAMEC0CK.SC.EDU UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA ' Columbia, S.C.
New rush procedure in second year
by Mackenzie Craven
Senior Writer
Those who decide to rush a fraternity this year will see
a little bit of a different procedure than in years past.
The procedure for rush changed in fall 1998. Accord
ing to Fraternity Council Treasurer James Munsey, Fra
ternity Council voted on a more ‘structured rush system.’
“Now, it’s more along the lines of what the sororities
do, which is to visit every single chapter so they can make
*a more educated decision on which chapter’s best for them,”
Munsey said. “It’s a better decision because sometimes in
the past, rushees end up going to only one or two chapters.
Of course, there are 16 great chapters on this campus... and
they don’t fully explore all 16,” he said.
Fraternity Rush started at 5:30 p.m. Sunday in the Rus
sell House Ballroom. Approximately 200 rushees attend
ed a brief orientation and then headed over to McBryde
Quad.
On Monday, the rushees will visit the different frater
nities in groups of 15. They will have 15-20 minutes to talk
to current members or hear speeches.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, open rush will take place
and rushees will be able to visit any fraternity they choose,
just as they were able to in years past.
Thursday, the final day of rush, is called closed rush.
Rushees will go to the fraternities that have invitied them
back.
The rushee will recieve an invitation, by card or
phone call, either on Wednesday night or sometime during
the day Thursday.
On Friday, which is bid day, rushees can pick up their
folder from the Russell House, which will have a card
from the fraternity offering them bids.
Many of the rushees were freshmen, but some sopho
mores and juniors were also interested. However, Fraterni
ty Council Vice President Ed Bender said he believes that
the rushee will benefit more from the fraternity if he joins
as a freshman.
“Generally, most of the new members are freshmen.
They typically tend to go through rush, but also we have a
good number of sophomores and even juniors,” Bender said.
“Not taking away from the upperclassmen who like to
rush, but I think you get the most time spent with your chap
ter and you make stronger bonds going the full four years as
opposed to going two or three years,” he said.
Students have different reasons for wanting to msh. Some
students said they’re joining the fraternity system for acad
emic purposes.
“I think you meet a lot of new people and it kind of
makes you keep your grades up because they have a stan
dard,” business freshman Drew Pierce said.
Bender claims that being Greek indeed has an impact
on students’ academic sucess.
“Some people, unfortumately, think that Greeks tend
to make worse grades then the normal student population,”
Bender said. “But actually, the fraternity grade point aver
age is higher than the all-male and the all-female average on
campus.
“Most fraternities have mandatory study halls for their
new members, and we generally try to promote academic
excellence among fraternities so that freshman won’t be
discouraged from joining,” Bender said.
In year 2002, Sigman Nu and Phi Delta Theta will be
going dry, which means they won’t be allowed to have al
cohol on campus or on-campus housing.
“The dry fraternity means dry on-campus housing; it
doesn’t mean that you can’t go off and have parties on oth-«
er parts of campus,” said Rob Fealy of Phi Delta Theta “If
you are under 21 you can’t drink anyway, so if really doesn’t
matter.”
Members of Sigma Nu would not comment on the mat
ter.
Black Fraternities will be having their rush at a later
Rush see page 2
Sean Rayford photo editor
Freshman Heyward Hardy fills out a rush application Sunday in the
Russell House Ballroom lobby. Fraternity rush ends Thursday, and
Bid Day is Friday.
Minority
program
orients
freshmen
by Kevin Langston
News Editor
New to the college lifestyle, freshmen
must endure a rough first few weeks at col
lege. Not only do they have to adjust to liv
ing away from home, but they must also find
their place in this laige university.
* One program has taken the initiative at
USC to help freshmen through the rougher
parts of their first year at college. The Mi
nority Assistance Peer Program (MAPP)
operates through the Office of Multicultural
Student Affairs, and it acts as a mentor
program for freshmen.
During the summer, MAPP sends out
applications to freshmen giving them infor
mation and a sign-up form. The students are
then paired with a mentor who will be their
guide throughout the course of their initial
year. Ideally, the mentor is in the same ma
jor as the freshman. This creates more op
portunities for freshmen to learn from their
mentors.
Student Government Sen. Jotaka Ead
dy, as a freshman, went through MAPP.
“I graduated from a high school of 386
i people and was soon enrolled at a school
with 26,000 people. It was a bit over
whelming,” she said.
She is now a mentor, and she wants to
help students through the same problems
she had.
“I’d be stingy if I didn’t go through such
a rewarding program and not give back to
it,” she said. “We don’t want students to feel
like a number. We want to help them find
their place at this university.”
MAPP helps introduce freshmen to the
resources at USC, and it confronts the prob
lems most freshmen will encounter.
“We want to help these kids through
their problems,” Eaddy said. “We want to
be their guide through the good times, the
bad times, when they are having trouble and
when they are doing well.”
* Eaddy said most mentors were once
freshmen in the MAPP program. “The men
tors have great relationships with their fresh
men because we have been there, and we
know what it was like to be where they are.”
MAPP reinforces their ideals through
monthly programs for their students.
“Eveiy month we have a social program,
an academic program and a community ser
vice program,” said Kristin Richardson, team
leader of MAPP.
Included in community service programs
Freshmen see page 2
The Horseshoe erupts with the spirit of sisterhood.
Sean Rayford photo editor
Sorororrty members embrace Sunday on the Horseshoe as Bid Day ceremonies come to a close. This festivity ended a week
of rush for nearly 500 girls.
Carolina Productions Basic Training Week
Paving of worn
lots raises issues
of green space
by Clayton Kale
Associate News Editor
The parking lots outside Thomas Cooper Library and
Russell House have been repaved for safety reasons, despite
their impending destruction in the next couple of years.
The lots, which eventually will be turned into green
space to beautify the campus, were in bad condition before
the repaving.
“It was difficult and hazardous to walk or drive across
the parking lots,” said Jerry Brewer, director of student life.
“It’ll be two or three years before they [the parking lots]
are turned into green space, so we’ll get two or three years
of good use out of them.”
Brewer said the lots are being replaced with green space
not only to beautify the campus, but also because the lots
are dangerous.
“The lots don’t really meet the demands of parking,”
Brewer said. “More people drive around the lots looking
for parking, which can be hazardous to pedestrians.”
The intended removal of the lots is part of USC’s plan
to relocate most of its parking spaces to the perimeter of
campus. The Shuttlecock will be expanded to transport stu
dents to places in the campus core where parking won’t be
available. But Brewer said that project is “on the back burn
er” while another green space project is being worked on.
Political science sophomore Lynette Thompson agrees
with the decision to repave the parking lots. “There should
be more green spaces, but there should be more parking
too. I can never find a parking space. There are too many
students and not enough parking,” Thompson said.
The university is working to create Preston Green, a
green space that Brewer said will be a part of campus “much
like the Horseshoe.”
The Preston Green project is still in its planning
stages because of unforeseen delays, according to the Di
rector of Facilities Management Charles Jeffcoat.
Jeffcoat said the Russell House and library green space
project also has been delayed because of budget matters.
Green Space see page 2
Carolina Productions entertains students during welcome week
Hypnotist dazzles students at
free show in Russell House
by Philip Burt
Senior Writer
One student danced with a broom. Another stu
dent beat on his chest like Tarzan. Still another tried
to use his shoe as an oxygen mask.
All this and more happened this past Wednesday
night as hypnotist Michael Anthony returned to USC
to entertain more than 500 students in the Russell
House Ballroom.
Anthony came back to USC for the third straight
year, and each year he has drawn a larger crowd.
The event, sponsored by Carolina Productions,
was part of Welcome Back Week.
Anthony started off the show with some card tricks.
Then, he asked for 30 volunteers from the audience
to be hypnotized.
Soon, he narrowed it down to 10 or 15, keeping
on stage those on whom the hypnosis was working
successfully.
According to CP President Cedric Scott, Antho
ny changed his show around from the previous ones
by making the hypnotized students do more on
stage.
“He added a couple of things to his show, which
some people were not expecting, and he changed it
for the better,” Scott said.
Some of his additions included making students on
stage participate in a dance contest and having a stu
dent speak Chinese.
Anthony also included some tricks as in previous
years, which included convincing a studenuhat the
number six was nonexistent.
Anthony said it’s up to the student being hypno
HYPNOTIST see page 2
Carolina Productions scores big
with Jump, Little Children
by Mackenzie Craven
Senior Writer
Hundreds of raucous students and fans were packed
into the Russell House Ballroom on Friday night to see
a performance by Jump, Little Children, a popular re
gional band.
Carolina Productions sponsored the concert to
conclude its Basic Training Week. CP members Karen
Jones and Ashley Albright planned and organized
the event.
“Carolina Productions wanted a large event to con
clude Basic Training Week,” Jones said.”We wanted
to keep it on campus for the freshman and the people
on campus to give them an alternative instead of go
ing off campus for entertainment.”
Students weren’t the only ones at the concert.
Some drove from as far away as Spartanburg,
Raleigh, N.C.. Charleston, S.C., and Alabama to see
the show.
The concert was sold out of 800 tickets before its
8 p.m. start.
The enthusiastic crowd participated throughout
the concert with trademark moves such as jumping to
the song “Dancing Virginia” and shaking their car keys
to “Anybody.” Meanwhile, lead singer and guitarist
Jay Clifford blew bubbles on stage and into the audi
ence.
One audience member said that Jump, Little Chil
dren. has “a style that transcends category.”
“They are true to their roots and proud of them,
but, at the same time, they’re not afraid to expand in
to new things, and that’s what makes them so inter
esting and good,” Jeanette Earley said HRTA junior.
The band has been based in Charleston since the
Jump see page 2
Weather Inside Datebook Online Poll
Today
91
69
Tuesday
87
71
r
efCetera
looks into
online
shopping.
Page 8
Today
•The Gamecock news
meeting, 4:00 p.m., RH
333
•Poster Sale, 9 a.m., Rus
sell House Patio
•Carolina Productions, 3:30 p.m., Sec
ond Floor Russel! House
A
□Tuesday
•Poster Sale, 9 a.m., Rus
sell House Patio
•Association of African
American Students,
6 p.m., Russell House Theater
•Residence Hall Association, 7 p.m.,
Russell House 307
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