Thursday, May 13, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Greek Life at Albright College
Greek life is one of the most popular on campus organizations at Albright College. As of this year’s spring ’10 the percentage of Greeks on campus was approximately 17% of the student body. Many students, who attend Albright, feel the desire to join organizations such as sports or Greek life. Students join these activities partially because of the high social involvement in each of them. Though Albright offers many diverse choices for clubs, almost all the clubs on campus only meet once a week (at most) and for approximately a half hour. For many students this is simply not enough to feel involved in student life.
There are three sororities and fraternities at Albright College: Alpha Delta Pi, Sigma Kappa, and Phi Mu. The fraternities are Pi Kappa Phi, Alpha Sigma Phi, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon. At Albright College, all the sororities and fraternities must be nationally affiliated to be recognized as a fraternity or sorority. Each sorority and fraternity has their own philanthropy and each member has to possess a certain GPA in which each member must have in order to both join, and stay in it without being on academic probation. Alpha Delta Pi’s philanthropy is the Ronald McDonald House, Sigma Kappa’s is gerontology (the study of aging), and with their main focus being the study of Alzheimer ’s Disease, and Phi Mu’s is the Children’s Miracle Network. For the fraternities: Pi Kappa Phi’s is PUSH America, Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s is also Children’s Miracle Network, and Alpha Sigma Phi’s is LIVESTRONG.
http://www.geocities.com/phi_beta.phi_mu/
‘http://pikappaphizx.com
http://www.alphasigmaphi.org/
Seeing as many students feel that getting involved with Greek Life will have a positive impact on their college experience, there are also many students who do not; this is perhaps because of the stereotypes that many people have towards sororities and fraternities. Many people hear the word sorority or fraternity and automatically have a stereotype come to mind. After asking a girl who is not involved in any Greek life, what she her views on sororities and fraternities, she responded, “I don’t know about fraternities, however, everyone I know thinks girls in sororities are stuck up and rude.” Kelsey Ruch, sophomore at Albright College.
Sisters from all three sororities admitted that most girls and guys think of sororities as girls who are “stuck up,” “conceited,” and “rude”. One sister in Alpha Delta Pi said that, “I feel like it’s literally every other girl who talks to me about my sorority asks me if the girls are really mean and if all we do is party. I think to myself, if the girls were really mean would I want to join it? And then when the girls (ones not involved in Greek life) hang out with us, it’s almost a shocker to them that we’re actual down to earth, fun-loving girls,” Said Brielle Marks, junior at Albright and last years’ Executive Vice President of Alpha Delta Pi.
However, on the other hand, sisters in all three sororities claimed that girls and guys who were not involved in Greek life, though had friends in sororities, possessed a more positive outlook and understanding of what a sorority really is.
Sophomore Taylor Dougherty said, “My original stereotypes of sororities were the girls are extremely cliquey and only liked each other, the girls were catty and gossipy, and only had time for their sorority or fraternity. Following that question, I also asked her if her perception of sororities or fraternities changed if she had watched a friend go through the process, this is what she said, “I still think that a sorority is cliquey, however, I no longer think that they are only friends with each other because my best friend is in one at Albright and we still remained best friends. I think that some girls are catty and gossipy but I also don’t think that applies to all sororities, I feel like that applies to girls in general, not just ones involved in sororities. The bonding seems even better and more genuine than I thought. I no longer think that if you join you don’t have time for anything else because my best friend joined and she has certain things she has to attend to but it does not take up all of her time. All of these things could depend on the sorority; however, I still believe it is good for networking for when you graduate. I also still think it can be a worthwhile experience because the girls seem to make a lot of friends and do a lot of fun things. It’s also something go to get involved with on campus.”
After Interviewing the President of Alpha Delta Pi, and asking her how being the president has changed her perspective on Alpha Delta Pi and sororities in general.
She replied, “I would say that now I am the President of the sorority, it has made me realize all of the work that goes on "behind the scenes." The amount of planning that goes on to make the organization run is amazing. I realized that a lot of work goes into Alpha Delta Pi and that in the long run decisions that I make affects the whole chapter.”
Some positives of being involved in a sorority would be (depending on the sorority) making a tight knit group of friends, networking with women of all different professions around the country, learning responsibility, and the experience itself. The most popular negative aspects have mostly been about the rumors and stereotypes about sororities and fraternities.
Though stereotypes with any organization are inevitable, students affiliated and unaffiliated with Greek life at Albright college, both seem to be shocked as what is actually true and untrue about them. There are stereotypes and generalizations about almost all organizations, and even sports. If a student is interested in something, they need to be able to look past the rumors and stereotypes they hear, and try it out anyway, thus it is the only way they will ever know what is true to them and what is not.
Black Greeks at Albright - I've Been Trying to Find You Like Waldo
As you may recall “The Divine Nine” is what most people know the nine historical African-American Greek lettered fraternities and sororities as, but is officially the National Pan-Hellenic Council. Unlike many other Greek organizations the nine African American fraternities and sororities are rich in history. Graduating senior De’on Mallory had worked hard her years here to get one or more of these organizations with no luck, but progress.
Many are concerned that the campus may not be ready for more minority Greek organizations to come on-campus. Chi Upsilon Sigma Inc., the only minority Greek organization at Albright has been mocked by other Greek organizations for the steps, lines, and other historical elements that come with minority organizations. “They’re just ignorant to the whole idea and don’t want to expand their horizons. So, what do they do? Mock what they don’t know and it’s sad!” one source explains well.
Even with this new battle many freshman and sophomore are determined to pledge. Freshman Khalid Ways and sophomore BJ Smith recently saw some black fraternities and that pushed their desire even more. Smith expressed “I do not know how we are going to go about getting the organizations here, but my first mission is to speak with De’on [Mallory] and seen what she suggests we do first.”
Sophomore Dave Smith is also interested and has been interested for awhile. “I actually contacted the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity headquarters for this area about opening a chapter and they told me they weren’t interested in opening one here.”
As the confusion of whether Albright will ever be able to get the “Divine Nine” on-campus some are taking matters into their own hands. Jane Brown has been in contact with a black sorority on Kutztown University of Pennsylvania’s campus and plans to pledge there.
While it is unknown the future of diversity in Greek life at Albright everyone is taking the situation into their own hands. The forefront leader is graduating in a few short days and the question remains, what will the rest of the campus do with what Mallory has started?
Albright Students Enjoy Carolina Liar Concert
Picture of Carolina LiarOn Saturday, May 8, 2010, hundreds of Albright students went to the Sovereign Performing Arts Center to see the band Carolina Liar perform. Students boarded buses provided by the Student Government Association (SGA) at the four pick-up locations – the Woods upper lot, Mohn, Walton and Court. This concert, sponsored by SGA, began with an opening act from Mayday Parade who performed at 7:45 p.m.
Over 500 students came to the concert and since it was open to the public as well, approximately 100 non-Albright students attended. The sitting was arena style with about 500 seats on the main floor before the stage, closed off balconies and orchestra level seats. Here’s a picture of the Sovereign Center’s seating chart:
The concert wasn’t a huge turnout but for the 500 screaming Albright fans who got a first-hand view of both bands, it was the best experience. Sophomore Jillian Duffy was a lucky fan who got a drumstick from her favorite drummer, Jake Bundrick, in Mayday Parade.
Picture of Mayday Parade“The concert as a whole was definitely an experience. Both bands were very interactive with the audience and enthusiastic about what they do. I was lucky enough to be in the front row, and at the end of the performances for Mayday Parade, the drummer bounced his stick on the drum and it landed in the audience in my hands. It was the ending to a great night!”
After Mayday Parade performed, Carolina Liar performed their first song, “Coming to Terms.” Fans didn’t seem to know the words but still were excited to be at the concert. The genre of Carolina Liar is one that’s indie-rock and appeals to a lot of different people – so everyone enjoyed the music that was played.
The atmosphere when Carolina Liar came out to perform their last and most widely performed song, “Show Me What You Looking For” was one of pure euphoria. Albright students jumped up and down while screaming out lyrics. To listen to their hit song click here:
Member at Large Kat Biehl says, “This song was definitely a crowd pleaser.”
It was good strategy on the band’s part to save this song for last because it’s the band’s only song that is on the radio and their most popular one. After the crowed was hyped up by this song, when they realized it was the last one, they asked for an encore.
According to SGA representative Junior Stacey Hartzell, the concert was worth all of the effort that SGA put in. SGA plans a concert annually and goes through several steps in order to get the best band. President Simon Foster says, "The concert is an opportunity for Albright’s students to have the experience of a major concert and the ability to interact with their fellow students socially."
Toward the end of the fall semester, SGA sent out requests for student input in the concert planning process in the form of our annual survey. They analyze the results and use the responses when planning for the concert. They then talk with different booking agencies and talent management firms in order to select options for the spring concert. If the bands that are suggested from the booking agencies fall within SGA's budget, they are then booked. This is how Carolina Liar was booked.
Here's a picture of Carolina Liar with SGA (photo by Sam Grillo):
To learn more about Carolina Liar, check out their homepage
Books Aren’t Edible, Until It’s National Library Week
What’s more delicious than confetti cupcakes? Harry Potter themed confetti cupcakes! It’s that time of the year again when books are celebrated by putting students and staff alike into the kitchen in order to test their creativity skills.
By celebrating National Library Week, the Edible Book contest is a popular event to occur at libraries all over the nation, including Albright College. Being a book-fiend myself, I decided to endeavor in the annual event and come up with my own idea for the contest. Working hand-in-hand with senior Cyndee Mays, we decided to bake cupcakes based on the ever well-known Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.
First, what exactly is National Library Week and why is it celebrated by baking books, you might ask. According to the American Library Association (ALA) website, National Library Week started about fifty years ago when newer media was starting to replace books for American citizens. Once people started reading less, the National Book Committee was formed in 1954 and, shortly thereafter, National Library Week was born.
Now libraries all over the United States celebrate National Library Week during the second full week of April by holding events to promote reading and literacy for all ages. For Albright College, the Edible Book Contest has become an annual program that gets students and staff excited about representing a book of their choice with food.
Rob LeBlanc, one of the librarians at Albright, is also in charge of many of the programs held at the Gingrich Library. This year, he organized the Edible Book Contest and was very enthusiastic about how many people participated.
“We had 8 entries and 16 people entered, including families,” said LeBlanc.
For the contest, the choices are endless what you decide to make. You can focus on one part of a novel, take the title of it literally, or represent multiple parts of a book. When upon deciding on our own entry, I thought it would be better to go with a novel that’s well-known in the literary universe. After some thought and debate, we finally agreed upon famous characters from the Harry Potter series.
The process was tedious and I almost rendered the cupcakes inedible by adding too much water to the mixture, but they came out smelly delicious. Mays and I thought it would be best to just do the faces of the characters, since it would make more sense with round cupcakes. When I asked what my partner found the most difficult, she said, “The icing because it was like trying to draw a really thin line with a really fat marker.”
Another an
nual contestant, Catherine Resh, who is the nighttime supervisor at the library’s Circulation Desk, has a reoccurring theme with her recent entries. Last year she chose If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff and baked a dozen cookies with a mouse on each one, making the entire project edible. This year she chose If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by the same author and made cupcakes with cat faces.“I definitely plan on continuing my theme in the future,” Resh told.
While there were several other entries, the best by far was the large elephant head representing Horton Hears A Who! by Dr. Seuss. For Albright’s Edible Book Contest, there were various categories and although Horton stole the show, Mays and I walked away with winning the group category of most humorous.
What To Do With Digital Media?
"I looked forward to it for so long and, finally, it's here..." he drawls.
Oliva, a co-concentrator in Music Education and Digital Media, is both ecstatic and hesitant as his graduation date grows nearer. A prerequisite for graduation in the Digital Media track is the assembly of a portfolio of completed works.
Oliva recently entered two of his portfolio pieces in the annual student art show. The Joe Lieberman puppet illustration to the left makes light of the breaking news stories in late December, uncovering the millions of dollars in political campaign contributions from health care and insurance firm
s. The "Conservative Healthcare" poster to the right illustrates the right-wing viewpoint that Obama's health care bill is an egregious misappropriation of resources."I don't know whether or not I'll win anything... regardless, it's pretty cool."
Oliva's portfolio is very much indicative of his personality. Most, he recalls, began as drawings in class notebooks like the sketchy, primitive "Conservative Healthcare" doodle, above right. Others, like the portraiture of Kurt Cobain to the immediate right, reflect Oliva's appreciation for some of his forerunning, "contemporarily unconventional" artists such as Roy Lichtenstein or Andy Warhol.
The subject matter offers an intimation into the nature of his subtle, caustic wit while his minimal, yet striking, array of graphic elements allows his audience to see things through Oliva-colored glasses.
After graduating, Oliva plans to, in his own words, "bum around Reading" for the summer. After this, he plans to move to Glassboro, NJ, 8 miles southeast of Philadelphia. Oliva aims to land a job doing "some sort of graphic design" and establish some connections and experience in the field before relocating.
"I've lived in New Jersey since I was 10, but I moved here from North Carolina... simply put, I hate New Jersey. I gotta get back down south."
Apart from graphic design, Oliva maintains an interest in screenwriting and filmmaking, both of which would put the Digital Media part of his degree to work. But, in terms of his immediate future, what does he think of the ambiguity of it all, in branching out with little concrete prospects?
"...it's a real mind fuck. Don't let anyone tell you it isn't scary, but only in a certain sense. You gotta do it... [it] just doesn't make sense to work so hard and not see it pay off somehow."