A Cappella at Ohio University

By: Abigail Day and Hannah Reynolds

Link to video: https://youtu.be/ArQkpsPi9qY

With the release of Pitch Perfect in 2012, making $115 million dollars worldwide in the box office, it is fair to say that we live in a generation of a cappella enthusiasts. There is no scarcity of a cappella enthusiasts in Athens, Ohio. What many students at Ohio University don’t know is that there are six student-run a cappella groups in existence on our campus, putting on performances weekly, some say in resemblance to, if not more striking, than “The Bella’s” featured in Pitch Perfect.

The six noteworthy groups comprise Section Eight, Leading Tones, The Tempo Tantrums, Title IX, New Chords and Picardy Thirds. Each group has 17 members currently and has varying qualifications and styles. For instance, Section Eight and Title IX are auditioned out of OU choirs, Singing Men of Ohio (SMO) and Women’s Ensemble (WE), both classes offered at the university. Some a cappella groups are all female, all male or both. Looking at the different styles, structures and objectives of each group is helpful in determining which group is best suited for a student’s entertainment and especially for students considering auditioning for a group next fall.

To start off, there are only two all-male a cappella groups on campus: Section Eight and Leading Tones. Section Eight is auditioned out of the Singing Men of Ohio, a 90-member, an all-male academic choir. President of the Singing Men of Ohio and senior member of Section Eight, Conor Emser disclosed, “My favorite part of being in Section Eight is to come together with some of my best friends and create something that otherwise wouldn’t exist. We arrange music, we put on concerts, we design the t-shirts and we work very hard for the sound that we deliver. It’s challenging, its fun, and its so rewarding.”

Section Eight was founded in 1991, when there were only eight members. Current members are from all majors, not just vocal music. The group got its name from the military term “Section 8”, which is formally defined as when an enlisted solider is discharged due to mental incompetence.

Leading Tones, another all-male a cappella group, also comprises members from first year students to graduate students of all majors. Matt Fujita, President of the Leading Tones admitted, “Leading Tones kind of has a reputation for being a fun, goofy group and I love that.  It reiterates our mentality that there is more to performing than sounding perfect. It’s just as much about being entertaining and having fun.”

Leading Tones has had a vast number of opportunities to showcase their talent. They have been featured on the album Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!, auditioned for NBC’s show the Sing Off and invited to American University’s 6^th annual Acapalooza.

The women are not far behind the men when it comes music at Ohio University. There are two all female a cappella groups on campus: the Tempo Tantrums and Title IX. The Tempo Tantrums was founded in 2007 and became an official a cappella group in 2008 with three members. Current members perform at events on campus and in the neighboring areas. President of the Tempo Tantrums, Taylor Bowling, informed, “Because we are an all-female group, we also try to focus on presenting ourselves with encouraging attitudes. We like to choose songs and participate in events that promote positivity and empowerment toward women”.

Another aspect that sets The Tempo Tantrums a part from other groups is their bond through the belief of sisterhood. As a student working on her degree in Early Childhood Education, Taylor added, “The Tempo Tantrums pride our selves on being more than just a singing group, but more like a sisterhood. I have built some lifelong friends with ladies in this group that I know would not have happened without being in The Tempo Tantrums.”

Title IX is the other all-female a cappella group. The group was founded in 2001 because there were no opportunities for women to preform around campus. The name of the group comes from the legislation Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender. Title IX is auditioned out of Women’s Ensemble, a 110-member, all female academic choir. Dr. Mayhew, director of Women’s Ensemble and a key figure in determining who makes Title IX auditions, proudly said, “I think Title IX stands out for ability to sing in tune, with good tone quality and good balance between soloists, vocal percussion, and back-up vocals”.

The song choices that T9 preforms are diverse, coming from all genres of music. Maggie Fahey, president of WE and senior member of Title IX asserted, “A big goal of mine for Title IX is to keep working on more challenging arrangements, and to get better recordings of us performing this music! I would love to release music on Spotify or iTunes.”

New Chords and the Picardy Thirds, are the only groups that have members from both genders. New Chords consists of members from all majors, following a similar pattern to the other a cappella groups. The group sees itself as a group of people who love to make music and enjoy doing it. Attending a New Chords performance is entertaining because not only are you enjoying their music, but you can tell that they are too.

The Picardy Thirds, joined the world of a cappella at OU this fall, making six a cappella groups on campus. Mattie D’Ernville, the founder of The Picardy Thirds, explained, “The Picardy Thirds was created because while there are other groups on campus, two are auditioned from a small group of people (in comparison to the campus) and three are auditioned from the entire campus. I talked to a lot of people last year that were interested in a cappella but there just weren’t enough opportunities available”. The group is working this semester on building their repertoire and already has five songs under their belt.

For students who are interested in seeing an a cappella performance on campus, Title IX is putting on an end of the semester showcase, featuring the Leading Tones. This event will take place at 7 p.m. on Dec. 5 in Front Room Coffee House at Baker Center.

For any additional information or interest in the six a cappella groups, check their individual websites and Facebook pages. Audition information and contact information can be found on their websites.

 

 

 

 

 

On Creativity: Visual Communication vs. Fine Art

 

by Adrienne Tong and Katy Schwartz

Applying for colleges is a stressful experience for many students, and pursuing an education in the art, design, and photography is no different. There are two main schools of thought when it comes to teaching design, art, and photography. One is more along the line of fine art. This is where the first year of education is devoted entirely to learning the foundational skills needed to create beautiful work. This generally entails multiple three hour studios devoted to learning to draw, paint, sculpt, and learn color theory and shape theory. The second school of thought entails more of an experience-based style. Students generally have to come with the needed skills to dive straight into work creation.

The School of Fine Art at Ohio University supports the first mentality. The program also has a portfolio review – an unusual factor in comparison to most school who have this type of curriculum – but without the student present. The work is graded entirely on its strength which is how the student chosen to be part of the program.

Most art schools require a portfolio, but some of the elite schools do not. They have the philosophy that you can teach anyone good design. University of Cincinnati’s college of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning (DAAP) has one of the top design programs nationwide. They do not include a portfolio as any part of their application process. DAAP only accepts students with a GPA above 3.0 and then put them through an intensive foundations program. Many students leave or are asked to leave during this phase.

The School of Visual Communication is founded around the second mentality. Students are required to apply to Scripps College of Communication. Selected students are sent a set of interview questions they are to write responses to. Following that process, some are offered an interview, where they are supposed to bring their portfolio and be prepared for feedback, but also must be prepared to talk about their process.

Professor Julie Elman has an interesting view on this topic as her undergraduate degree is in commercial art (from University of Dayton), and a masters in photography from OU. “I was drawn to OU teach because I knew the program well (while working on my MFA within the School of Art, I also took numerous VisCom photo classes). VisCom classes were hands-on, practical and fell in line with the style of photography I was most interested in: documentary. I knew the program was rigorous (as was the photo art program I was in), well-established and well-respected.”

“There are many people in the visual communication field who would never describe themselves as ‘artists,’” said Elman. “That whole word and idea gets into some really tricky territory. VisCom does provide students with classes that can help build skill sets and experiences — but I don’t think it means that the program is sending out ‘artists’ into the world. On the other hand, I’m sure many people feel quite artistic when doing the visual communication thing. Some might even talk about it terms of an ‘art form.’”

This is true, students earn a Bachelor of Science in Visual Communication. The program is designed to provide students with realistic and thorough professionally-oriented training in visual communication while also adding liberal arts and cultural backgrounds for a well-rounded educational foundation. Where art schools will offer a Bachelor of Arts. The difference seems subtle in terms of the degree name, but manifests itself strongly in the curriculum.

“I think one of the main differences between photography through VisCom and photography through the School of Art has to do with the end purpose,” said Professor Gary Kirksey, “our photography style is intended to end up in magazines and in newspapers. It’s about communicating visually, but also effectively. Fine art photography is often intended for galleries.” Professor Kirksey teaches one of the foundational photography classes. Instead of prompts, Kirksey pushes his students by having them shoot as either a photojournalist or commercial photographer. He then has them do shoots relating to that choice, be it covering events, or conducting a fashion or table top photoshoot.

The program has recently been experiencing an interesting phenomena, according to Elman, designer of The Rise of Barrack Obama. “We’re seeing a lot of students from the School of Art apply to transfer in. Many of them note that they hadn’t heard of our program.” This is not entirely surprising, while the school has been recognized twice as a Program of Excellence by the Ohio Board of Regents, it only has about 500 students between its graduate and undergraduate program.

Professor Stan Alost, who served as interim director of the program, noted one of the most important parts of a VisCom education. “Our foundation courses better prepare our students to be visual communicators able to understand and use multiple tools and approaches to create content. We have photo majors who have ended up in design positions, design students who have ended up as art directors. Each student gets the skills and knowledge base to adapt to jobs well after they graduate. We look for students who want to do more – curiosity and passion are key.”

That can be attributed, in large part, to their intensive student selection process. “We want to be sure that what we offer in VisCom is a good match for the students who apply. We listen to them talk about their goals, aspirations, background — and we look at the kind of work they produce. We are interested in their creative process.”

Creative process is one of the most important elements of the program. It works to help refine that process so that the content creative is purposeful and fills its intended meaning. Professor Elman sites it as the most important element, paired with a love of learning to garauntee success and a spot in the program. “It’s the creative process and the love of learning that get you through the period of time when your taste is better than the work that you’re creating,” she said.

VisCom often refers to what they teach as story telling. Graduates from the program go into fields working with newspapers, magazines and corporations, and as storytellers, they use visual to do so. Within a Fine Arts degree, creative growth is a goal of the classes, students work using the creative process to produce work that translates ideas into forms.

The School of Visual Communication is a place for storytellers, and for people who love to make beautiful work. The curriculum is founded around the concept of showing a story to an audience, “Visual communication is at the root of human existence,” said Professor Alost. “Cave paintings are considered art, but they are also communication – people recording stories to share with others. Photography was born from a desire to make documentary art easier. We have adapted this tool for communication, but its roots are in art.”

Your Local Dose of Laughter

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By: Lillian Homan

If your Thursday nights are lacking, and you need a good laugh, you should spend your evening trying new things, like watching the Black Sheep Improv troupe take the Baker Theater stage at 9, where they start the show by asking the crowd for a word like pineapple, and then they take the word and create a comedy show out of it.

“At present, we have a steady group of people, who come to all the shows. I hope in the future we can bring those numbers up,” explains Ohio University senior Chase Montavon, who serves as president of the group.

Looking around the theater, one sees a majority of the 250 seats filled at no cost to the audience members, so it is obvious that Montavon has high hopes for Black Sheep and wants to see it become successful. Montavon is confident of his troupe and hoped that this year would be just as comedic and entertaining as the past years.

“We’ve had the shows in the theater for about four years now and we hope to continue with that as well as trying to expand as much as we can,” Montavon said.

Senior Bridget Gibson, who had been a member of the troupe for about four years, agreed with Montavon.

“Each year, improv becomes more popular; we also have a great bunch of new members. Our members just ‘get it’ they know how to improvise and are comfortable on stage. Each year, everyone grows, and I’m excited to see Black Sheep grow more as the years go on as well,” she said.

When asked what she means by the members just ‘getting it’ Gibson said, “They don’t need instruction on what to do. Comedy and improvising come naturally to the members.” Gibson said that being a natural at improv is not something that is very common, so they are lucky to have members who understand what improv is all about.

There are several nationally recognized improv troupes in the United States, and according to Gibson, they are in the three big cities: New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

“Many people who graduated from OU/Improv have moved to the three major cities, NYC, Chicago, LA and joined troupes in those cities,” Gibson says. “One member is currently enrolled with Groundlings in LA, others are a part of Chicago’s famous CIC or iO, and the one’s in NYC are a part of UCB! They are all extremely talented individuals!”

Even though the organization itself is not recognized on a national level, the members do have the opportunity to carry on their improv careers and join troupes that are nationally known. For some members Black Sheep Improv is a hobby, but for Gibson, it is something more.

“I thought of it more as a hobby, but then I continued and it has definitely become a huge part of my life. My plan is to move out to Los Angeles and audition for Groundlings. It’s an improv company that has had many talented performers such as Kristen Wiig, Megan McCarthy, and Will Ferrell. Improv is a great base to have, especially since I want to screen write or act.“

Black Sheep Improv advisor Ryan Dolan said, “The members are creative and talented individuals. If they want to go on with their careers, they can, and will probably be successful with their improv careers.” Dolan said he enjoyed advising the improv troupe, but he doesn’t participate much in it. The members of Black Sheep Improv basically run the program themselves. They hold the auditions for new members, and they put the show on themselves, with little guidance from Dolan. Dolan explained, “I advise them. I make sure they’re doing what they are supposed to be doing, and that is about it. They’re good kids, so I don’t worry about them too much.” Although Dolan is not very involved, he explained that he attends all the shows and reminds the students that he is there if they need any kind of help or support.

Jessi Rovniak and Patty Harrison are Ohio University alumnae who moved to New York City after graduation. They both have continued with careers in the comedy and acting industries. “I love comedy, but I am more of a behind the scenes kind of girl. I’d rather work with the stage crew and production of Saturday Night Live than perform. But Black Sheep gave me my passion for it all,” said Rovniak. She explained that it’s because of Black Sheep that she realized she loved performing and stage work. Black Sheep taught Rovniak that there is a lot of work that goes into producing a show, and she wants to be part of that production. Harrison, on the other hand, has made quite the name for herself. “I perform with one of the bigger troupes in the city. It’s a lot of fun, to continue to do something that made me love who I am, and it is also something that taught me a lot about myself,” said Harrison. “I hope to keep doing this for the rest of my life. I love it. It’s who I am, and I hope to keep it with me forever.” Both Rovniak and Harrison said that they would love to help Black Sheep Improv become bigger than what it is. “It’s hard for a small troupe like that to be recognized nationally. They come from a small school too, which makes it even harder,” said Rovniak. Harrison said that she felt the same way, and wished there was something more they could do. Both of the former Black Sheep Improv members agreed that given the opportunity, they would help out any Black Sheep member that was trying to make a name for themselves in the comedy world.

“We both have made a lot of connections. I would love to be able to be another connection to help someone. I mean, if no one had helped me I wouldn’t be where I am today,” said Harrison.

Although Black Sheep Improv is not nationally known, the members have shown their capability to be successful on their own, although, they won’t be leaving each other soon. The current troupe agreed that they were really close and would help each other with their careers in the future any way they could.

You can see the hilarious Ohio University students perform on every Tuesday evenings at 7 in The Front Room, and every Thursday evenings at 9 in Baker Theater.

Roller Derby Bliss

Athens, Ohio is known for Ohio University and all the activities that come with the school. What is sometimes forgotten is that there are other activities apart from the university that locals take part in. A very lively activity that is available to the community is Athens, Ohio Roller Derby, known as Appalachian Hell Betties Roller Derby (Betties). The Betties are a group of women ranging from their 20s to their late 40s.

The Betties are women participating in the women’s flat track derby realm and they definitely raise hell when skating on the rink. The roller derby team practices once a week in Dow’s Rollerena where faded yellow posters warn to skate at a reasonable speed and to not skate reckless. However, reasonable speed is not roller derby fashion and when the Betties step on the rink they speed off faster than lighting. The Betties also don’t follow rules when it comes to attire. Some women dressed in colorful striped knee-highs, while others are in skirts and fishnets. Many also where red and black, official Hell Bettie colors.

Team founder Jessica Beckford, whose spirited derby name is Kracka Le Whipski, explained how she started the roller derby team. She chose the name “ Hell Betties” as a play on “hillbilly”. She wanted to create something positive and that represented the Athens community. She said, “In October 2010, I created a Facebook page to attract women to join her endeavor. I was able to get women from all walks of life.” Most of these women have no derby experience and just wanted an activity that connected them to other women in the area. Practices are held at Dow’s Rollerena. This is the place where most of them get used to the wood flooring pretty quick due to the falls they take learning how to skate roller derby style. This bruise inducing activity allows the women to be aggressive but also have a good time.

Betties’ President, a 29-year-old Liz Hammer of Athens, Ohio said, “For me, personally, finding derby has been a very rewarding experience. I have pushed my body to accomplish athletic and physical feats I never would have imagined I could do but now I can do them (at least in some capacity) and achieving that has given me confidence in myself.”

Elizabeth Lehman, a 29-year-old Events Specialist at Ohio University has been with the Betties for two years. She had no skating experience prior to joining the group besides the occasional roller-skating birthday party growing up. “After leaving an abusive marriage. I was a single mom without an outlet. I tried to find an adult ballet class, and instead of pointe shoes I laced up some skates.” She has many found memories of skating with the Betties and right now is just a recreational skater due to her to other obligations. Lehman appreciates the warmth and compassion that the group members have for each other. In December 2014, Lehman’s 3 year old daughter was diagnosed with a severe form of epilepsy. “My amazing derby sisters organized a rockin’ fundraiser at Jackie O’s for her this summer. These women, who already have jobs, families, and classes, took the time to hang posters all over town, write press releases, and collect prize donations from local businesses” said Lehman. The kindheartedness that she felt from the Betties when she walked into the event they had planned was indescribable. She explained how that feeling those women gave her pushed her through many hospital stay and long nights, “I know I have a tough group of women standing behind me.” Lehman is happy to go around the track for a few hours with a great team.

Family is the nature of this team and holds them together. Many of the women on the team have a derby wife, a member, with whom they connects with. The wife will always be there for the member no matter what she is going through. Derby wives recite vows from Alex Cohen and Jennifer Barbee’s Down and Derby, a novel that has everything a derby girl would need to know about the sport.

The Betties recruit year round and have a “Fresh Meat” clinic every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. at Dow’s Rollerarena. Hammer explained how they advertise new members via “ posters, flyers, and handouts.” They also have a variety of social media sites and volunteer at many events to promote the group. This year they have had 13 new recruits who have laced up skates and put mouth guards in their mouths to begin their derby life. As they wobble through practice, the Betties make sure they are properly padded before they begin skating. They have a bag of helmets and padding at each practice to make sure everyone is safe. It’s a very rough sport so the women are bound to get hurt during practices and bouts, roller derby competitions. When someone gets hurt, the women immediately stop what they are doing and the rough and tough Hell Bettie persona completely disappears. Instead they turn into friends, mothers and caregivers to make sure their fellow Bettie is well. The Betties know that what they do is hard but the reward and the encouragement that they receive is so much greater than the injuries. They know they have a group of women that stand behind them and true friends.

At then end of every practice the team huddles in a circle with their hands high above their heads and yell, “One, two, three, Hell yeah, Hell Betties!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eat Local

By Katy Schwarz

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Farm fresh and local; Athens, Ohio is a great place if you’re looking for locally grown and naturally produced foods. Athens County and Southeastern Ohio is rich with local farmers and producers who aim to serve the community as well as benefit the local economy. Community members value the local foods and have committed to keeping the cycle of locally made and grown products an ongoing industry.

“The intent was to provide a place where we could make foods from locally sourced ingredients that were affordable and accessible to a larger group of people than I had been working with before,” Christine Hughes, Co-owner of Village Bakery and Café and Della Zona which are located on 268 E. State Street as well as Catalyst Café located on 540 W. Union Street, said. Hughes and Co-owner Bob O’Neil have grown Della Zona, Village Bakery and Café and Catalyst Café since 2002. DellaZona.com boasts about their menu stating, “We are a bakery in Athens, Ohio, whose menu will always reflect what’s in season in Southeast OH, so you will taste a connection to the farms around us no matter when you visit.” Village Bakery and Café gets it’s ingredients from farmers and producers with whom they have developed lasting relationships. Hughes said that because there are markets for the producers and farmers to sell to consistently, there have been more and more vendors popping up in recent years. She believes that area’s enthusiasm for locally produced foods brands this place as something special because it doesn’t exist everywhere. Their restaurant is not limited to food; they also sell products made by local businesses.

Businesses in the Athens community have joined The 30 Mile Meal Project in an effort to keep food local. The benefits of buying local foods include knowing exactly where your food came from as well as a reduced amount of gasoline used for shipping. 30 Mile Meal’s websites calls Athens’ unique desire for locally grown foods a “food culture.” All over Athens, local businesses that have joined the movement and display a sticker on their window to show that they are part of the project. The concept of the project is that local businesses buy local produce from a 30-mile radius of Athens. The reason this movement started was from consumers’ desire to know where their food came from and to be more conscious purchasers.

Jackie O’s is an example of one of the many apart of The 30 Mile Meal project. Along with being a local microbrewery, Jackie O’s also has a restaurant in Athens as well as a 20-acre farm that grows produce that is sold in the restaurant. Jackie O’s also makes bread that is sold to other establishments in town. This is a common theme for places in Athens. Many businesses sell products from other businesses, which speaks a lot for the community that exists in Athens.

The Athens Farmers market is a great place to buy all kinds of products and produce. Jan Spring, Assistant Manager of the Athens Farmers Market believes that’s because the vegetables stay fresh longer. One can find anything from fruits and vegetables to even fresh meat at the farmers market that runs Saturdays year round as well as Wednesday mornings from April to December outside of The Athens Mall on East State Street. Hughes said, “It’s so much more enriching,” “It’s just so different than going into a grocery store and picking something off a shelf because that brand has been implanted in your brain for years.” Spring noted that the farmers market has been a large part of the community for years but they don’t see as many students as they would like, she speculates that’s because of the hours as well as the market not being walking distance from campus.

One of the many vendors at the farmers market is Sticky Pete’s Maple Syrup, of Athens, Ohio. Laura Berry is the owner-operator has been tapping trees in her 200-acre backyard for close to 20 years. “It brings a real sense of community,” she said, “people come to sell their food hand in hand with the community, it’s just a nice network.” When talking about businesses choosing to produce local foods Berry said, “ It’s phenomenal for the size of this town and community. I think that’s partly because we are so green here and there’s no industry. Relatively, the biggest industry is the university.” Berry noted that when it comes to employment besides the university, there are very few other job opportunities besides creating a business.

Dani Bartley, a sophomore at Ohio University and a vegan, said, “I like to go to the Farmacy. They have a lot of organic foods and things you wouldn’t be able to find at Wal-Mart or Kroger. They have ready-made wraps as well as produce.” Bartley was looking forward to living in an apartment because of her limited diet. “Next year, when I’ll actually have a kitchen to cook my own food at, I think I’ll shop a lot at the bulk food depot. This store has a lot of alternative vegan-friendly ingredients like different types of flour, lentils, etc.” Bartley shops at both the local businesses as well as the farmers market. She said, “I like the farmer’s market because it goes above and beyond just produce. There’s handmade jewelry, pastries, homemade jam and honey and there’s always a lot of really cool and unique people there. Plus it’s open year round so you don’t have to give up local food in the winter.”

On campus, Ohio University’s markets offer a small selection of local products from companies like, Herbal Sage Tea Company, an Athens company and Silver Bridge Coffee of Bidwell, Ohio. Ohio University has also stated that they are committed to providing local foods.

Student organization, FoodMatters at OU said, “We provide the student body with not only intellectual and theoretical exposure to the field of Food Studies, but also hands-on knowledge about food systems. This means food production from planting the seed all the way through to consumption.” The organization also hosts produce sales for $1 per pound, selling produce grown in the West State Street Research Gardens.

All over Athens, Ohio the drive for a local foods can be seen. Whether you look at the business, the farmers market, or the passion of the students, the community has a desire for and abundance of locally made and produced products and foods.

Gamma Phi Beta Expansion at Ohio University

Gamma Phi Beta is located at 57 East State Street Athens, Ohio. Photo by: Lillian Homan on November 30, 2015

By: Lillian Homan and Kara Ferrara

International sorority Gamma Phi Beta has found its newest home at Ohio University.  The women’s social sorority, which was founded in 1874, had their installation to officially become a recognized chapter of Ohio University’s PanHellenic community on November 21.  Gamma Phi Beta was chosen over two other national chapters when the Women’s’ PanHellenic Association went through the expansion process this past spring.

The fraternity and sorority community at Ohio University has existed for over 160 years, with the first sorority being installed on campus in 1889.  As old as Greek life is, it continues to draw major interest towards involvement.  Women’s PanHellenic Association has recorded a continuous spike in recruitment numbers over the past few years, as increasingly more women have been registering to partake in formal recruitment.  The nine sororities on Ohio University’s campus, which include Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Xi Delta, Chi Omega, Delta Gamma, Delta Zeta, Sigma Kappa, and Pi Beta Phi, have also seen the same kind of spike; increasing recruitment numbers has led to new member classes growing from around 40 to 60 in the past three years.  Most chapters at OU now measure around 150 total active members.

Although pleased with the growing PanHellenic community, WPA recognized the potential problems that could arise if the current chapters on campus could not meet the increased demand they were facing.  The majority of our chapters are at capacity in terms of filling the house, and most also are no longer able to fit all members in their chapter rooms for weekly chapter meetings.  “As Vice President of Membership for WPA, obviously I love to see that more and more girls have been wanting to go through recruitment over the past few years,” said Liv Barth, a senior affiliated with Pi Beta Phi.  “There were definitely talks about adding another chapter to our growing campus before, but I think it was the huge spike in recruitment numbers after Fall 2014 that proved to us that we needed to expand in order to meet demand.”

With that, WPA began their expansion process in early 2015.  National chapters interested in expanding to a new campus were encouraged to apply. WPA reviewed all applications before narrowing the choices down to a final three.  Those three chapters were invited to OU in the spring to present to members of the PanHellenic community as to why they believed their sorority would be the best fit on campus.  It was during these presentations that Gamma Phi Beta proved they were the right fit.  “What stuck out to me the most about Gamma Phi was how well their national philanthropy, Girls On The Run, would fit in the Athens community,” said Kristen Kardas, director of sorority and fraternity life at Ohio University. “I could really see the young girls at Athens Middle School truly benefitting from their future involvement with Gamma Phi.”

Gamma Phi Beta kicked off their expansion to our campus by integrating themselves with the rest of the PanHellenic chapters as soon as the semester started.  A weeklong promotion included tabling at Baker and College Gate, and also distributing T-shirts and buttons to current PanHellenic chapters. However, Gamma Phi’s two expansion advisors, Emily Pagnotta and Ashley Torres, were committed to building their newest chapter by supporting the other established chapters first.  “We wanted to promote the overall idea of “Going Greek” before we focused on our own personal goals of promoting ourselves as the newest chapter. It’s really important for a new chapter to establish that PanHellenic bond on their new campus,” Torres said.  Gamma Phi Beta participated in the first round of formal recruitment along with the nine established chapters.  They then stepped out until after bid day before they began their own formal recruitment process.  Personal interviews with the advisors were held at Gamma Phi’s chapter house, located at 57 E State St. Over 300 girls participated in Gamma Phi’s recruitment.  On their own bid day, Gamma Phi Beta welcomed 160 women, freshmen through seniors, as their founding members.

“What attracted me to becoming a member of Gamma Phi was the chance to become a founding member,” said sophomore Hannah Reynolds.  “I think that’s amazing to be able to go down in your chapter’s history and be a part in building your chapter from the ground up,” she said.  Members of the newest sorority have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of sorority life on campus.  Gamma Phi has had multiple sisterhoods with other PanHellenic chapters to welcome them to the community.  The Interfraternity Council has also taken part in welcoming them to campus.  Although Gamma Phi could not yet participate in this past year’s Greek life homecoming week events, they began to have social events with fraternities in order in order to meet fellow members of the Greek community.  “We really have felt welcomed by the amount of support we’ve gotten from the rest of Greek life from the very beginning.  It was great to already have all the same experiences as all the other sororities on campus,” Reynolds said.

Gamma Phi Beta has also enjoyed the internal processes of their new chapter thus far.  The women have been paired up with “twins” to get to know each other better.  This allowed members to get a sense of what having a “big” and “little” is like, and also gave members the chance to begin building their family trees.  Gamma Phi advisors will also begin slating for the new executive board.  The board will take office at the start of spring semester.  “We’re looking for women who are willing and excited to take the first ever leadership positions in this chapter,” Pagnotta said.  “It is a lot of responsibility to be the first leaders of a new chapter, but their contribution will be such a rewarding experience for them and for our chapter as a whole.”

The Gamma Phi Beta chapter house, which is the former Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity chapter house, is still being remodeled.  Eligible members will move into the house at the start of the Fall 2016 semester.  The house will hold around 40 women and feature amenities such as a movie room.  “I’m excited to move into the house next fall,” said Gamma Phi member Molly Kaufman.  “I’ve always heard it’s one of the best experiences of being in a sorority.  Once our house is finished it will bring us all even closer together since we will finally have a place we can all call home”.  Gamma Phi Beta will participate in official “Greek Week” events this coming spring. The chapter will participate in their first-ever formal recruitment along with the rest of the PanHellenic community next fall.

 

Ohio University Leads Efforts to Cut Down on Waste

Abby Leppert and Sophia Vancouver –

The school colors and campus quads are not the only reason why people have been viewing Ohio University as a green college. For almost seven years, the university has been making aggressive decisions to cut down on its waste contribution to the world by focusing on increasing internal sustainability, composting, and recycling efforts.

“The university looks at sustainability as a triple bottom line, so we want to use resources at the university in a way that doesn’t negatively impact future generations’ abilities to use resources, and our triple bottom line is ‘people, planet, and prosperity’,” said Annie Laurie Cadmus, the Director of Sustainability at Ohio University.

In regards to sustainability, the campus has done and continues to work on many different projects. They have worked to reduce dependency on fossil fuels by investing more in renewable energy sources, implemented sustainable living floors in the four newly constructed residence halls, helped with an eco house, and supported student organizations to work toward the goal of becoming sustainable. The university’s next big goal for sustainable efforts is to shut down the use of coal and completely transition to natural gas by the end of 2015.

Located on the second floor in the historic log cabin off of Richland Avenue, the office was staffed with three full-time employees and 11 student workers, and each staff member oversaw approximately 15 projects at any given time, occasionally with a committee under them. Workers also collaborate with other offices and divisions on campus to attain common goals to benefit the university as a whole.

“Our jobs are so cool because so many departments across campus are doing amazing things,” said Cadmus. The Director of Sustainability emphasized that reducing the carbon footprint left on the planet was everyone’s job and she believed that it takes teamwork between different areas and all kinds of people to make a difference.

One such department that the Office of Sustainability has worked in the past was Facilities Management. In 2009, former Director of Sustainability, Sonya Marcus, and Ed Newman, Director of Reuse and Recycle, came to Steve Mack, the Director of Facilities Management, and offered him a grants to help found a compost division on campus.

“[Landfills] just don’t process food waste well,” said Mack. “They found a hotdog buried under garbage from the 1970s that hadn’t decomposed much.”

Before the compost division was founded, approximately 40 to 50 percent of the waste in landfills filled by Ohio University was food waste, which founded the inspiration to begin an on-campus composting site. The idea took off and within three years, the facility had to be expanded to three times its original size. The machine that was added during the expansion in 2012 also has the ability to be extended to a larger capacity because Facilities Management expects that there will continue to be future growth.

On average for this year, the facility ran six tons of food through its machines five days a week. The amount of compost outputted from the site matched or has surpassed the volumes of food waste that entered it every week, and with a roof lined with solar panels, the building actually produced energy.

The food waste, which came from actual food as well as paper plates and cups and compostable utensils, turned into compost and fertilizer through a process that mixed it with wood chips and let it cure over two weeks. This activity created heat to fuel itself and continue the process for the next batch.

“It’s not completely running independently, but it’s almost there,” said Scott Blower, the manager of the compost site.

The finished product from the facility then became fertilizer for the campus, which made Ohio University’s grounds 100 percent chemical-free.

“It’s good to see that something that was going to waste is actually now going to a good purpose, and that’s going into the compost and then the compost is being used through campus to supplement our soil,” said Mack. He relayed that seeing everything go full circle made him the most proud about his work over the past six years.

Facilities management also worked to create compost-friendly events, such as football tailgates, the Pawpaw Festival, and commencement ceremonies.

When waste was not compostable, though, has been where recycling and the Zero Waste Initiative have stepped into the scene.

“Zero waste is the idea and the practice that everything that we create as a society manufacture, purchase and later discard can be recovered either through recycling, composting, donation or reuse,” explained Andrew Lad, manager of recycling and zero waste at Ohio University. He emphasized that approximately 90 percent of all waste can be recycled.

When Lad began as manager three years ago, recycling consisted of 11 different categories that needed to be sorted separately. Essentially, this meant that there would be 11 different recycling bins and that it was the recycler’s responsibility to sort through their waste and drop it into the correct bins. Then last year, the manager and his team at the Recycling Center, located in Building 34 at The Ridges, cut down the sorting process to seven categories.

This year, recycling has been narrowed down to only one category, referred to as single-stream recycling. Students and staff now had the ability to throw all of their recyclables into one bin, and the sorting took care of itself.

The new, efficient single-stream method created an increase of 5 to 7 percent from the residence halls in regards to the amount of waste recycled on average. Lad confessed that it was a smaller rise than he had expected but he remains confident that it will continue to grow.

Other responsibilities of the Recycling Center this year have included distributing the recycling bins across campus as well as beginning a new initiative called Greeks Go Green. This new program intended to involve the off-campus Greek Life houses to recycle as much as residence halls. Greeks Go Green is chaired by two students, Cameryn Curry and Macy Merle, juniors and sorority women at Ohio University, and has certified one sorority thus far and generated interest from other chapters.

“We have made a lot of progress getting the [Greek] community just more informed about recycling,” said Merle. She became co-chair of the movement to cut down on the average amount of waste that 40 women living in a sorority house made in a year.

Despite the different activities performed by each department, they all had one message in common; everyone was responsible for reducing the waste in the present so that there can be a better future.

Religious Communities at Ohio University

Illustration and story by: Abigail Day

One’s time in college is supposed to be the best time of one’s life and rightfully it should be given the fact that college molds one into being the person he or she is during their lives. However, college, as many would agree, can generate stress, anxiety and introspection, unlike any one has encountered before. To deal with this, religion can be a good outlet. At Ohio University, students have access to different religious communities, which offer a fresh and faith-based perspective when combating these obstacles that college stimulates.

“College can be a really scary and dark place. Being involved with a religious community can help those who have a faith, stay in that faith and those who don’t, find it,” revealed sophomore, Alyssa Stegmair. A leader in her Christian religious community, she affiliates herself with Campus Crusades, more commonly referred to as Cru.

The sophomore in communications public advocacy also admitted, “Cru provides a great community, which is extremely important in college”. Cru consists of 180 students who attend weekly worship, which meets every Thursday from 9:00 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. in Morton Hall 201. For students who are potentially interested in keeping up with this community, Cru can be followed on Facebook under “Cru at Ohio University” and on Twitter under “Cru at Ohio Univ.”. More information on community groups and fall retreat can be found on their website, cruatou.org.

Another religious community close to campus is the Buddhist community, formally known as Athens KTC. This community amounts close to 100 people with a quarter of its members being students. Tom Erlewine, director of Athens KTC, reported, “We’ve definitely seen an increase in students attending our Sunday meditations and study/discussion sessions”.

The group organizer and motivator also elaborated on the practice of Athens KTC, “The focus is compassion for others. A great deal of the learning and discussion has to do with help for keeping your mind calm in the face of many things that upset us in daily life”. Athens KTC meditation and study is held every Sunday at 10 a.m. at 37 Ohio Street (off of Stimson Avenue). They can be followed on Facebook under “Athens KTC”. More information can be found at www.athensktc.org.

Athens Catholic, another religious community, embraces a total of 600 college students. Fr. Mark Moore stated, “I have specific care for Catholic people, though I also talk to many non Catholics as well. We help students develop their faith and ideas, become more mature in their beliefs and seek and question the meaning of life. I’m always open to students coming to discuss their beliefs, and I hope they feel comfortable doing so!”

Athens Catholic meets at two locations, St. Paul’s Church at 38 N. College Street and Christ the King Parish at 141 Mill St. One can find Mass times, confession/devotion times, office hours and bible study information on the website, www.athenscatholic.org. They can also be followed on Facebook under “Athens Catholic Community” and on Twitter under “Athens Catholic”.

Next door to St. Paul’s Catholic Church on College Street is First United Methodist Church, representing the Methodist religious community. This community has about 150 people who worship every Sunday, 20-25 of them are college students. The Rev. Robert McDowell, a new reverend to FUMC for this academic year, revealed, “We will be starting a new worship for college students called Worship U that will begin on October 11 in our chapel”. Worship U is a different kind of worship, which combines contemporary and traditional elements. It meets each Sunday at Noon at FUMC.

The reverend to FUMC, who is also a father of two, stated, “The reason it’s important to connect with college students is because this is such a formative/transitional time in their lives. Studies have shown that most faith commitments happen during the college years”. Students interested in this community of fellowship can follow FUMC on Facebook under “First United Church Athens Ohio” and on Twitter under “First UMC Athens”. More information can be found on their website, firstumcathens.org.

Up the street from the other Athens Catholic location on Mill Street, Christ the King, is Christ Lutheran church. This community consists of 130 members, of which 25 are college students. “We are a small group (which is actually one of the best parts about it in my opinion, because there’s more opportunity for true people-to-people connections). I’m very proud of our numbers, because they show that what we’ve been doing is meaningful enough that people want to keep coming back” admitted president and peer minister of Christ Lutheran, Mary Caroline Tilton.

Christ Lutheran has a student group called “The Bridge”. They worship at 10 a.m. on Sundays, which is followed by a student brunch prepared by members of the church. They also meet at Donkey Coffee every Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Tilton, also a student in the OU Honors Tutorial College, “People can come to Donkey and chat about anything. We make a point of connecting personally and thoroughly with every college student that comes through our doors, whether they’re coming for one time or 50”. Find Christ Lutheran on Facebook under “The Bridge at OU” and for more information refer to their website, http://www.clcathens.org/

The importance of these religious communities is that they help students who are struggling, or are in precaution of struggling, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Tilton, a student working on her BS in Journalism, also revealed part of her own benefits in finding her religious community and confessed, “College can be so distorting and impersonal that only true human connections can heal the loneliness. I know I would’ve been lonely and noticeably unfulfilled without The Bridge. OU has enough spiritual communities to offer that you can probably find one that aligns with your beliefs, so don’t settle – if you are going to be part of one, make sure it only adds to your self-awareness, assurance and confidence”.

Information on other religious communities in proximity to OU’s campus such as Baptist, Episcopal, Islamic, Jewish, Mormon, Presbyterian, non-denominational, and others can be found on the OU website under “current students”. Other spiritual resources such as the University Interfaith Association and similar religious organizations can also be found on this webpage.

There are communities all around OU, which students can look to for direction, support and acceptance during the demanding times college can bring on. As students, Tilton and Stegmair, admitted, peer groups and social circles don’t help to maintain a healthy mind, body and spirit. Moreover, religious communities aren’t the right outlets for everyone; but they can give students who are looking for an outlet the direction and holism needed while they are figuring out what their purpose is in life. With the guidance of religious communities around us such as the one’s I’ve mentioned, this process can be conceivably achieved without loneliness but with spiritual encouragement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Housing Possibilities for Upperclassmen at Ohio University

By Danielle Young and Sarah Holm

In college, many aspects attribute to your experience beyond your education — student organizations, your job and your social life. The one factor that is your foundation is where you live. There are many housing options both on and off campus for students attending Ohio University. Housing is a big decision that requires advanced planning, which is why it’s important for students to be aware of their options, resources and the advantages and disadvantages of living on and off campus.

On-Campus Housing

 At Ohio University, students are required to live on campus for the first two years. There are 42 residence halls to choose from that house over 8,600 students. Once meeting the two-year requirement, students have the option to stay on campus or find housing elsewhere.

“Research would indicate that students who stay on campus transition well and build and develop relationships and sense of community,” said Jneanne Hacker, director of housing and residence life overseeing business operations and conference services at OU. Hacker added that students are more likely to stay enrolled after living on campus and most universities have a two-year requirement.

Calvin Mattheis, a junior studying photojournalism, lives in a single in Wray House on South Green. He had signed a lease to live in a single apartment off campus, but the apartment flooded over the summer, leaving him without a place to live. He resorted to living on campus.

The junior enjoys the proximity to classes and the access to the dining halls, so he doesn’t have to cook or get groceries. On the other hand, he finds living on campus as an upperclassman boring.

“All my friends have apartments or houses off campus and I’m kind of alone… There are only a handful of people that I know who are underclassmen or in my grade who live on campus and who I spend time with,” he explained.

With on-campus housing, residents have to follow rules implemented by the university, have restricted abilities to cook, and overall less independence. The lack of privacy in the residence halls could interfere with academics. For example, if someone is watching TV in a lobby, it could be disruptive to someone who is in the room trying to study. Hacker said, “With our returning students may of them chose to live off campus because as they start getting into the core of their academic programs, it does require more control in their living space.”

Some advantages of living on campus are the location, the many residence halls to chose from, and that it does not require committing to a 12-month lease. Additionally, some students stay on campus because their financial aid and scholarships are applied to room and board, Hacker explained.

Some of the most preferred dorms according to the OU housing department are the four new buildings, Adams Hall, and Bromley Hall, likely due to recent renovations, spacious room layouts and their locations on campus. These halls feature suite style rooms that eliminate community bathrooms.

To pick a residence hall, students are generated a pick date to chose their room from the MyHousing website. The website also provides a roommate search based on preferences and personal biographies. Because Jefferson Hall will be closed for renovations in 2016-17, third and fourth-year students are not guaranteed a room on campus.

For next school year, there will be approximately 8,000 beds available to students, due to the temporary closing of Jefferson Hall and permanent closing of Cady, Foster, and Brough halls on South Green. Since there will be a decreased number of spaces, the housing department plans to convert rooms to maximize capacity.

“As we look at our numbers, we anticipate that we will have a large residential class of first and second-year students,” Hacker said. “So with the reduction of 309 beds, we need to communicate to our third and fourth-year students that they will have to start seeking off campus housing accommodations.”

Typically, 250–300 students who have met the requirement choose to stay on campus. Hacker estimated that the cap will only allow approximately 50 of those students, but that number depends on the applications.

Off Campus

Traditionally as a junior or senior, students move off campus to a house or apartment. Barbara Harrison, assistant director for community engagement within the Campus Involvement Center, said students typically begin the process for searching and signing leases at least a year in advance to when they will be living off campus. She advises students to be thorough and take their time because the lease and roommates are the two biggest areas that are problematic.

“By junior year, I think its really excellent students get to live on their own, most for the first time. It’s a natural transition into adulthood,” Harrison stated.

Popular apartment complexes include University Commons, located off of West Union, and University Courtyard, on Richland Ave, both which are fully furnished and in walking distance to campus. River Park Apartments is located right next to South Green and is pet friendly. Skyview Apartments, located on Court St., is managed by the OU housing department, which leads to convenient amenities.

“It’s a nice location, you’re pretty close to campus and uptown, you’re right between everything,” Skyview Apartment Manager Jacob Spillman-Bell explained.

Typically students who wish to live in a house consider location, reputation of street, and size of house. The closer you are to campus, the pricier the house. Popular streets include Mill St. and High St. for their party atmosphere, whereas Stimson Ave., Court St., West Union St., and Congress St. are all popular because of their proximity to campus.

Ally Kuehn, a junior studying applied nutrition, lives in a two-bedroom house on Stimson Ave., about twenty minutes from campus. She said the benefits for off campus living are more independence, more space to yourself, you can cook your own meals, and you can have pets.

Some drawbacks to living off campus is paying bills on a regular basis and having more responsibilities. Kuehn feels the distance to campus can impede her extroverted personality.

“On campus, you have so many people accessible all the time. Here, I do feel a little isolated because it is a walk if I want to go somewhere. It is an effort to go hang out with my friends,” the nutrition major said.

Kuehn’s location is a mix of college students in one direction and residential community members in the other. She enjoys the small-town feel her community creates.

Another strong component of Harrison’s program is striving to integrate students into the community.

“Part of the benefit of going to college is that you get a little bit more exposure to life in general. We try to help students take leadership roles in the community, whether that be simply registering to vote, being aware of issues in the town, or helping with community service projects, just to teach good citizenship skills,” Harrison explained.

Harrison sees value in creating strong ties between people.

“Our strong nation starts with our community,” she said. “If your community is strong and if people feel valued and close knit, it’s going to help the bigger part.”

Gamma Phi Beta begins at Ohio University

As the school year began at Ohio University this fall, so began a new segment of a tradition that has lasted over 140 years; Gamma Phi Beta. The international sorority installed a new chapter on the Athens campus after being selected by the Women’s Panhellenic Association (WPA) the previous Spring Semester.

“More and more girls were going through recruitment every year because Ohio University’s enrollment keeps expanding,” said Kristen Kardas, the Assistant Greek Life Director at Ohio University. “It became apparent a couple of years ago that the sorority side of Greek Life would need to expand, too, in order to help every girl going through recruitment find their home.”

The installation of the Gamma Phi Beta marked the first time in this century that Ohio University has welcomed a new sorority chapter onto its campus. Previously, the last sorority to have joined Greek Life at Ohio University was Delta Gamma, which was chartered in the spring of 1993, approximately 22 years ago.

“Everyone is excited for them to join and become part of the culture,” said Kardas.

Towards the end of Fall Semester in 2014, WPA sent notices to the nine sororities present on campus, telling them that they were beginning to search and send invitations for other sororities to apply to join Greek Life. The nine sororities voted and accepted the plans to include another sorority at Ohio University.

“OU prides itself on having involved students,” said Char Kopchick, the Assistant Dean of Students for Campus Involvement. “We want our students to be well-rounded, and some of them find the best way for them to grow is to become involved in Greek Life. When more students desired to be in sororities than the sororities had the capacity to hold, it was easy to see that we needed to add another organization to the mix.”

Ohio University approved WPA’s notion to expand Greek Life on campus and allowed them to begin interviewing potential sorority and women’s fraternities who showed interest. Multiple organizations applied to join Greek Life, and by Spring Semester in 2015, the pool was narrowed down to three sororities; Phi Mu, Alpha Phi, and Gamma Phi Beta.

“The deciding factor, for me personally, in choosing Gamma Phi Beta was that, on an international level, their core values aligned the most closely with the rest of Ohio University’s Greek Life while still providing diversity,” said Morgan Lundquist, a WPA delegate on behalf of Alpha Delta Pi, another sorority on campus.

After Gamma Phi Beta was picked to be the next chapter to join the sororities, the international organization set to work on renovating an old fraternity house on East State Street to turn into their chapter house. The house, previously owned by Sigma Alpha Epsilon, was given up the following school year on account of the fraternity being shut down for drug-related issues.

“We walked into this house over the summer and knew we had so much work to do,” said Emily Pagnotta, the Senior Collegiate Leadership Consultant for Gamma Phi Beta International. “It was obvious that men had lived here before, but luckily this house has great bones to it so most of the changes were cosmetic.”

Senior Collegiate Leadership Consultant Emily Pagnotta poses with the crescent moon hand symbol, Gamma Phi Beta’s sign, while in the living room at the chapter house.

Pagnotta and another Collegiate Leadership Consultant, Ashley, were sent by Gamma Phi Beta International to help oversee the installation and foundation of the Ohio University chapter. The Collegiate Leadership Consultants lived in the chapter house over the summer as it was renovated and continues to live in the house to orchestrate the initial recruitment process and help the new members adjust to Greek Life. By early September of 2015, the house was fully renovated, furnished, and ready for tours. It also made Gamma Phi Beta International history for being the first time their was a chapter house before there were members in the chapter.

When school came back in session, Gamma Phi Beta was officially chartered on campus and Pagnotta, along with various representatives from WPA, went to meet with each sorority and explain the next step that was about to take place. The active chapters hosted Formal Recruitment as per usual, and then after their recruitment process ended, Gamma Phi Beta’s recruitment began.

“That way, any girls who went through the recruitment process and did not connect well to any of the existing chapters still had a chance to find a place in Greek Life,” said Lundquist. Other women were referred to Gamma Phi Beta if other Panhellenic women believed they would be a good founder of the new sorority.

“I went through the recruitment process as a freshman but dropped out of recruitment early,” said Hannah Reynolds, a sophomore at Ohio University. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to rush again this year, but then I heard that there was going to be a new sorority so I decided to give it a shot. And really, it already feels like it’s home. I belong here.”

Hannah Reynolds and other Gamma Phi Beta sisters welcome Alpha Delta Pi members into their house for a pumpkin carving sisterhood activity.

Reynolds, a Commercial Photography major, had been worried about going through recruitment as a sophomore because she felt that most of the existing sororities preferred to take freshmen women over other grades. Unlike the other chapters, Gamma Phi Beta was accepting of women in any grade in regards to finding their founders.

The recruitment specifically for Gamma Phi Beta was different than Formal Recruitment due to the detailed screening process required to find the correct women to begin the tradition of a new chapter.

“We had an enormous amount of applicants, which we were so pleased about,” said Pagnotta. “After reviewing their applications, we narrowed it down to a smaller list of women to interview, and then after a couple of rounds of recruitment, which were essentially informal interviews, we ended up accepting and welcoming home 160 new sisters on our bid day, and we initiated 140 of them.”

Due to their probationary status as a new chapter, Gamma Phi Beta was exempt from Homecoming activities, although members still voluntarily participated without actually competing in order to show their eagerness to become involved on campus.

“We had to create and elect an Executive Board and other officers completely from scratch,” said Reynolds, who was elected to be Historian. “We’re trying to be involved but we need to set ourselves up first internally before we’re a fully recognized sorority at OU.”

Now that officer positions have been filled and all of the new members have been initiated, Gamma Phi Beta is ready to be fully active on campus during Spring Semester. The new sorority will be on a team for Greek Week, which will be the first major involvement of the chapter.

Photo Slideshow of Gamma Phi Beta:

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