OCR::/Vol_092/WLURG39_RTP_19920905/WLURG39_RTP_19920905_001.2.txt Tl iii‘: ut€l‘~2.lEa3t‘lV Litifiitm WAS?-llNGTON\& L'EE uNivERsfltt_ IEXINGTON, VA. 24450 /"‘p ToNs 0’ FUN! SEP9 Lexington Has More L To Offer Than Pizzaand Fraternity Parties I992; .. The Generals in Cl nutshell 13 Fall Season Gets Underway Next Saturday U112 fling-tum lfllt‘ VOLUME 91,- FRESHMAN ISSUE «EC has work cut .out for it By FRANCESCA KEFALAS Phi Staff Writer The Executive Committee, W&L’s student government, must complete two tasks before students can get down to business as usual: introducing the class of 1996 to the Honor System and organizing the budget. The EC is made up of 13 students representing each of the undergradu- ate and law classes. New resentativesare elected each spring. Fresh- men will elect their represen- tative this fall. EC Presi- dent Josh MacFarland MacFa rla nd System orientation for freshmen will . not change this year, but will be pre- sented more formally than in the past few years. Freshman men are expected to wear jackets and ties and women should also dress appropriately for Tuesday's meeting, MacFarland said. V ‘ ‘I think the Honor System orienta- tion is very important,” MacFarland said. “I want as much seriousness to the orientation as possible so the fresh- men realize how integral it is to life here at W&L.” MacFarland said the Honor System orientation for faculty members will 0 be different this year than in previous years. He said undergraduate and law students have complained about some new faculty members disregarding the Honor System in the past. This year, each incoming faculty member received a letter during the . summer explaining the Honor System and will attend a special orientation. Each new faculty member will also receive a visit from an EC member. The EC’s next order of business will be organizing the budget. He said the activity fee charged to each student . was raised $15 this year, which will mean an extra $30,000 available to student organizations. “Hopefully some new clubs will form,” MacFarland said. All student organizations, such as sports clubs, service organizations and specialtyclubs, who want funding will submit requests and have a chance to justify their proposed budgets to the » ' EC. After hearing all requests, the EC decides how much money to allot to each group. Last year, the EC allo- cated about $200,000. MacFarland also wants to keep a ‘closer watch on the various commit- tees and organizations the EC over- sees. MacFarland will be looking care- fully at the Student Conduct Commit- tee and the new Student-Faculty Hear- ing Board, which mediates complaints about harassment on campus. 0 “I want to make sure they are liv- ing up to expectations,” he said. WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA upperclass rep- , said the Honor ' Freshman Orientation Committee Vice Chairman Teresa Williams (left) and Chairman Robert Wilson paint banners Thursday In preparation for the arrival oi the class of 1996. New orientation planned Photo by Leigh Allen, The R/'ng—tum Phi 4 By GREGORY PATTERSON Phi Assistant News Editor This year’s new and improved freshman orientation program will give freshmen a better chance to get to know each other and learn more about W&L than in past years, according to its plarmers. Small discussion groups, a professional ice—breaking group and a new freshman class Record will all serve tu better orient the freshmen, according to Robert Wilson, Freshman Orientation Committee chairman. ‘ ‘We felt our orientation was behind the times in terms of what other schools like W&L are doing,” Wilson said. ‘ ‘We wanted to give the freshmen a warmer welcome. ’ ’ The revamped program is the result of me months of planning by the 42-member committee, Wilson ilson said. The first evidence of the prograrn’s overhaul is the new Freshman Record, with information about W&L, its campus and its traditions that has never been included before, Wilson said. Sunday night's activity is an icebreaker for the fresh- man class conducted by Playfair, a professional group which conducts such events for colleges and businesses around the country. Wilson said this is the first year a professional group has been used. Another new concept is the small discussion groups which will meet twice during orientation. The groups of freshman class outing, an Adopt-A—Freshman barbecue and the activities fair. The goal of the orientation, Wilson said, is to make the freshmen feel welcome at W&L. “This should give a better opportunity to meet each other and absorb the traditions and character of the school,” Wilson said. 10-15 freshmen with two upperclass leaders are de- signed so freshmen can learn more about the school and meet classmates in a setting other than dormi- tory halls. » A “The small groups pro- vide a setting for the fresh- men to make friends across » I the class, not just with the ‘ people on their halls,” Wil- son said. Wilson said orientation will include traditional events as well, such as a SEPTEMBER 5, 1992 Class of ’96: Biggest in W&L history By LEIGH Ai.Lm PM News Editor Washington and Lee's class of 1996 arrives in Lexington this weekend as the largest in the history of the univer- sity. varsity team, up from 91 last year. While each of the incoming classes over the last few years has been strong, Kozak said the quality of the best stu- dents who choose W&L has been im- proving. ‘ ‘We're definitely improving at the top,’ ’ she said, citing an increase in the According to number of appli- the W&L Ad- cants for honor- missions Office, scholarships. the435 freshmen The class of who will ma- ’96 also offers I r i c u l a t e ' ’ “ ' ' .- .=-:: ’ W&L strong W e d n e s d a y ' Appjicams geographic di- were accepted . ~ - ~ -- :. .. versitywithstu- from 3 P001 0f Offered Admission dents coming over .. . . -. from cants. ~j Matriculants and 6 foreign uwevre . ting more very, eluding Canada, Very strong StU- p I . - . . -. --: .. - Belgium’ Swit- dents,” said Private School 36% zerland and In- Kozak’ as- A. ' : 3' :':-i»‘.‘.':-:3 ' . :»:i:’.» ‘-2 ’ ’- -- ., ' sociate director * Men/Women 63/ 37°/oj.j' Almoughthe of admissions. " ’ _» » ~ competition for The class > Nallonai Flnlailsls V -3:" acceptance to 31 vaiicailiin. .49 W&L tional M6fll Fi- I 2' strong, the Ad- and -' ._:.-: ;;:~:_:-':» 2;:-;_ .- : . . -I J‘ S1ud<=mS.Wh0fin- ..PV33'.'5’*?‘.‘_'°” Ed“9F$ . , 52. .a points out that :f.§..$;!}’§f,°i “l€l9f._9T9PP. Ptesidems iii“... school graduat- -I A I i A tee admission. ingclasses.Their 3 i‘ia‘l?[‘a' 3,999.7 ‘°ff‘,’__°.'?‘V _ While 371 3312353. 132? Key 9'”.b., ,,,,, , §‘X‘}""ie‘¥£Z'l, H0WeV6r.Ihe ‘ I ' scores below class of ’96 did 600 were admit- notlimittheirachievementstotheclass- ted, over 500 applicants with scores room. Fifty-two students were editors of a school newspaper, yearbook or literary magazine. Most of these figures are similar to those of the last few incoming classes. However, the most significant change is on the athletic field: 149 members of the class of '96 were captains of a higher than 600 were rejected. A strong college preparatory cur- riculum was important in helping stu- dents gain admission. Sixty-three per- cent of the freshmen have already had calculus and over 75 percent of the incoming freshmen took Advanced Placement courses in high school. Fraternities, sororities prepare for coming year By CRAIG BURKE Phi Staff Writer Fraternity flags are flying and stu- dents are wearing shirts with their fra- ternity and sorority letters, leaving no doubt that the Greek system plays an important role in the lives of many W&L students. About 85 percent of men at W&L belong to fraternities. Members say the Greek system, which includes 15 chapters, allows them to meet more people than they would otherwise. Sophomore Torn Day said the fra- ternity system helped him meet people far from his home state of Nebraska. “Being from the Midwest, I knew very few people here at W&L, ” he said. ‘ ‘Going through fraternity Rush allowed me to make a lot of new friends.” The lives of most W&L men for the next few weeks will center around Fraternity Rush. During Rush, fresh- men will meet members of the frater- nities and decide if a fraternity is right for them, while the fraternity members will cull through the masses of fresh- men to find those who would fit in their brotherhood. The Interfratemity Council is the fraternity system's governing body. Welcome to The Ring—tum Phi Welcome to the Phi. I'll be your tour guide to your favorite reading material every Thursday. Here on page one is the most important news going on at Washington and Lee. More news can often be found on page six, and if it’s a really busy week there could be even more news pages. Pages two and three are your editorial and opinion pages. This is your place to say what is on your mind and be sure most of W&L will read it. All you have to do is write a letter to the editor or a My View column and send it to Francesca Kefalas at the Phi office. The pages will also feature two W&L humor columnists, writing on alternate weeks, and two nationally syndicated colunmists, George Will and Christopher Matthews. General Notes and Talkback will also be found on page three. General Notes is a good place to post notices and find out what’s going on at W&L. Talkback presents the Phi’s question of the week to students like yourself. If you see a big guy nmning around campus with a camera and asking questions, talk to him. He is Jamey Leonardi and he really wants to ask you a question and take your picture for Talkback. Pages four and five are the features pages. They will tell you all about the entertainment and lifestyle aspects of W&L. Joyce Bautista is dying to hear about anything you think is worthy of a feature spot. There is also an advice column. If you want good, free advice and can wait until Thursday, just Ask Dr. Worth. You can send questions to University Center Coordinator Carol Calkins. Last, but certainly not least, are the sports pages. They'll usually been pages seven and eight. Sean 0 ’Rourke will make ' sure all you need to know about the in-season sports and ‘athletes will be there for your perusal. Well, there’s the Phi and, just in case you were wondering, below is the football cheer where we our name came from almost a hundred years ago: Each other’s back, boys, has got a knack, boys, For making gains, sir, round the end. And it’s a sin, sir, for Oberlin, sir, [a W&L player] To buck the V.M.I. boys’ line so awful hard. Sure enough. Then join the yell, boys, and yell like hell, boys, To W&L U., boys, and football, too, boys, Let's give a rousing, rumbling, roaring football yell. Ring-tum phi, stickeri bum, We are the stuff from old Lexington! IFC projects this year will include a new format for accepting ._ bids, or invitations to join _T a fraternity, and the completion of Fraternity Renaissance. Fraternity Renissance is a project in which the administration and the IFC have been working to- -' gether to improve frater- . nity housing. The fratemi- ties turn over the deeds of their houses to the school. In return, the school makes much-needed renovations to the houses. Eubanks The fraternity house is traditionally , home for a fratemity’s i officers and its sopho- more class, as well as a place for meetings, par- ties and meals. The sororities. Panhellenic Council is the governing body of W&L’s four so- rorities. The PHC has a busy year ahead, as it looks to sorority Rush in January and the future of ‘ ‘Panhellenic is going to concentrate on sup- porting the leadership of our newest sorority, Pi Beta Phi, ’ ’ PHC President Carrie Eubanks said. “We want to help [its members] along and aim for the colonization of a fifth so- rority in 1994.” Though fraternities have existed at W&L for over a hundred years, the first three sororities colonized in 1989, four years after coeducation. A fourth sorority was added in January. The IFC includes a representative of each fraternity and a slate of officers elected by those representatives. The PHC board is made up of a representa- tive and an alternate from each soror- ity. The offices rotate each year among the four chapters. Catch ! Varsity football coach Gary Fallon tosses a ball to quarterback Geren Steiner during practice on Thursday. You can catch the Phi tall sports preview on page four. Photo by Leigh Allen, The Fling-tum Phi OCR::/Vol_092/WLURG39_RTP_19920905/WLURG39_RTP_19920905_002.2.txt PAGE 2 Ellie ‘tiling-tum lfllri Founded September 18, 1897 Looking past the mountains In the countryside of western Virginia, nestled among rolling green pastures spotted with structures of quaint historic architecture, under skies that are always — well, usually — blue, lies the picturesque community of Lexing- ton. Not many people live in Lexington; a lot just pass through. For those who stop on a clear day, especially those from the big city, the town's horizons are a sight to behold. Mountaintops litter the view, rising to meet the clouds. Seemingly unchanging from year to year, the mountains can give the people of Lexington a sense of serenity and secu- rity; quiet sentinels, they watch over usand protect us. But the same mountains that keep out the big-city hedo- nism and give Lexington its small-town spirit can also seal off the community from the outside world. The same time the United States and its allies began to assault Iraq in Operation Desert Storm in January, 1991, CNN began an assault on Lexington. A rude and uninvited guest, the Cable News Network disrupted our daily lives ‘with news from the “outside.” We cared because our broth- ers and sisters were going to war. We were drawn into the affairs of the outside world. But when the L.A. riots happened in May, not much notice was taken at W&L. L.A. is far away, and students don’t know many people there. And the riots concerned the issue of race, an issue to which W&L is not exceptionally sensitive. Here in Lexington, it was easy to close our shutters, tune out our televisions and gaze at our mountains. The temptations for a W&L student like yourself to turn your back on the outside world will be enormous. You will have academic and extracurricular obligations, and in all that, you might want to squeeze some kind of social life. In Lexington, there isn’t a newspaper stand on every comer, and the local paper covers only local news. You can‘t get television without cable, so you won't see much of Peter Jennings in the coming months. Here at The Ring—tum Phi we will help sometimes by covering local tie-ins to stories and issues from the outside world. But our primary function is to cover W&L. We have neither the space nor the resources to give you a full picture of what’s going on out there. So we ask you to keep one recommendation in mind as you enrich your life for the next four years at W&L: don’t cut yourself off. Don’t give in to the enormous temptation to live in a Lexington vacuum. Make an effort to read a newspaper, a Washington Post or New York Times, at least once a week. Find a television somewhere to take in the national news every now and then. Make an effort to talk about the news with your peers. Stimulate your mind by meeting new people and joining new extracurricular groups. Socialize with people from all walks of campus; don’t get caught in a social rut. Remember that you came to W&L not to view the world in a new way, but in a thousand new ways. Of course, we don’t want you to go too far in the other direction, either. When the problems of the world seem to be weighing on your shoulders, trapped somewhere in your backpack among the hundreds of pages of reading you’ll be be tested on the next day; when the dorm halls are filled with the revelry of those students who just never seem to have as much homework as you do; and when it seems you can‘t count on anyone or anything to be consistent from one day to the next; there’s one surefire way to forget your woes, at least for a little while: go outside and look at the mountains. OPINION M ILL. _ "zg H4\".'rzr /"I /(4 NEE.) \(DJlZ. 'M‘3’¢£ zo writs‘ '.> z'f\/TON ’ ‘ ”‘ 'E.TA5.‘ The Ring-tum Phl, September 5, 1992 P3esNl\r>r»r'r IKM 'I""l IN/JlL§A(:.N gANEK 305' 3 TJALL-Y L FOK You -ro c.o~tE gut’ DWI n~ro;;§,,,,. NEED HELP’ mil )’°“2 ENTER 1 H5 DLLMS . z€,(,lSTlATrer‘ EEFDEE Y0” r‘~\ '50“ "" I, l-’«'