Search results matching tags 'Greek life' and 'sga'

Spring? In Indiana? Believe it!

ChristinaL — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:32:00 GMT

Finally, it seems like it may actually be spring in Indiana!

We had beautiful weather over the weekend and on Monday, which was great for all of our end of the year events. I don't have much time to write because I need to write a paper and finish a book tonight, but I thought I would leave you with some images and video of all the fun we've had enjoying our beautiful campus recently. With lipsyncs, Exam Jam, and the Gym Class Heroes, there have been so many great excuses to take a study break and get outdoors... I even got a little tan! (on my left forearm... that's it haha.)

TKE's philanthropy event was called Jump-a-thon... but for some reason it becomes 80s fest every year. This year was quite entertaining because there was a lipsync, Queen contest, and pledge auctions to watch, and the emcees were great. Check out the Pi Phi lipsyncers' ridiculous outfits... I love my friend Lauren's teased out hair in the back!

Another relaxing time outside was Exam Jam, an all campus event the night after the last day of classes with free food, games, etc out on the Mall. This year they had a bungee thing... I didn't go on it because I was wearing a dress, but it looked like fun.

Of course, frisbee is a mall staple any day:

After Exam Jam we had a concert out in the parking lot of Hinkle Fieldhouse. It was SO much fun! The weather was great, we were able to get close to the stage and Gym Class Heroes was quite an entertaining live band! My favorite thing about the concert was the wide appeal it had. Not everyone at Butler always turns out for the "all campus events" but in addition to the most random assortment of my friends I could imagine, I saw sooooo many new people at the concert, and they were all Butler students . It was cool to see all of us come together to have a good time and sing and dance out all our finals stress.

Speaking of singing, check out the video I took during the performance of Gym Class Heroes hit song "Cupid's Chokehold"!Travis Def had the Butler students sing along... needless to say, it's a good thing most of us are getting a college degree in something other than vocal performance! : )

(Please visit the site to view this media)

By the end of the concert, everyone was so excited and started going a little crazy, and the lead singer, Travis, actually came out into the audience! Liz got some better photos than I did, but I heard he was quite sweaty, so I'm glad I wasn't TOO close!

I'm so glad I decided to go to the concert... our Student Government Association (SGA) has actually had a lot of really cool musicians here like Third Eye Blind, Common, and OkGo, but this is the first Butler concert I've gone to! Lame, I know, but I'm usually super busy - but this was the first major concert that has been free, so that was a good excuse to go, right? College students can't say no to free stuff.

Anyway, I think I've neglected my Spanish paper long enough. Wish me luck on all my writing! (no exams for the English/Spanish/Gender Studies student... but I will be researching and writing until there are no words left in me! ha.)

Ohhh, and since some of you may not have decided yet where you are going to college and the deadline is Friday, let me say one last time: COME TO BUTLER! It is an amazing family to be a part of for the rest of your life. I know I'm busy with finals, but if you have questions or anything, let me know and I will take the time to answer them...that's how much I want you to come here! Believe me, I know it's a hard choice... I didn't decide until the morning of May 1st, but now I know I made the right decision! I know you will, too. Good luck!

Re: Traditions!

ChristinaL — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:50:03 GMT

Funny you should ask! This is a question I asked pretty much everyone I know at Butler last year when I was editor of the yearbook and we did a "Butler Traditions" page. Here's what we came up with:

Fountain jumping - This is the number one Butler tradition, in my opinion! Groups of friends run around Butler's campus and jump into every fountain (and of course, photo document it!). The ultimate fountain jumpers make it in every single fountain... even the one in the library : )

Campus golf - Bring your golf clubs to school, because Butler students love to "golf" around campus with tennis balls. "Holes" are popular spots on campus such a star fountain, the observatory, etc.

Soapy Star Fountain - Star Fountain is in the center of campus on the mall... not only is it part of the epic fountain jumping experience, but it tends to be the site for practical jokes. During finals week in the spring someone always pours soap in it so it bubbles over with suds. Always good for a laugh… or even a bath. I jumped in last year on a whim with some friends – the walk home was a bit sticky! haha.

Blue II's Birthday – Our mascot, Blue II is a real live bulldog so last year we started the tradition of a campus-wide birthday party for him. The birthday dog hangs out in Starbucks to take pictures with everyone and play games and there are free cupcakes for all.

Lawn decorations for Homecoming – I don’t know if other campuses do this, but I had never heard of it before I came to college… for Homecoming Week, we have a lawn decorating contest to go with the Homecoming theme. All the Greek houses and residence halls participate and decorate the sorority houses – but you would not believe how intense these lawn decs are! My freshman year, Delta Gamma covered the entire front side of their house with a tarp. Last year Theta had a school bus parked in their driveway… it gets serious! Anyway, I think it’s a really fun tradition because the night before the competition, everyone is out on the lawns decorating until like 3 or 4 am, kind of like a massive decorating party… even if you’re not helping, it’s a great time to walk down Hampton Drive and check out all the action.

Midnight Snack – probably my favorite Butler tradition, and it happens twice a year! During Homecoming and Snowcoming Week, SGA brings in tons and tons of fast food – Qdoba, McDonalds, Taco Bell, Duncan Donuts, pizza, etc. and at midnight everyone RUNS into the Reilly Room and grabs as much food as possible.

Geneva Stunts & Spring Sing – These are two musical extravaganzas/competitions where Greek houses and residence halls pair together to put on musical skits. There is always a theme – for example, I think last year’s was Back to the Future. Anyway, the participants sing and dance, but all the lyrics are rewritten to be about Butler… so it’s basically all about making fun of ourselves. Bring on the campus inside jokes : )

Sledding on C Club trays in the Butler Bowl - Snow days are one of the greatest things to ever happen at college, because even if you’re snowed in, all your friends are right there. Our football stadium is bowl-shaped, so one of the wintertime traditions is to go sledding down the hill. However, being college students, we don’t really have sleds sitting around our dorm rooms… so we have to get creative. Not that I’m advocating this, but a popular sled choice appears to be borrowed trays from the cafeteria ; )

Drive-In movie – During Welcome Week, SGA shows a popular movie out on the Mall (our big grassy area in the center of campus) and everyone brings their blankets and snacks and enjoys movie night.

Playfair – This is only for freshman, but one of my favorites. Playfair is an activity that travels around to different college campuses, and it always comes to Butler during Welcome Week right before the start of classes. It’s hard to explain but it’s basically all these crazy group games that the whole freshman class plays together. It involves running around and yelling and holding hands and all this chaos. It is impossible to go to Playfair and not meet new people! The joke is always that you will meet your future husband or wife there.

VooDoo – Annual Halloween party sponsored by Sigma Nu, one of the fraternities. The guys go all out decorating their house and people sometimes wait in line for over an hour to get in!

Greek philanthropy events – Greeks sponsor lots of fun annual philanthropy events that we look forward to every year. They almost always involve a cookout to raise money, and then free entertainment like sports tournaments, women’s lipsyncs or men doing cheerleading or synchronized swimming haha (blogger JoeW LOVES to do this… check out his videos.)

Humans vs. Zombies – I think Liz wrote about this in her blog already, but I’ll mention it here too. This tradition was around my freshman year, banned last year and appears to have made its resurgence. It is a campus-wide game that anyone can join. If you’ve ever played Assassins, it’s kind of like that. I don’t remember all the rules, but the basic idea is that there are humans and zombies roaming campus (marked by bandanas) and they are both trying to defeat the other side…. you attack by hitting someone with a nerf dart, rolled up sock or a marshmallow (not kidding). It’s not dangerous by nature, but it was banned last year because the administration didn’t think it was safe. I guess this year the restrictions are that you can’t play in the dorms or academic buildings. I have never played but it’s always fun to see people creeping around corners talking about zombies.

Rowdy Row – This is only a Greek tradition, but a memorable sight on campus even if you’re not participating. Our Greek formal recruitment takes place at the end of Winter Break, right before classes start up. On the last Sunday of break, all the new members get their bid cards and find out what house they are in. They run out onto Hampton Drive (usually screaming) where their new Greek families are cheering and waiting to greet them. The street is closed off for the afternoon, and it’s basically a big Greek party in the streets with everyone hugging and taking photos and catching up with all their friends from other houses.

Camping out for skydiving – Every year, SGA’s Out & About in Indy committee sponsors a very cheap skydiving trip. It is very popular, but there are limited spots that are given away on a first-come, first-serve basis. So, the night before the sign-ups, people always camp out in the student union in front of the activities office.

Basketball – Loving basketball is probably the oldest Butler tradition and one that is still strong today. This IS Indiana, after all.

Also, they’ve already been mentioned, but Relay for Life and Spring Sports Spectacular are both fantastic. And Dominick the Donkey is just hilarious… there’s nothing like Christmas-time at Butler to make you smile.

Deep Thoughts

LizM — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 03:55:00 GMT

So life is good these days. I'm finally starting to iron out my schedule and figure out which days I can stay up late, those that I can study for a bit but still have time to take a break or go to the HRC, and those few that I have to limit my socilization/facebook time and actually get my work done! This past week has brought up some deep thoughts. They aren't quite as entertaining as Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey (for the SNL fans) but as a prospective Butler student they might provide some insight:
1. 8:00 classes should only be scheduled if absolutely necessary.
Okay so I know I should be a big girl and be able to wake myself up in the mornings and be adultlike. But seriously. Noone wants to have to wake up that early--I mean, thats how early we had to wake up in high school! For some majors this is probably absolutely necessary because there are only certain classes available at that time. However, my 8:00 is PE 101. Not that I have anything against wellness or fitness, but I HATE walking over to Hinkle every Tuesday and Thursday morning! I usually get up, turn off the alarm, hop back in bed, and by the time I wake up again and look at the clock its 8:05 and not nearly enough time to get dressed and make the trek to Hinkle. I sound like a big whiner, its true. I could have something really difficult at 8:00 in the morning that I would need to be very attentive for. Even so, its no good. Heed the warnings of college students who have been there and don't schedule them that early.
2. Even though going to a million call out meetings can be tiring and time consuming, they are worth it!
Over the past two weeks I have been to numerous call out meetings for a zillion different organizations. There are volunteer ones, like College Mentors for Kids, student involvement stuff like the Student Foundation and Student Government Association, and just such a wide variety of anything you could ever be interested in, like mock trial, ballroom dancing, voices of deliverance, young life, intramural sports, sorority night etc. Its a great place to learn about the organizations but also to meet people. Even if you decide its not for you, at least you made the effort to be there and learn about the club. You could be a great resource as well because perhaps you could recommend it to someone you know that would be interested in the group. Don't be afraid to try something new!
3. Decide what you want to be involved in and be dedicated to it.
Let's face it: nobody can be in a million places at once. Sure there are always those overachievers who somehow end up in fifty clubs and are the President or VP of half of them, but personally I can't handle doing too much or I get incredibly stressed out. After finding out about the clubs and organizations available here at BU I've pretty much narrowed down the list to the things I know that I will enjoy and I know I will be dedicated to. I mean there's really no point to be involved in something if you aren't passionate about it and you aren't willing to spend time and effort to be the best possible member you can be. So far I have it narrowed down to SGA, Dance Team, IM soccer, and BUMPA. The latter is the organization for the PA program. Right now I'm an Exploratory major, but as of this moment I'm leaning towards the physician's assistant program...I don't know, we shall see. But I figured that would be a good way to get to know more about the program. I also would like to get involved in some community service stuff as well, not make everything about myself. Sometimes I tend to get caught up in my own little world and forget there are other people around here too :). But for now I like what I'm doing and I'm excited to see what else comes along the way.
4. Breathe and relax during interviews. Particularly group interviews. Deep breaths in and out.
I applied for BUSF, the student foundation here at Butler that promotes networking between alumni, current students, and future students. It seems like a great opportunity and very similar to an Ambassador Leadership Team I was involved in back in high school. I was pretty excited when I got offered an interview (I'm not sure if they gave one to everybody or what the deal was exactly, but regardless I was pumped). However, I hadn't been in an interview setting since way back six months ago or so when I had scholarship interviews. It's funny how quickly you forget how nerve wracking they are and that nervous feeling you get in your stomach walking into the interview. It wasn't as awful as I feared, but we did have to do a group interview where three other girls and I were interviewed by the officer board. I was so frustrated at one point because I was the last person in line to answer and all of the ideas I had in my mind to respond with had already been used. I think my face turned really red and my hands were sweating profusely--but i made it out alive! The nice thing about it was that I came somewhat prepared. Some of my friends pre-interview interviewed me and asked me some of the typical "whats your greatest strength," "what makes you a good leader," type questions. So it wasn't so awful. But breathing is really important, especially to avoid the embarrassing red face issue.
It's been a great week but I'm ready for the weekend. My family is coming in Saturday and I'm really glad they are coming. I haven't seen them since they moved me in here a month ago. I can't say I miss my hometown too much. Some of my friends, definetly. And my family of course. But I really like it here at BU and it feels like home! I think I'm going to stop by the Alpha Phi Bounce for Beats event tomorrow. My roomate and I had dinner there tonight and it was so much fun! I'll probably write more about the greek life in the next blog after I visit a few more of the houses and get more info about everything. Until next time...

And here's one of my favorite Jack Handey quotes, just for fun: I think there should be something in science called the "reindeer effect." I don't know what it would be, but I think it'd be good to hear someone say, "Gentlemen, what we have here is a terrifying example of the reindeer effect."