The Michigan Daily - Monday, September 13, 1993 - 3
Sorori Rush 'mixers' stir excitement on campus
e
By GREG HOEY
. DAILY STAFF REPORTER
The endless column ofrushees lines
the walk up to the huge, festively deco-
rated house. All are neatly groomed,
excited and anxiously awaiting to see
what lies inside. Some nervously look
at their watches while others ask ques-
tions about the house or the sorority
members inside.
Music and energy fill the inside of
the house as the sorority sisters prepare
to meet the new rushees waiting out-
side. Wearing matchingoutfitsandsing-
ing songs, the sisters are creating excite-
mentsotheirvibrantsparkofsisterhood
will rub off on the prospective new
sisters waiting outside.
The door opens and,like aflood, the
sorority sisterspouroutof thehouseand
onto the porch and lawn. Clapping and
singingsongs aboutsisterhood and their
sorority, they line the walk and sur-
round the incoming rushees. The two
worlds meet, excitemen't fills theairand
the column of rushees marches into the
house with the festive group of sisters.
Thiswas the sceneon Hill Streetand
all over campus Friday evening and all
day yesterday as "mixers"began for fall
sorority Rush. Both first- and second-
year female students faced question-
able weather conditions while walking
from house to house for the 18 "mixer"
parties that each rushee attended over
the two-day span.
Officers of the Panhellenic Associa-
tion (Panhel) - the governing board
for all sororities on campus -said this
year's Rush numbers are up and the
"mixers" seem to be running very
smoothly.
"Rush is going better this year than
ever in the past. Our numbers are real
strong, and therehaven' tbeen any prob-
lems. Everyone seems to be enthusias-
tic, which includes (Rush counselors)
and rushees alike," said Val Wilde,
Panhel publicity director and LSA se-
nior.
LSA senior Joey Faust, president of
Panhel, said, "From what I have seen,
Rush is going incredibly well. All the
houses are enthusiastic and are cooper-
ating really well."
"Mixers" are the first of four pro-
gressive steps for the month-long soror-
ity Rush. Rushees visit all sororities on
campus during this step.
Second sets - during which rush-
ees visit 13 houses -will be Sept. 19-
20.
ELIZABETH UIPPMAN/Deily
Sorority members emerge from their house in a burst of energy. They welcome rushees with songs and shouts.
Third sets will be Sept. 22-23, and
rushees will visit six houses.
During final desserts on Sept. 27,
rushees narrow their choices to three
houses.
After final desserts, rushees list their
top three favorites in order of prefer-
ence. Pledging begins Sept.29 at 5 p.m.
when rushees receive their bids.
"Mixers" parties last 25 minutes
each. Independent Rush counselors,
called Rho Chis, lead groups ofrushees
from house to house on a tight time
schedule.
Rho Chis are sorority members who
disaffiliate from their houses during
Rush in order to assist rushees with the
often intimidating rush process. Rho
Chis are selected by the previous year's
Rho Chis. Prospective Rho Chis must
hand in an application and go through
an extensive interviewing process.
"The role of a Rho Chi is to be an
unbiased member of the Greek system.
We all disaffiliate from our houses and
become Rush counselors. We are here
to help the rushees with problems and
make them feel comfortable," said
Sherry, a Rho Chi who would not give
her last name.
Rho Chis said the purpose of "mix-
ers" is to allow the rushees to talk to
people and very casually try to get a feel
for each house and its personality.
"I really wanted to get to know the
rushees. The rushees and the Rho Chis
have such different views of Rush. It is
nice to see them so excited, and to see
Rush from adifferentperspective," said
Rho Chi Samantha Stallos, a senior
nursing student.
Sherryadded, "Itisalotmore fun tobe
a Rho Chi than to be arushee. Itis nice to
visit different houses and become friends
with other sorority members."
Most rushees called Rush extremely
tiring. Many said the cold weatheradded
to their discomfort.
Many said they rushed to meet
people, but some were just curious and
wanted to test the waters.
Melissa Goist, an LSA sophomore,
said, "I waited until this year to Rush, as
opposed to rushing last year, so that I
could have the chance to meet people
other than sorority members before I
rushed. I decided to do it this year
because I'm trying to see what it is like
and what it is all about."
Most sorority members felt that al-
though Rush was tiring, it strengthened
the bonds within the houses and was a
lot of fun.
"Rush involved a great time com-
mitment on both the sides of the house
members and the rushees. It brings the
whole house together because of the
time spent together and Rush is always
a lot of fun," said LSA junior Lara
Wiskin, a Delta Phi Epsilon member.
'You spend so much time together
that everyone gets closer," said LSA
senior Nikki Rosenkrantz, amember of
Delta Zeta.
'The time commitment hasn't been
that bad yet, but the process can be ex-
hausting. It will get worse later, butIhave
already gone through Rush four times so
ELIZABETH LIPPMAN/Daily
Sorority members bid a rushee goodbye as she leaves for the next house.
I'm used to it," Rosenkrantz said.
BothrusheesandmembersofPanhel
seem to support the present system.
"I like the system because you get to
talk one-on-one with the sorority mem-
bers. Theymake anefforttocomearound
and talk to you," said Amy Adams, a
first-year LSA student.
Panhel Publicity Director Wilde
added, "We are continually looking for
ways to fine-tune Rush. There are no
more major changes. The fact that ev-
eryone must visit every house elimi-
nates any bias that could be involved."
The only change in Rush this year is
the change in cost of$25 registration fee
or $20 pre-registration fee.
"The cost is $10 less than last year
and we are trying to continue to de-
crease the cost to make it as low as
possible," said Panhel Financial Advi-
sor Chrissy Simonte, a Business School
senior.
Wilde said Rush is less formal than
it has been in the past.
"It is definitely more acceptable to
wear jeans for 'mixers' than in the past.
We don't want girls to feel like they
have to buy a prom dress for final deserts
either. Things should be based on con-
versation and not on what they are wear-
ing," said Wilde.
NASA launches Discovery
Shuttle crew prepares to launch communications satellite
Lc werYour
Electric Bills.
CAPECANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)-
On its fourth try, Discovery roared away
on a satellite-delivery mission yester-
day with five astronauts jubilant to be in
space at last.
"Hey Houston, I gotta tell ya, you've
never seen five happier guys up here,"
commanderFrankCulbertson told Mis-
sion Control.
"It's been a long time coming."
Culbertson and his crew quickly
began preparing for their first majorjob
in orbit of the earth - releasing an
experimental communications satellite.
The Advanced Communications
Technology Satellite was to be ejected
from Discovery eight hours into the
flight.
An rocket attached to the space
shuttle was to propel the satellite from
Discovery's 184-mile-high orbit to an
altitude of 22,300 miles.
Discovery's flighthadbeen delayed
five times since mid-July for equipment
failures, payload concerns and even a
meteor shower.
Twoof the three earlier countdowns
had been halted in the final 19 seconds.
This time - countdown No. 4 -
everything worked and Discovery rose
promptly at 7:45 a.m. from its seaside
launch pad.
Two engine pump sensors failed on
the way up, but that incident posed no
problemfor the mission since identical
sensors worked fine, said launch direc-
Hey, Houston, I gotta tell
ya, you've never seen five
happier guys up here. it's
been a long time coming.
- Commander Frank
Culberston
Discovery astronaut
tor Bob Sieck.
If one of those sensors had failed
prior to launch, however, it would have
meant another aborted launch for the
Discovery.
A broken fuel-flow sensor caused
lastmonth'sengine shutdown three sec-
onds before liftoff.
It is NASA's 57th shuttle mission
and the fifth this year.
Besides deploying the communica-
tions satellite and an ultraviolet tele-
scope, the crew is to conduct a six-hour
spacewalk to test tools needed for the
Hubble Space Telescope repair mission
in December.
Thursday's spacewalk by James
NewmanandCarl Walz willbeNASA's
last before tackling Hubble.
Five and possibly seven spacewalks
are planned for the telescope repair
mission.
The communications satellite car-
ried up by Discovery, called ACTS, is
designed to transmit data 20 times faster
than present craft.
Project managers said it could, one
day, shrink the size of satellite dishes to
1 1/2 feet in diameter, which is much
smaller than their current size.
Over the next two years, 73 experi-
ments are planned by communication
companies, broadcasting services, uni-
versities, hospitals, the government,
scientific organizarions and corpora-
tions, and others.
The satellite cost $363 million to
build and maintain and the attached
rocket another $100 million for con-
struction and upkeep.
The star-scanning ultraviolet tele-
scope, to be released Monday, is
mounted on a reusable German plat-
form along with a spectrograph to study
interstellar gas.
The astronauts are to retrieve the
platform before coming home.
Discovery's 10-day mission is due
to end with an early-morning landing
Sept. 22 at Kennedy Space Center. It
would be the first shuttle touchdown in
darkness atKennedy, something NASA
has tried to avoid in the past because of
the increased risk.
Walz, mission specialist No. 3, be-
came the 300th person to fly in space,
NASA said.
The100thand200th space voyagers
were Russian.
t
4
Events
mi1
Student aouos
Henderson room, 4 p.m.
" i
y3 .:. ;:. ..1
.:zs t::" ' '.
t " .,
..F 1 z.., .. ....
: