FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2001
A busy week for Greeks
Second annual Greek Awards Banquet honors
sororities and fraternities
by Hillary Hawranko
staff writer
The Behrend fraternities and sororities
have been working year-round to improve
the image of Greek life on campus, as well
as in the community. Their efforts were
recognized on April 9 at the Second annual
Greek Awards Banquet, held in the Reed
Commons. Various awards were
presented to Behrend's five social
fraternities and three social sororities.
The recipients of the Greek Week
Champions Award went to the Theta Phi
Alpha sorority and the Tau Kappa Epsilon
fraternity. The Greek Week events, which
are held in October, included an obstacle
course, tug-o-war, lip sync contest, and
chariot race. This is an annual event held
once a year to bring Behrend's Greek
system together in a competitive yet fun
atmosphere.
The Most Successful Rush Program
Award was given to a sorority and
fraternity for their exceptional recruitment
efforts made during the rush season. This
award went to Alpha Sigma Alpha
Sorority and Sigma Kappa Nu Fraternity.
Alpha Sigma Alpha also received an
award for the Most Outstanding Campus
Social Event. The sorority's Annual Date
Auction brings together the student body
to bid on their fellow classmates. The
The Zeta Beta Tau fraternity held its annual walk to Pittsburgh last
weekend. The ZBTs are shown here in front of the Reed Union
Building at the start of their trek.
The Greek Column
This has been a busy past couple
of weeks for the Greek community
at Behrend. Most importantly,
congratulations to the new initiates
of Alpha Sigma Alpha, Theta Phi
Alpha, Sigma Tau Gamma, Tau
Kappa Epsilon, Delta Chi, Sigma
Kappa Nu, and Zeta Beta Tau. We
wish you the best success in the
future and hope you will do your
best to keep the traditions of Greek
life alive at Behrend.
On April 9, the second annual
Greek Awards Banquet was held
in the Reed Commons. Among the
awards presented were the Most
Successful Rush Program, Most
Outstanding Philanthropic Event,
Top Chapter Honor Certificates,
New Member Recognition, Most
Involved i a Outside
Organizations, the Humanitarian
Award, and The Christopher L.
Rizzo Greek Life Award. Special
congratulations to Michael Chase
(ZBT) and Sara Patrick (AEA) for
being awarded Greek Man and
Woman of the Year. Also, the
Behrend Greeks would like to
thank Jerri Clorley of Student
Activities for helping make this
awards banquet such a success.
On April 25 the women of the
Behrend Panhellenic Council will
be participating with Behrend's
Women Today Organization in the
annual Take Back the Night Walk.
The women of Alpha Sigma Alpha walked away from the Greek
Awards Banquet with the awards for Most Successful Rush Program
and Most Outstanding Campus Social Event. ASA Advisor Maria
Madigan (third from left) received the Most Outstanding Advisor
Award.
money raised benefited the Special
Olympics and the S. June Smith Center,
Alpha Sigma Alpha's two philanthropies.
With the help and involvement of so many
students, the sorority was able to donate
more that $1,500 to the two organizations.
Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity was the
The walk begins at 7:00 p.m. in
Perry Square.
Theta Phi Alpha Sorority will be
celebrating their founder's day on
April 29. Theta Phi Alpha was
originally founded in Ann Arbor
Michigan on April 30, 1912.
Sigma Tau Gamma and Tau
Kappa Epsilon held their annual
football game this past weekend.
The Sig Taus won 6-0. The Sig
Taus will also be volunteering
their time at the Beverly Center, a
senior citizen home, in the near
future. Also this past weekend was
the ZBT annual Walk to
Pittsburgh. Further information on
the ZBT walk will follow in the
next installment of the Greek
Column.
The Greek Column is a paid advertisement by the
Intrafraternity Council.
recipient of the Most Outstanding
Philanthropic Event Award. The brothers
of this fraternity took it upon themselves
to raise money for a local church in
Wesleyville that had suffered damage due
to a fire. The proceeds from a 50/50 raffle
went to help restore the church.
The Most Outstanding Advisor Award
went to Maria Madigan, Alpha Sigma
Alpha's advisor. Madigan is an alumna
of Alpha Sigma Alpha and graduated in
the fall of 1998. Since then, she has
continued to work on Behrend's campus.
As the Residence Coordinator of Perry
Hall, Madigan also works in the Residence
Life Office in the Reed Union Building.
In the past two years as an advisor for
Alpha Sigma Alpha, Madigan has assisted
the chapter with nonbiased guidance,
attended the sorority's Centennial
Convention this past summer, and
participates in the annual Officer Academy
workshops on behalf of the chapter.
Although not a member of the Greek
community, Kimberly Smith received The
Christopher L. Rizzo Greek Life Award.
This award is given to a Behrend staff
member who has made numerous
contributions to the Greek system. As
SGA Financial Supervisor at the RUB
Desk, Smith assists the organizations with
their various fundraising events
throughout the year. The members of
Behrend's Greek community were proud
to present Smith with this honor.
NEW
The mysteries
Students and the public were finally
able to peer into the depths of space
with Behrend's new telescope. On
March 23 the sky was clear and the
stars were shining. After the lecture
given by Dr. Roger Knacke's niece
Jennifer Ahlfeldt on ancient Mayan
astronomy, everyone proceeded to the
observatories to look at the night sky.
The telescope's high-powered eye
was fixed on the solar system's sixth
planet Saturn. The high resolution
showed Saturn and its rings very
clearly, according to observer Dan
Semeca.
"I was surprised how clearly Saturn
appeared. I felt as if I could reach into
the telescope and grab it. It's amazing
that you could see something that far
away," said Semeca.
The lecture that preceded the
viewing of the stars was on ancient
Mayan civilization and their
relationship to the heavens. The
Mayans were believed to have had
great knowledge of the solar system
Conclusion of
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of Mayan astronomy revealed
and the planets. In the city of Chick'en
Itza, they had built a pyramid that, at
the right time of day, would cast a
shadow of a snake down the steps of
the pyramid. This projection indicates
that they must have had some idea of
how the solar system works and of the
revolution of the Earth.
The Maya worshiped the sun and
built massive structures to
commemorate their beliefs. Modern
scientists have learned about their
culture through the hieroglyphics that
they left behind. Hieroglyphics are
pictures made in stone that tell a
specific story. The Mayans Were also
said to have had books and a system
of writing. The Mayans had their own
number system, and they were able to
grasp the concept of zero.
Their civilization had a 260-day
calendar that was divided into 13
months with 20 days in each month.
['he Mayan agriculture also provided
a reason for building those massive
structures. They used the pyramids
and other buildings to look at the sky
to tell them when they should start
planting crops.
the Provost's Speaker Series
(Giant Eagle Plaza)
choose and pepperoni
Observing the sun helped them to
understand space and time. They
would align three temples in a row,
all focusing back to one point. When
the sun would line up with the
windows in the temple, it told' them
the season they were in.
They also could predict eclipses,
which were very frightening to their
civilization because they blocked the
one thing they worshiped the most.
Another frightening sight that was
viewed by the Mayans were comets.
They were frightened by the comets
because they could not predict their
rotation.
Around 1,000 A.D. an observatory
was built to study the planet Venus.
Mayans also studied the constellation
Orion and are believed to have had 13
Zodiac signs. The Milky Way, for
instance, was depicted as a two
headed serpent.
Scientists describe the Maya as an
ancient society, meaning old and not
very advanced. Considering what
they had to work with stone
temples and the naked eye they
were very advanced indeed.
Dr. Syed Saad Andaleeb,
associate professor of mar
keting, concluded the 2000-
2001 Provost's Speaker Se
ries with his lecture "Teaching
Research: Challenges and
Payoffs," which was given on
Monday, April 2 in the Reed
Lecture Hall. Dr. Andaleeb, a
native of Bangladesh, is
currently an editor for the
Journal of Bangladesh Stud
ies, sponsored by the
Bangladesh Development
Initiative and the Association
for Economic and Develop
ment Studies on Bangladesh.
PHOTO BY NEIL MAKADIA
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