THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Tyler Sizemore/Collegian
Stduents clean mats for the Bryce Jordan Center as part of the Fresh START Day of Service on Saturday. Fresh
START is Penn State's largest day of service, intended for incoming freshmen and students who transfer to campus.
Students sacrifice day for service
By Alyssa Sweeney
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
While the rest of State College
slept soundly. 800 freshmen gath
ered in the HUB-Robeson Center
at 8 a.m. Saturday for the annual
Fresh START Day of Service.
Students lined up for free
bagels, doughnuts and coffee
while music blasted through a
packed Alumni Hall, sacrificing
their sleep to complete commu
nity service project sites around
the Centre Region.
"Since I would only be sleeping
anyway. I might as well get up
and do something good," Lauren
Barrett (freshman-division of
undergraduate studies) said.
"Plus, it's a good way to meet
people."
The idea behind the event is to
instill in freshmen a lifelong com
mitment to community service,
executive director Carolyn
Higgins said.
"It's important to learn about
the community and environment
you're in, and it's a great intro
duction to what they'll be a part
of for the next four years. -
Higgins tjunior-nursing) said.
Students were organized into
groups and taken by six fleet
busses and several vans to
places like the Arboretum,
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"We have our own zip code, but that doesn't
mean we're not part of something bigger than
ourselves."
Shavers Creek and assisted liv
ing Li(iiiities. They were brought
hack at 3 p.m. for a free lunch and
for a period of reflection. Higgins
said.
State College Mayor Elizabeth
Goreham and Robert Reason.
associate professor in the
College Student Affairs and
Higher Education programs.
spoke about the importance of
service and what the participants
would learn from it.
I'm just amazed," Goreham
said. - To me, seeing college stu
dents learning and sharing what
they learn on campus and this
involvement in the community --
that's what makes this Happ
Valley.'
The task of organizing 800 stu
dents, finding transportation.
assigning locations, recruiting
sponsors and advertising the
event began last November for 17
students and one adviser
And on the day of the event,
organizers were up extra early.
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"My day started at 6:30 a.m. We
had to be here extra early to set
everything up, - committee mem
ber Cassie Horn (junior-broad
cast journalism) said. "It's
stressful, but so rewarding."
Higgins attended the event as
a freshman in 2008.
"I was hooked immediately,
she said.
Ever since, she's been working
to make Penn State's largest day
of community service what it is.
- It's kind of like a 'pay it for
ward' thing. We keep it going for
all the students in the coming
years, like they did for us,"
Higgins said.
.A lot of times, we forget that
there's a whole community
around us beyond the boundaries
of campus that could use our
help. We have our own zip code,
but that doesn't mean we're not
part of something bigger than
ourselves."
To erne!' reporter: arss474@psu.edu
fully furnished
Carolyn Higgins
junior nursing
Fraternity breaks
mold, stereotypes
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the
first in a five part series offer
ing a closer look at the rush
ing process.
By Vera Greene
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
At Penn State, a fraternity can
usually be defined by its house, its
strictly male membership and the
notion that its members are part
of a single brotherhood for life.
But Phi Sigma Pi members say
they are defined by the exact
opposite.
As a co-ed national honors fra
ternity, Phi Sigma Pi is by no
means "typical," rush chairman
Kyle Rice said.
As a melting pot for different
majors, backgrounds and sexes,
Phi Sigma Pi isn't considered
"mainstream, - and Rice (junior
political science and history) is
content with that. In fact, he
prefers it.
Rice said his fraternity offers
more than mainstream greek life
in many ways. "I feel we are a lot
more well rounded," he said.
"We're also very motivated to do
well in school."
Some members even started off
in an Interfraternity Council-rec
ognized fraternity and switched
over to Phi Sigma Pi after realiz
ing other fraternities weren't for
them, Rice said.
But he said sometimes people
stay in both an IFC fraternity and
the honors fraternity
- It's absolutely fine," Rice said.
"We don't discriminate, and it
brings a lot of diversity to the
group. -
Tara Lepelletier, rush chair
woman and a brother at Phi
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Sigma Pi, said that though it's an
honors fraternity Phi Sigma Pi
isn't just focused on school. Its
members do things regular frater
nities do, like participate in intra
mural sports, have socials and get
involved with Homecoming.
"We go to lectures on campus
together, and sometimes grill out,"
she said.
Phi Sigma Pi doesn't have a
house, but Lepelletier said it does
n't matter because many of the
members live together around
campus.
Unlike the formal IFC rush, the
rush process for Phi Sigma Pi
includes two business casual
meet-and-greets, a pizza social
and other events designed to help
new recruits meet the fraternity
brothers.
Dues mainly go to coordinating
the rush process and entering dif
ferent philanthropic events such
as Relay for Life, Rice said.
Chapter president Paul
Imbarlina said that as a nervous
and homesick freshman, rushing
Phi Sigma Pi was the best deci
sion he has ever made.
"I've made my best friends and
it just really forced me to get
involved in different things,"
Imbarlina (junior-accounting)
said.
Imbarlina said he made the
right decision in choosing his fra
ternity, which he sees as having
"less politics" over an IFC frater
nity
To e-mail reporter: vhgsoo3@psu.edu