KICK IT EAT UP!
Eastern women’s soccer falls to Oakland and Northern Illinois in its season openers.
Page 8
Thomas Dining Hall now serves Mexican food at the Sombreros station. Page 2
Dai ly Eastern News
THE
WWW.DAILYEASTERNNEWS.COM
Monday, Aug. 26, 2013
VOL. 98 | ISSUE 7
“TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID”
activities | YARD SHOW
C AMPUS | POSITIONS
Student Senate to expand members By Debby Hernandez Staff Reporter @den_news
K atie smith | The Daily Eastern Ne ws
Brandon Byers, a junior applied engineering and technology major and member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated, shouts his fraternity’s call during Meet The Greeks Yard Show 5 p.m. on Friday in front of the Doudna steps.
Greeks show off moves to campus By Bob Galuski News Editor @DEN_News
With standing room only around the Doudna Fine Arts Center steps and surrounding Library Quad, members of the National Panhellenic Council strolled across with rhythmic steps and sounds. Following a roll call of all the fraternities and sororities, the show began with pounding music and steady clapping in a display for what is called a “yard show.” Each of the fraternities and sororities had their turn to shine, and just before beginning their performance, a member would give a brief history of the organization. Some of the performances, like the one performed by members of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, relied on props.
The fraternity members sauntered to the front of the steps with red-andwhite-striped canes. Tapping the canes on the ground to the beat, the members spun slowly around, finally settling in a crouched position. Jarvis Burke, the historian for the NPHC and a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, said he enjoyed the performance because it was a way to spread the word about the different organizations on Eastern’s campus. “It’s about Greek unity,” he said. “We’re here to show everybody we are here. We want to let them know, educate them on who we are.” He said it was also a time for new students to see the variety of organizations on campus. With yellow roses in their mouths, members of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity incorporated kicked off the succession of performances.
They brought out different women from varying sororities to help them gracefully remove their jackets before spinning around and handing off the rose to their helper. Once the jackets were removed, the audience could see their formal clothes — button down shirts and bow ties – the members of the fraternity looked like they were getting ready for prom, not a yard show. Props, like the roses and striped canes, were not the only way the members of the organizations made their presence known. Members of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, incorporated — or “Que Dogs” — stepped out in front of the audience, decked out in camouflage vests and pants. Throughout the performances two of the fraternities had a friendly competition and got into a chant-battle, which ended in a breakout of frater-
nity members pushing and yelling at each other. The breakout stemmed when members of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, incorporated ended their yard show by throwing money on members of the Alphas. Sampson Maggette, a member of Sigma, said the money they threw was just a prop, and the gesture was nothing personal against the Alphas. “We weren’t trying to start a confrontation,” Maggette said. “It was all friendly.” Frequently during the individual fraternity and sorority chants, the members would make fun of the other groups. “They don’t even go here,” was a loud chant from the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, incorporated in retaliation to the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority who are not associated with Eastern’s campus.
GREEK, page 5 Cit y | Enter tainment
Air show brings jet-powered thrills Community members show for annual spectacle By Seth Schroeder Editor-in-Chief @den_news With smoke trailing behind them, a DHC-1 Chipmunk air-
plane and a school bus equipped with a jet engine raced toward each other on the runway of the Coles County Memorial Airport. As the two vehicles zipped past each other and disappeared behind a smokescreen, the nearby crowd cheered at the stunt. Audience member Danny Coad, of Toledo, laughed with his mother, Donna Coad, and his son, David.
“ They looked like they were playing chicken,” he said to his family. When the plane and the bus lined up on the runway again, they were preparing to race headto-head for the Coles County Airshow’s finale event Saturday. The two vehicles took off with smoke trailing them once again. At first, the Chipmunk had a clear advantage and was able to ac-
celerate past the school bus early on. After ejecting an explosive fireball, however, the bus gained a burst of speed. With orange waves of heat trailing behind it, the bus reached nearly 300 mph, passing the Chipmunk and burning nearly 150 gallons of fuel before crossing the finish line.
AIR SHOW, page 5
Members of the Student Senate are hoping to fill several senator positions through student applications. Student Senate Speaker Jesse Green said applications are open to anyone interested in representing the voice of around 500 students. Executive Vice President Mitchell Gurick said Student Senate members address the needs of students and communicates these needs to administration. “We are looking for a wide variety of students who are willing to serve the student body in an unbiased way,” Gurick said. Those interested in becoming a Student Senate member must meet a few requirements, which include having a minimum GPA of 2.5, holding good standing at Eastern, attending a minimum of two office hours each week, attend all weekly Student Senate meetings and serving on a senate committee. Applications should be turned before 4:30 p.m. on Friday, and are available on the student government website. Student Senate meets at 7 p.m. every Wednesday in the Arcola/Tuscola Room at the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. Student Senate works with other campus organizations, such as the Eastern Student Life department. Members also host functions like First Night, Pantherpalooza and Pizza with the Prez. “It is a positive experience,” Gurick said. “You get to meet campus leaders and be up to date on campus.” Green said the goal of the senate is to help students. He said the voting process consists of proposing a bill, debating it and discussing its funding, with an overall purpose of recognizing student concerns. The student government legislative branch consists of a speaker of the senate and 30 senators, all of which serve in one of the eight committees. They range from student affairs to external relationships between the community and Eastern, and international affairs within student government. Each committee consists of three to five members, each focusing on specific projects.
STUDENT SENATE, page 3