OCR::/Vol_102/WLURG39_RTP_20000101/WLURG39_RTP_20000101_001.2.txt J‘ ~(~...~— Clliiz fling-tum ifllii WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIvERsrrY’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA 24450 MONDAY, JANUARY 10, 2000 photo by Emily Bames/Photo Editor THE BENEFITS OF SISTERHOOD: About half of the Chi Omega pledge class pose after they received their bids on Saturday, carnations in hand. 55?. /2 - 2.. VOLUME 102, No.16 Frosh S r ' Rush 2000 goes off without a glitch as Bid Day passes By Max Smith NEWSEDITOR They came. They stood around with balloons. They talked about their breaks. They sang. They danced. They clapped. Some cried. Some cheered. Most were just glad it was over come Saturday. Sorority Rush came and went again last week. The University Center was crowded with cookies, decora- tions and 172 freshmen women last week. “It ‘was a heck of an experience to meet a bunch of people,” said freshman Laura Bruno, whojoined Kappa Delta. “It was crazy when it was going on, but when it was over it was fulfilling.” Rush started Tuesday night with Philanthropy night, in which participants made crafts for various charity groups. Skit Night followed with the freshmen attend- ing just four sororities. Sisterhood Night came on Thursday, a night on which sororities show videos with group pictures. Friday night, Preference Night, was more serious since it featured official ceremonies as the girls made their final choices. After narrowing down their selections, it all ended on Saturday's Bid Day. “I thought it would be a lot worse than it was be- cause of horror stories I had heard from friends at other schools,” Bruno said. “But nobody was mean here.” “Most people had a positive rush experience,” Said Rho Chi Hayley Hall. “It wasjust like any other year. It ran smoothly and there were no rush violations.” Panhellenic Rush Chairman Elizabeth Holleman re- ported no problems as well. “I had a lot of fun,” Holleman said. “I think a lot of freshmen and sororities are very happy with the re- sults.” F 0 0 0 Greek organizations follow 10- Greek academic rankings year trend of increasing GPAS Lpjji 40 3,374 _ 2. Lambda Chi 12 3.245 BxvMa>E< Smith 3. PiKa 33 3.241 EWS DITOR - - 4. Sigma Chi 45 3.237 The Hill won’t be putting W&L fraternities on “double 5' Phi Psi 40 3205 secret probation” for this year. Fraternities and sorori- 6- KA 28 3-167 ties posted some of the highest grades in school his— All Students 1,695 3.129 IOU’ f311t€FIT1- All fraternity men 552 3.123 pat‘t‘It’s ysetrfy inteoretstfingebeliauseagt most Schoois) the 7. SAE 48 3.114 em a m S ra mi y gr es are going wn, _ but W&L is different” said Dean of Students David 8' Slgma Nu 22 3’086 Howison. “Academics have significantly improved in 9- SPE 48 3-080 the last 10 years since the Fraternity Renaissance.” 10. Phi Delt 41 3.076 Fiji recorded the hig1he§t3average oftany Greek orga- 11_ Chi psi 34 3_063 nization on campus wit a . 74, a signi icant turnaround 947 041 from their 1 1th place finish in Winter Term 1997. Sources m,en P , K 48 021 said Fiji’s finish was only the second time a fraternity ' (he) 1_“ _ap ' finished in front ofa sorority. The big finish came unex- P1 Pl“ 37 3-021 pected for the FIJI brothers themselves. 14. Kappa Sig I 45 3.008 “We’re pretty surprised. We’ve always done well, 15_ Beta 32 2_981 but a bunch of guys did really well this semester,” said N _f - 391 2 925 FIJI junior Andrew Simmons. “It’s not like we sit to- on ratermty men ' gether and study. We werejust Y2K-compliant.” 1. Pi Phi 68 3.331 Pi Beta Phi led the sororities with a 3.331, a post they 2. Kappa 76 3,296 also held winter term. Non-sorority women had the low- 3. Chi O 79 3293 est grades among women at W&L with a 3.178. Non- 4 All . 399 3 290 fraternity men finished last among men with a 2.925. SAE ' soronty women ° shot up to seventh last term, posting a 3.114 average 5- KD 104 3-270 GPA after spending the last two years near the bottom 6. Theta 72 3.263 Ofthe TaI1kiHgS- . O 7. All women 748 3.240 h “Phase gn.itdes]t:re a s1t1r°ng,,r:Iflec.tl°n ogthls 8. Non-sorority women 349 3.178 sc oo 5 commi men 0 exce ence, owison sai . 9. All Students 1,695 3.129 takes highest fall term GPA W&L’S Qpen dggr Two W&L juniors explored the mysteries of the Far East (and their discos) last semester while studying in Hong Kong By Max Smith NEWS EDITOR Beijing. Tiannenmen Square. The 50th Anniversary Celebration ofCommuniSm in China. Fireworks and military marches. Two W&L guys. Huge portraits of Chairman Mao. What doesn’t fit? It doesn’t matter what you think. W&Ljuniors John Fuller and John Fidler caught a flight from Hong Kong with some other exchange students for a celebration where you wouldn’t expect a bunch of Yankees to be welcome. “We weren’t worried, but we were the only Americans we could see,” said Fidler. The two spent last term in Hong Kong as part of an exchange pro- gram with Chung Chi College, part ofthe Chinese University of Hong Kong. ' History professor Roger Jeans, who has taught both students, was impressed with their trip to Beijing. “I thought it was buccaneerish in the extreme,” Jeans said. “It was brave ofthem because there could have been trouble with their po- lice.” The two hadn’t taken Chinese before, but that waSn’t a problem since most people in Hong Kong speak English, especially at the college. Fidler took business classes, while Fuller Stuck with Chinese history. Both took Chi- nese as well. Hong Kong was “faSt-paced and frenetic” for Fidler. Outside the classroom, Fuller and Fidler took advantage oftheir, Far East locale with several trips. They went to the Philippines, which Fidler said was “pretty Third World” ever since several Ameri- can military bases moved out. They also travelled to Thailand, where the people were relaxed and cordial. “Thailand was like the Carib- bean, we stayed near the beach and the food was great,” Fidler said. The two also went to Macao, via jetboat, an island next to Hong Kong that was a Portuguese colony. Fidler said the entire economy is based on gambling and is a seedier version ofLas Vegas. But Beijing was one ofthe more interesting destinations for the two. Besides the celebration of Communism, Fidler said Beijing also has the best nightlife. They went to two basketball areI~a—Sized discos, with people dancing in cages and pumping music. “It was like Studio 54,” Fidler said. “China is more Western than you think. It’s less Communist and socialist than just authoritative.” Fidler said, if he had to do it all over again, he’d stay for the whole year. He wants to get an internship in Hong Kong this year and possi- bly live there for a few years‘ after graduation. Jeans said Fidler and Fuller’S ex- perience is critical in getting a real education. He said learning about places and actually seeing them go hand in hand. Being there breathes life into the material you’ve studied. “Travels like this are a real eye- opener,” Jeans said. “It’s critical for growth of personality. It’s a great gift to get an intimate ac- quaintance with another society while gaining a new perspective on your own society.” photo by Emily Bes/Photo Editr WAITING FOR GODOT OR_wiIAT?: Freshmen rushees looking at the pretty ceiling during one of Rush’s slower moments. OPINION: W&LIFE: Speakin’ easy SPORTS: LAST WORD: Cilia King-tum ifllii January 10, 2000 Selling out, or not? Basketball’s second chances Century of Cynicism PAGE 3 PAGE 4 PAGE 6 PAGE 8 photo by Emily Bames/Photo Editor WRESTLING MANIA: W&L wrestling won 2-3 at Quadrangular. OCR::/Vol_102/WLURG39_RTP_20000101/WLURG39_RTP_20000101_002.2.txt PAGE 2 (I111: itling-tum lflhi NEWS JANUARY 10, 2000 ‘Z photo by hmily flames/Photo l:.dl(0l' - REGISTRATION Woes: Sophomore Todd Gosselink and frosh Connor Kirsch try and fix }their schedules in add/drop week. E-mail General Notes to Student managers sought “JAVA at the GHQ”, a new campus coffee house, is seeking two student managers to help plan and run the coffeehouse weekly on Wednesday evenings, beginning Jan. 19th. Work hours will be approximately 8:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m each Wednesday evening. Duties include: over- all responsibility for beverage operation, cash handling, clean up and securing the GHQ at the conclusion of events. There is also the opportunity to assist in planning enter- tainment, menu, special events and promotions to meet student interests. Stipend is $50.00 per evening for each manager. Inquiries should be directed to Mr. Lynn at the GHQ (x8578, jlynn@wlu.edu) no later than Jan. 12. University-Shenandoah Symphony takes flight The legend of the Zhar-Ptitsa, the magical bird with wings of gold, will be told in music when the Washington and Lee University-Shenandoah Symphony Orchestra presents a concert on Saturday, Jan. 15 in the Lenfest Center for the Performing Arts at 8 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public. Under the direction of W&L Associate Professor of Music Barry Kohnan, the USSO will perform Stravinsky's Ballet, The Firebird, one of the most famous compositions of the 20th century. The music follows the Russian tale of Prince Ivan who goes hunting and encounters a fabulous bird with plumage of fire, plucking golden fruit from a £¢«§¢&ss(4_6 Come and write for @112 fling-tum iflhi Join in the fun, laughter, and behind-the-scenes excitement of W&L’s oldest and‘ most prestigious newspaper email us at phi@wlu.edu or call 4060 and leave a message Whmaq Atouaw Mt Adams Laura LeLqhBudu9e/22 Daha Boom VVl12mdd>9tB<9ze% St240i\anLaBrLqqs Laura Bruno ’~DaLqeBn4amb Gui Cortzz Stuart Crtqior Bwrhe ’Dwtcaw Mara» at 7 tiwfietta - ®hdqi Class appa Data 96 law Eaqiut Ea-czotowt 1-“arm:/i Alia Giddtnqs 2960» Graham Brodie G’Y€q®f|,f Alibsow Gtwwaid Caitteruw -l-iemscw Mist/zih Law 414 Luitxlcww Awe Lotz lifts ¢>s€€'u1a 4— Ci\rLstuai>r‘u1qt\om A»waEand "