Panhellenic Building

Hundreds of women spend hundreds of hours in the Stacy Riddle Panhellenic Building every week. With eight sororities filling the chapter rooms in this building there is always an event being discussed and preparations being made for recruitment.

Recently the sororities hosted Fall Parties where prospective members went through each room and met girls that could one day be their sisters. These women will arrive onto campus a week earlier than the rest of the student body for the spring semester so that they can participate in formal recruitment parties.

Each chapter room in this building is different because each sorority is diferent. Some groups have delicate china and beautiful carpet, a few have hardwood floors and grand chandeliers, others have retro vibes with bright colors. There is also a computer lab, chapel, and graduate housing in the Panhellenic building.

Every week sororities have meetings in their rooms to provide information and instill tradition into their members. The weeks of Pigskin, Sing, and recruitment are the busiest for most of these groups.

The Panhellenic Building can become a third home for most sorority members after spending so much time within its walls.

SUB

Nicknamed the SUB, the Student Union Building is located in the heart of campus. Amongst Fountain Mall, the Bear Pit, and the student plaza, the SUB is accessible for every student on the Baylor campus.

Whether you're there to eat, grab mail, get a haircut, or work, everyone can find a reason to drop by the SUB. Offering Chick-Fil-A, Ninfa's, Quizno's, Starbucks, and many other popular options students have a variety of food and drinks to choose from. Many students find themselves enjoying the company of friends in the SUB's dining hall.

The mail center has post boxes for students living on campus and a mail room that anyone can send mail out of. This part of the SUB also backs up to the ticket counters and entertainment room. Ticket counters allow for students to swipe their ID cards for sports and productions put on by Baylor.

Entertaining many, the SUB has a stage set up in front of couches and a generous media room for students to use during events and for classwork. Greek Life and Baylor Activities Council host musical events on the stage a few times a year.

The SUB is also home to a local barbershop and the offices of many of Baylor's organizations.

Moody Library

Just down Fountain Mall from the Student Union Building, Moody Library sits in it's architectural grandeur waiting for students to discover it. Once discovered, students will flock to the library for any of their study needs.

Groups meet in the library's foyer on a regular basis because it is one of the few spots where noise is tolerated. Some of the projects that students work on require that communication with a librarian must occur. Librarians are accessible not only in person but also in a chatroom that the library's website offers.

Situated in alcoves and between stacks of books, private desks and study rooms are available for those that need some quite-time when they are studying. Groups and individuals can reserve study rooms to prepare themselves for upcoming exams and assignments.

For those that choose to spend the night studying in Moody there are vending machines that allow for some late night snacking with friends. Some students choose to order in or bring in their own food.

With final exams just a few weeks away Moody Library can accommodate for almost any study habit. Whether you choose to work in groups or you can only study by yourself, the library is a great place to focus and make memories.

Mini-biography

Born and raised in Amarillo, Texas, Lauren Krieg is the oldest daughter of Timothy and Sabrina Krieg. In high school Lauren was an all-around personality playing sports, leading organizations, and working on the school's publications.

During her junior year Lauren was a nanny to a family with three daughters, working 15 hours a week. She has been employed by Eddie Bauer since leaving the family and has enjoyed working with a variety of people, earning Employee of the Month twice.

In her freshman year at Baylor University in Waco, Texas Lauren joined Baylor Business Women and quickly became part of the publicity committee. She also joined the Beta Tau chapter of Delta Delta Delta.

Currently in her sophomore year Lauren is majoring in Journalism-Public Relations with a minor in Studio Art, emphasizing in photography. She is a member of the Public Reltaions Student Society of America.

Student Life Center

The Student Life Center, most commonly referred to as The SLC, is home to the Baylor Health Clinic and workout facilities. This hangout is dedicated to those in pursuit of a healthy lifestyle.

Staking claim as one of the tallest in the state, the SLC's rock wall towers over students as they walk into the building. Some even say that it looks like a bear from just the right angle. This rock wall is available for use any time that a member of the wall's staff is available to assist.

The Bear Fit program, taught by Baylor students, is a series of workout classes throughout the day at the different gynmasiums on campus. Classes vary in aptitude and range from spin to pilates. Signs for this program are displayed in the SLC and offer friends a chance to catch up with one another while burning calories and gaining fitness.

Students can sign up to participate in intramurals through organizations and housing that are often played on any of the four courts within the building. There is also an indoor running track above the courts that allows students and faculty alike to enjoy the comforts of being inside.

Allowing for a good work out while studying or enjoying the company of others, The SLC is a great place to hang out when the need to stretch limbs arises.

Student hangouts: Common Grounds

For the next few weeks I'll be posting about some favorite spots for students to hangout on and around Baylor's campus.

My favorite place: Common Grounds. It's got a wide variety of warm and cool cafe beverages, tasty little cake balls for when you need to treat yourself, and an environment that I want so badly to recreate in my living room. I would suggest bringing along earphones and some cool tunes if you're studying because it can get noisy when traffic is at it's height.

The coffee shop was started as a business school project that perpetuated into a thriving business in the mid-70s. Utilizing a home off of the I-35 8th Street exit, the store maintains a tradition of college bohemian decor.

With it's prime location near many of the freshman dorms Common Grounds receives a steady flow of customers throughout the day. Students are attracted to the shop by word-of-mouth and the flyers posted around campus advertising for their open-mic nights and concerts.

Artists that perform at Common Grounds are usually Christian groups that have a following with the student body. Uproar Records, a business school production company, debuts most of their up-and-coming artists at Common Grounds so that they will gain name recognition.

Eclectic decor and music is not all that this coffee shop has to offer, serving a wide variety of sweet drinks and snacks makes it a great place for students to hang out.

"I love drinking the James Callahan when I go to CG. One of my friends got me hooked on it during our freshman year," sophomore Lyndi Conradt said.

New project: Hate group comparison

Our latest class project is due Nov. 16 and must be 4-6 pages in length. The purpose of this project is to compare two hate groups from the social network, Facebook. This should be an insight into the mindset of the groups and educate those that do not understand.

I should start on this project.

Website

I'm working on a website for my Reporting and Writing class that will be somewhat like a resume about my life. So far I've added a few photos and have been toying with uploading work I have completed for classes. I enjoy figuring out the program, Wix.com, that I am using!

It must be fate

When my mom was here a few weekends ago for my birthday we were driving around and saw a really cool store front next to Fuddrucker's. The store is home to many unique home furnishings and offers a variety of styles. The name of the store is Serendipity. When my mom comes back to Waco for Homecoming we will be going back in to check out all of the cool Christmas decorations! It is super affordable and supports the local economy. I highly suggest it to anyone that loves great style at a bargain!

Advancer: Bear Downs

Can you imagine riding a bicycle in circles for hours at a time? Those involved in Student Foundation's upcoming event know all about circles and bicycles. Bear Downs, organized by Student Foundation, will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 26 in the heart of Baylor's campus. The event is a 25.2 mile relay bicycle race that benefits the Student Foundation Scholarship Fund. Only 30 teams of four may participate in the event. Registration will be at the Ed Crenshaw Center located on Fifth Street or teams may print off registration forms online to turn in.

"It's really cool to be a part of the Bear Downs legacy and to continue it on. There's just so many alumni that are excited about us bringing Bear Downs back and continuing it for this year," committee chair Theo Bruton said.

Begun in 1971 as the main fundraising event for Student Foundation, Bear Downs was put on a seven year hiatus in 2002 and Bearathon replaced it as the lead fundraising event. Last year in their 40th anniversary, Student Foundation revived Bear Downs and the campus responded well to it.

"Back in the early 70s, it was pretty wild and wooly. At least two people broke their collar bones from falls suffered during the race, and then there were lots of cuts and bruises," Professor Patrick Lea said.

Early on in the history of Bear Downs the event was much different than it is today. The race was 50 miles long, rather than 25.2, and took place in the Heart of Texas Coliseum, rather than on Baylor's campus. In order to race in the event each team had to race against the clock at a qualifying race at the Heart of Texas Coliseum's track.

"Each team member made a lap and then handed off to the next team member. The handoff had to occur within a marked off area. It required hours of practice, the handoff, and there were lots of teams that hadn't practiced at all. It was all pretty funny," Lea said.

Bear Downs is primarily a fundraiser for the Student Foundation scholarships. These scholarships are available to most Baylor students and are applied for during the spring semester.

"We have a sponsorship committee for Bear Downs this year that deals with donations and companies that would like to sponsor Bear Downs. Any funds we make goes toward student scholarships, so it's a great way to get involved and give back to Baylor," Bruton said.

You can see advertisements for the event all over Baylor's campus in the weeks leading up to the event. Baylor students and alumni will be lining the streets supporting their favorite racers on the evening of the event.

"I remember walking to Waco Hall and seeing people handing out flyers and reading the chalking on the sidewalk about Bear Downs. It seemed like you'd have to be in a shell not to know that it was happening and that it was a cool thing to be a part of," Class of '78 alumni Timothy Krieg said.

Profile: Tam Dunn

Meeting at the office for Student Activities Tam Dunn goes on her lunch break with a student in need of an interview for a profile story. Dunn is the Associate Director of Student Activities for Greek Life and has been in this position for about 15 years.

"In 1996 I was the Coordinator of Greek Activities, since then the title has changed a few times but the job has stayed the same," Tam Dunn said.

Over a lunch of cheeseburgers and fries Dunn discussed her role at Baylor and how it has changed throughout her career. Early in the developement of Greek life at Baylor there were only positions for a coordinator and graduate assistant. Student Activities has since then expanded this department so that there are positions for an associate director, coordinators, and graduate assistants.

"My coordinators, Brandi Barber and Astrid Beltran, along with their graduate assistant Laura Whitmire work with the IFC [Interfraternity Council] and NPHC [National Panhellenic Council] and MGC [Multicultural Panhellenic Council] respectively, and graduate assistant, Ashley Peeples, works alongside me with the PHC [Panhellenic Council]. These women split the work that I once did on my own and are able to get closer to these groups than I ever could," Dunn said.

With thousands of students involved in Greek activities there are many responsibilities that Dunn and her team are held accountable for. Within each division of Greek life there are boards led by members of each sorority and fraternity to oversee the chapters and build relationships within the council.

"I was voted to be on Baylor Panhellenic Council by my sorority and in that position was able to meet with girls from other chapters every week," Delta Delta Delta member Becka Bovio said.

Dunn is looked up to as the figure-head of Greek interaction and spurs groups to encourage one another while maintaining their own identities. Baylor Panhellenic Council encourages chapters to work together throughout the year and to go to one another's events.

"One of our most stressful times is during Homecoming because each group has their own events and wants potential new members to see that we can still work together as a Greek community," Bovio said.

Recruitment is a large part of Greek life and during that time Dunn receives many emails and phone calls from concerned parties. Recalling an ongoing conversation, Dunn laughed about a mother who had been filling out her daughter's online recruitment regisitration and emailed Dunn with an issue. Dunn chose to email the daughter her response and inquired why the daughter was having her mother do the work of registering for her. In the latest, the mother is frustrated that Dunn has emailed her daughter and Dunn is tickled that the mother does not understand her point.

"There is never a time of recruitment that is uncomplicated. With 700 girls registered to go through Fall Parties right now, the chapters and PNMs [potential new members] will be forming bonds and making decisions about one another that will decide their future," Dunn said.

The schedule of the Greek community never slows down. Dunn is constantly working with groups and individuals to improve the livlihood of the chapters at Baylor.

"Tam encourages us all to lay aside any differences and recognize the greater Greek bond that brings us together. By giving a paradigm of service to the Panhellenic ideal, Tam shows us how important commitment to Greek unity is," Baylor Panhellenic Council member Kelsey Jones said.

http://www.baylor.edu/studentactivities/greeklife/

Bear Downs

I am currently working on an advancer for Student Foundation's Bear Downs. The event is a 25.2 mile relay bicycle race around Baylor University's campus.

Look for more information about this event in the next week!

DDD semi-formal

Delta Delta Delta's semi-formal will be held 8 to 11pm on Friday, October 8.
The theme of the dance is "Alice and Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass." Members and their dates are asked to dress in attire reminiscent of the theme.
"I'm going to wear long cream gloves and a fun head piece," sophomore Lyndi Conradt said.
While some guests will wear attire that is bold and fun others will wear outfits similar to those of characters in the book and movies.
Many couples will go out to dinner before the dance.

Interview

I'm getting so excited to interview Tam Dunn for our class project. I just sent off an email asking her when we could meet up!

Local Italian Favorite

I first discovered Baris, a family-owned Italian restaurant, during Homecoming weekend of my freshman year at Baylor. The Waco location is on Valley Mills not too far west from the football stadium. Housed in an old Pizza Hut, Baris caters to all walks of life with their inexpensive menu of baked ziti, meatball subs, fried mushrooms, and so much more!

Blook

Our journalism class interviewed Sandra Ordonez, from ourblook.com, about hyper-local blogging. When asked about the drawbacks of sharing the same message on multiple media she felt that the few drawbacks there may be are user-related. It is essential that those in the field of public relations utilize multiple media and do so in a fast and easy-to-read manner.

Bluetooth

Did you know that one of the changes to the AP Stylebook 2010 was adding the word "Bluetooth" to it's glossary. Bluetooth allows users to use a cell phone hands-free through short-range wireless transmissions.

AP Stylebook Changes

The AP Stylebook 2010 added information about the social networking sites Twitter and Facebook such as fan/friend/follow and unfriend.