Volume 2, Issue 2 

Sorority Recruitment Schedule

September 7-11

Thursday - Values Night

Murphy Center 6pm, Nine 15 minute parties

Friday - Philanthropy Night

Murphy Center 5pm, Seven 30 minute parties

Saturday - Theme Night

Chapter Rooms 12pm, Four 40minute parties

Sunday - Preference Night

Chapter Rooms 4pm, Two 50 minute parties

Monday - BID DAY!

Walnut Grove 6pm

 Greeks Participate in Presidium

Jeanne Joidin

On August 18 - 20, Greek presidents, as well as other student srganization presidents, embarked on the second annual Presidium retreat. This three day retreat, hosted by the Office of Student Organizations and Community Service and the Office of Greek Life, was held at the William P. Ridley 4-H Center in Columbia, TN. The purpose of this retreat was to bring student leaders together to give them all the information they would need to run their organization, as well as teach them how to successfully lead that organization in a positive direction. 

Students were given the opportunity to meet with other leaders from the 350 organizations on campus, to share and receive advice, and learn what being a leader is all about. There were guest speakers, including Dr. Bob Glen and Gentry McCreary that were there to really get in depth about ethics, leadership, and being a "balanced" person.

"Presidium 2006 was a tremendous success," said Amanda Samsel, the graduate assistant for Student Organizations and Community Service.  "We hope to build off the success of this retreat and continue to see growth and positive change in all of MTSU's 350 organizations."

As students first arrived at the camp, you could see a division between the Greek organizations and the non-Greek organizations, but that soon changed. After days of ice-breakers and small group meetings to discuss ethics and dilemmas, we left the retreat with new ideas, new friends, and plenty of information to make our Greek and non-Greek organizations run smoothly. The number of leaders that attended this year’s Presidium nearly tripled from last year, and with the way things went, it is shaping up to be a good year for all student organizations on MTSU’s campus.

Alpha Phi Alpha Prepares for Miss Black and Gold Pageant

Trenton Poynter 

On Oct 12, 2006 in the 100^th year of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., the Kappa Xi chapter at Middle Tennessee State University will be hosting their annual Miss Black & Gold pageant. This national competition promotes African American beauty and achievement.

Trenton Poynter, member of the Kappa Xi Chapter and chair of the pageant said, “By orchestrating the pageant we provide the opportunity for young Middle Tennessee State University women to showcase their talent and character and to also earn a scholarship that will aid them in obtaining their educational goals.”

This is will be an unforgettable evening of beauty, poise and talent, sponsored by the Kappa Xi Chapter of the historically black Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. This show is but one of various levels of pageant competitions offered to beautiful, intelligent, talented African-American women by the fraternity.

According to Co-Chair Jeremy Simpson, "the various pageants sponsored by both local chapters and the national headquarters for Alpha Phi Alpha were created in an effort to recognize the support of African-American women to the fraternity."

Over 700 Alpha Phi Alpha chapters nationwide sponsor an annual Miss Black & Gold Pageant. Winners from these events go on to compete in State then Regional Pageants. Winners from the Regional competition will then go on to the National Pageant. Various honors and prizes are bestowed upon the winners of each level of competition, and the winner and first runner-up of tomorrow's competition will receive awards not to be disclosed until presented. Contestants are awarded points based on various aspects including talent, personality, originality and grade point average. The pageant will also include a question and answer period and a swimsuit competition, both of which will be scored.

The annual Black and Gold Pageant will be held on Oct 12, 2006, at 6:00pm in Tucker Theater.

 Be Loud! Be Proud! Be Blue!....Be Something More!

Ashley DeSabetino

The Greek community at MTSU invited all fraternity and sorority potential new members to the Freshman Welcome Tailgate for the season opener last Thursday.  The tailgate provided free pizza, drinks and students received T-Shirts that promoted school spirit along with the new Greek life theme “Be Something More”. 

A block seating section for the MTSU/Florida International game was provided for those students who attended the tailgate.

"I thought it was a great way to bond. All of the potential new members got to experience their first game together," said Lauren Busby, a Panhellenic Rho Sigma.  "The tailgate really promoted MTSU Greek unity."

Middle Tennessee scored with one minute remaining in the first half to take the 7-6 lead that they didn’t relinquish.  The Stockstill Era began with a victory.  The Tailgate and the Blue Raider success really gave students something to cheer about. 

Join the Blue Raiders for Faith and Family Day on September 14 verses Tennessee Tech at 6pm.

Over 500 fraternity and sorority potential new members participated in the 2nd annual Greek Freshman Welcome Tailgate

Dr. Collette Taylor Joins MTSU Staff as Associate Dean of Student Involvement and Leadership

The Division of Student Affairs at MTSU recently welcomed a new addition to the staff.

Dr. Collette Taylor has joined the staff as the Associate Dean of Student Involvement and Leadership.  In that position, Dr. Taylor will oversee the areas of Greek Life, Student Organizations and Community Service, Adult Student Services, Multicultural Student Affairs, the June Anderson Women’s Center and Leadership Development.

Dr. Taylor joins MTSU from the University of Florida, where she most recently served as the Assistant Dean and Director of the Center for Leadership.  She has also held positions at Wake Forest University and Nova Southeastern University.  She holds bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees are from the University of Florida.

Dr. Taylor has been nationally recognized for her leadership development work, and holds a number of prominent positions in national and regional student affairs professional organizations.  She is currently serving as the Director of the SACSA/NASPA Region Three Mid-Managers Institute and is the site coordinator for the 2006 SACSA Regional Conference in Jacksonville, FL.

Dr. Taylor has an extensive background in leadership development programming, and will use her expertise at MTSU to help the student life staff develop a seamless student leadership curriculum.

“My job is to get more students involved on campus, and to make sure that we are teaching the leadership skills that students will need to be successful,” Dr. Taylor said.  “I will be working closely with the student life staff as we define the values that drive our work, then translate those values into positive student interaction that will promote student involvement and leadership on this campus.”

“At the University of Florida, I had an excellent relationship with Greeks,” Dr. Taylor added.  “I hope to continue that relationship at MTSU.”

“We are very fortunate to have Dr. Taylor leading our department,” said Gentry McCreary, Director of Greek Life.  “Her knowledge and experience will be invaluable as we continue to develop a Greek leadership program that serves our entire fraternity and sorority community.”