Spring Break
It's been more than a year since the Washburn chapter of the Kappa Sigma fraternity lost its charter. While the fraternity has struggled to re-colonize, a group of freshmen have their minds set on bringing back the oldest fraternity on campus. The newest wave of support for the fraternity, currently called the petitioning charter for Kappa Sigma, came last summer when two freshmen, David Render and Dlany Conny, were sparked with an interest to bring Kappa Sigma back.
The Jayhawk Theatre got a breath of life on Saturday night with the Jayhawk Theatre Revival, hosted at the Celtic Fox. The event included tours of the theater, five bands and videos about the potential renovation. Roughly 200 guests from the community attended, and the event raised approximately $750.
Last Tuesday, the Campus Activities Board and Residential Living took a big part of pop culture to show Washburn University's natural talents in the WU Idol event. They were not disappointed. To perform, students were screened at try-outs on the 27th and the morning of the 28th.
The Lady Blues had some stellar performances and record breaking feats on the diamond this year, but their season came to a screeching halt on Friday, as they dropped the first game of the MIAA tournament 9-0 to in-state rivals Emporia State and 5-3 to Missouri Southern in the second game.
Beginning this summer, faculty and students will be exploring space to find answers for simple life on earth. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration recently approved a grant proposal from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Washburn. The grant gives a half-million dollars to Brian Thomas, assistant professor in the physics and astronomy department for a study that will take place over the course of three years.
The faculty senate passed a "vote of no confidence" in Information Systems and Services director Michael Gunter during a meeting on April 13. The senate voted 27-3, with three abstentions. "It was a pretty clear expression of faculty discontent," said Tom Prasch, faculty senate president.
Saturday night, May 2 at the Celtic Fox we hosted a benefit concert for The Jayhawk Theatre. Despite a few snags along the way to make this event happen, I am very pleased with the turn out. We raised $750, which all goes to The Jayhawk Theatre to aid in their renovation process.
For many Washburn University students, rolling out of bed in the morning for class is enough to call the day successful. But senior psychology major Romualdo "Romi" Chavez' resume lists much higher accomplishments: in the midst of college life, he has managed to write a book.
Got a cough? It's swine flu. Oops, we can't call it that anymore. Because the pork producers have taken such a hit, it is now being referred to by its scientific name, H1N1. There is a movement on Twitter to rename the "Pig Flu." Some interesting new names have popped up, including Igpay Uflay.
After being named MIAA freshman of the year in 2007, junior Tish Williams has become the first Washburn player since 1993 to be named MIAA softball player of the year. Williams led the MIAA in home runs and runs scored, while breaking the school record for career home runs with 49.
With budget cuts coming for numerous departments around campus in the fall semester, some students may be directly affected. The athletic department is trying to make sure that doesn't happen to their student-athletes. Meetings have already taken place and budget cuts have already been given to many departments on campus.
The Ichabod and Lady Blues tennis teams finished postseason conference play strong, with several all-conference awards and bids to the regional tournament. After finishing the conference as runner-up in the tournament, the women's team came away with five first team all-MIAA awards.
