National Greek speaker gives new perspective on ritual
Friday, March 21, 2008, 10:16 EST
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The artist that Concerts Committee has tried to get for some time, Common, was announced as the spring concert to Program Board on Monday, Feb. 25. The date for the concert is set for April 3 at 8:30 p.m. [following the Council on Presidential Affairs (CPA) rally] in Clowes Memorial Hall. The exterior doors will open at 7:30 p.m. and the concert hall doors will open at 8 p.m. Between Fall 2007 and Feb. 18, BUPD gave out 3,091 parking tickets -- 1,129 were to commuters, 818 to residents, 387 to Greek residents, 410 to village residents and 362 were faculty and staff tickets.

These facts, along with more, were shared as Vice President of Operations Mike Gardner and Assistant Police Chief Andy Ryan held a parking forum on Feb. 28 at Atherton Union. Spring Sports Spectacular will be having two give-back nights near the end of March, it was announced at the March 5 SGA assembly meeting.

The annual 12-hour athletic event supporting Special Olympics Indiana will have a portion of the dining money spent on specific nights donated to the philanthropic event. The first give-back night will be March 20 at Mongolian Barbeque from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and the second on March 24 at Bazbeaux Pizza. Terrance Hayes writes poems about being a young black boy or man, he said. While his theme stays the same, Hayes claimed one factor progresses among his first, second and third books.

"The poems get more and more strange," Hayes said. In a large display of his effects on popular culture, Michael Pollan spoke to two crowds on March 3, one in the Reilly Room and one in a Gallahue lecture hall via closed-circuit television.

Both locations were filled to the limits of their fire codes due to the fact that people from all over the state had come to hear Pollan’s thoughts on "The New York Times" and the "Washington Post" best-seller “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.” Judging by the performances at Freshman Skits on the evening of Feb. 29, you might have thought the theme had something to do with ribbon dancing. The annual event, organized by Blue Key, gives the new members of every Greek house a chance to entertain.

Hosts Clark Taylor and Mackenzie Murnane, both seniors, presented the show as each new pledge class performed a 10-minute skit for a panel of judges and an audience full of students in the Health and Recreation Complex (HRC). Professor Aurelian Craiutu described the roots of democracy and the problems it has faced to an attentive crowd in the Reilly Room on Feb. 27.

Craiutu is an associate professor in the department of political science at Indiana University and said the subject of the lecture, “Dilemmas of Democracy,” held a very strong personal element for him.

A large number of sorority women from all houses and grades were fortunate enough to hear Mari Ann Callais, Ph.D. speak on March 4. The topic of the event was “From Ritual to Reality,” and it was obvious that every sorority member in the room took to Callais’ message because of her unique methods of presentation.

“Hakuna Matata,” “Lean on Me” and “Live Like You Were Dying” were songs performed by Callais, before the sorority sisters shared their own personal stories of sisterhood.

Callais spoke of doing the best every Greek brother and sister can do to live the true meaning behind Greek rituals, objects and letters. She stressed that Greek members should be the highest examples of charity, responsibility, academic dedication and social behavior. She summarized her examples on how best to apply these character strengths by closing with, “Live as an outward symbol of an inner commitment.”

Callais’ has had a deep involvement in Greek life since she first joined her sorority Theta Phi Alpha in April 1986. Since then she has become so dedicated to Greek life that she became Theta Phi Alpha’s national president in 2002 and started to spread her view on Greek life across the country.

Callais, who holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Research, has become so unique in her presentation methods that she was awarded the Southeastern Inter-Fraternity Conference Outstanding Adviser in 1996 and 2001.

Butler’s campus is 33 percent Greek. This speech was intended to help the Greek section of the campus lead the other 67 percent in the "right" direction. For more on Callais, click here.