2012-09-26, The Samford Crimson

Special 12-page issue! Special 12-page issue! Special 12-page Serving Samford Since 1915 »i u Ml Non-profits in Birmingham help students get involved Jennifer Ferry & Copf Editor Chris Davis Pitres Reporter Non-profit organizations gathered in Ben Brown pla¬ za last Wednesday to recruit student volunteers. The list of non-profits pres¬ ent at the fair included or¬ ganizations such as Corner¬ stone Schools of Alabama, the Love Lady Center, the YWCA, the Christian Mis¬ sion Center and the Crisis Center of Birmingham. Cornerstone is an organi¬ zation that seeks to provide children in the community with a better education. “We are a non-profit Chris¬ tian school and we provide our students with a good, Christian, quality educa¬ tion,” said India Bailey, Cor¬ nerstone volunteer coordina¬ tor. Students can volunteer by helping teach children at Cornerstone schools. Volunteers tutor K-5 chil¬ dren from 10 алп. to 2:30 pjn. and middle school chil¬ dren from 3:15 pjn. to 5:15 pjn. Lady Center Natalie Wilkimon I Photo Editor The Love houses more than 500 women and chil¬ dren who are recov¬ ering from alcohol abuse, drug abuse, es- , _ cape from ■■ abusive relationships, home¬ lessness or serving an alter¬ nate sentence, said volunteer coordinator Melissa Chrietz- burg. Students who want to vol¬ unteer will have the opportu¬ nity to change the .women’s lives in a big and positive way. “They can come and do hands on with various needs around the center, whether it be painting, serving food. “I like working at the Crisis Center because it gives me the opportunity to impact the community.” , -Elizabeth Berg room makeovers and help host a clothing or hygiene drive,” Chrietzburg said. A more familiar organiza¬ tion, the Young Women’s Christian Association also provides help for women in Marie King, the family See Non-profits, Page 2 Record -setting rush Leelyn Bantley Editor The time finally came for the record-setting number of 328 girls and a high number of тете than 50 upperclass¬ men going through recruit¬ ment to reveal their new so¬ rority house. Zeta Tau Alpha revealed the biggest pledge class this year with 58 new members. Bid Day, also known as Squeal Day, was Monday. Recruitment kicked off Thursday, Sept. 20 with the first Philanthropy night round. Senior JMC major and ZTA Rho Gamm Lauren Cherry loved getting to know the girls in her group and form relationships with them. “It was so fun to reveal what sorority I was in and see my girls’ faces light up,” Cherry, said. Half of the potential new members went to the houses on Thursday, while the other half started their first night on Friday. After Thursday and Fri¬ day Philanthropy nights, the potential new members traveled to select houses for Theme night, where the so¬ rorities illustrate their bonds as a sisterhood more formal¬ ly than the first night. The final night of recruit¬ ment was Preference night, which is much more intimate because the girls are able to talk more in depth with the potential new members. Then came Monday, the day of squealing, which be¬ gan for the new members in the Wright Center at 5 p.m. While the sororities yelled traditional cheers outside, the potential new members opened their bid cards in¬ side the Wright Center. Once their house was revealed, the PNMs ran outside to see their new sisters. Many students, parents, teachers and families come out to the quad to watch these moments unveil as the sororities cheer on their new sisters. www.samfordcrimson.com Ml* 1 1 Mill К 26. 2012 Students opt¬ ing for quicker graduation Chelsea Pennington News Reporter From the moment students step onto campus for their first classes, graduation is the goal in the back of their minds. Most aim for four years, but the actual result can be different for different people and their various situations. According to the U.S. De¬ partment of Education, only 36 percent of students who began to study for a bach¬ elor’s degree in 2001 gradu¬ ated in four years. Even in six years, only 56 percent finished their degree. “I’m a good student, but I don’t enjoy being a stu¬ dent in the classroom.” . On the other hand, the Fis¬ cal Times reported that on a national average, only 13 percent of students graduate with a bachelor’s degree in three years. Many of those who gradu¬ ate early do so to save mon¬ ey, especially with the rising costs of tuition, room/board and other college expenses. For others, graduating in four years - much less grad¬ uating early - is simply not an option when balancing school and work. A study conducted in 2010 by the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that, in the last three de¬ cades. students are increas¬ ingly more likely to take more than four years to graduate. On average, Samford stu¬ dents have a 51 -percent, four-year graduation rate according to the U.S. News college ranking. This is significantly high¬ er than the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s 23-percent rate. However, it is barely be¬ low the national average for private, four-year universi¬ ties, which is 53 percent of students, said JefF Salingo, editor for The Chronicle of HigherEducation. Private universities often have higher four-year gradu¬ ation rates when compared to public universities. A ma¬ jor factor in this is the cost of at¬ tendance. “The price of a private col- _ lege is much more than a public college,” Salingo said, “which sometimes encourages students to fin¬ ish up on time because they don’t want to be paying those tuition bills for five, six or seven years.” This cost is also what en¬ courages some students to graduate in less than four years, although this is an ex¬ tremely rare occurrence. Even at Samford, the per¬ centage of students who graduate early is less than one percent. One such student is junior communication studies ma¬ jor Emily-Erin Robinson, who came to Samford in the fall of 2010 but will gradu¬ ate in May 2013. See Students, Page 3 Opinion Features Sports Meet the Staff Page 9 Page 11 Pages Paged: Samford’s obsession Bootcamp Football reaches 4-0, Things you didn’t know, and with goodness craze sweeps Birmingham season record some you didn’t want to Editorial: (205) 726-2998 |