FAU Campus Life

Busy season for campus recreation

2007-04-10T01:58:00.000-04:00

It's the busy season for campus recreation. Currently, there are three sports leagues going on with many mini-tournaments coming up. www.fau.edu/campusrec has details on sign up.

The five-on-five indoor soccer league was changed to a five-on-five outdoor modified soccer league this season. The renovation of The Burrow forced the changed. With this modifieid soccer league, more goals are being scored because there is no goalie. The soccer season is currently in round two of the playoffs.

The sand volleyball league has less participants than expected. Four fraternities and four mixed men's and women's teams are in their second week of regular season play and will begin the playoffs next week. The teams play on the sand volleyball court at the housing BBQ pits. This draws more attention to the program and to the activities they host.

Finally, the softball league just started and is by far the most looked forwarded to league of the school year. Even those students that aren't athletically inclined can go out on the diamond and screw around. There are about 10 teams signed up for intramural softball.

Mini-tournaments coming up include a seven-on-seven, one day, flag football tournament, a dodge ball tournament is scheduled for Thursday and an ultimate frisbee tournament is coming up in a week.

Other events on campus this week is a freshman graduation program sponsored by The Board. This is something that has never happened. It is aimed to help retain freshman and encourage them to finish the semester strong.

Coyote Jack's will host the Jewish Student Union's date auction on Tuesday night. Yours truly will be auctioned off. I don't expect any high bidders for a date with me - it's just mini-golf and Moe's.

Baseball and softball both have home games this week as well. Check www.fausports.com for information on game time and schedules.

On a personal note: this is the last blog I will be writing as a student at FAU. Hopefully I will continue to contribute as an alum. In my opinion, this would give an interesting perspective of how the university looks to recent alum who don't live in the area anymore.

Thanks for the memories FAU.

What the campaign SHOULD have been about on campus

2007-04-01T20:40:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Tony Texeira and Abe Cohen for winning the student government election this week.

Also - congratulations to Sigma Phi Epsilon for winning Greek Week for the fraternities for the fifth straight year and congratulations to Theta Phi Alpha for winning Greek Week for the sororities.

Now that the election is over...

Tony and Abe: Members of the two biggest fraternities on campus. That means they will have support at their events (their brothers and their friends in the Greek community). However, it also means that they might not be 100 percent dedicated to their job in student government. I think Abe is a born leader and is really good at taking an event or an idea and running with it. Tony is good at sticking to his guns and facing adversity.

Jared and Rocky: Jared's fraternity won comeback organization of the year and finished third in Greek Week. Rocky dropped his fraternity letters about two or three years ago - about the same time he got heavily involved in SG. I think Jared is truly dedicated to improving this university and supporting the ideas of students. He was involved with the student spirit groups this year and help to create the Crazy Cooney's and the Rowdy Rex's. Rocky...well, he has been involved with the "regime" for the last few years. Ya know, the "regime" that bought $200,000 worth of couches for the UC, raised their own pay 25 percent and took a nice "leadership trip" to Key West for over $10,000.

Here's one thing that the candidates forgot: free stuff and spirit.

Candidates were right to say they would support Greek Housing, the fitness center, etc. If you didn't support those things, you would be committing political suicide. What they forgot to advocate was for free stuff. T-shirts, food, etc. That's what students care about. Generally, they don't care about what you did last year. Generally, they are concerned about the future of the university and new buildings going up. They want t-shirts. They want free food. They want more money for their clubs.

What someones campaign platform should have been was: You pay $10 in A & S fees per credit hour. We'll make sure you get that money back. We'll give you free food events once a week in the Breezeway. We'll give you cups that you can go to the cafeteria in the Breezeway and have refills on for only 50 cents instead of paying almost $2.00 for a large soda everyday. We'll give you a Starbucks mug to refill your coffee everyday for a reduced price. We'll give you t-shirts that you can wear around the university to receive discounts at the cafeteria and bookstore.

That's what students want. They want something NOW. Most students won't want to support new buildings that they won't even see construction begin on, let alone open before they transfer or graduate. They want things NOW.

Greek Week

2007-03-27T00:35:00.000-04:00

FAU's annual Greek Week is taking place this week. Fraternities and sororities participate in different events including athletics, acting and talent. The organization with the most points at the end of the week is declared the winner. Delta Phi Epsilon sorority and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity each have created a New York Yankees-like dynasty, each winning the past four years in a row.

This year's theme was countries. Every organization had to pick a country and base the weeks events they participate in around that country.

This year's competitions include:
Football (Sigma Phi Epsilon and Alpha Tau Omega play Friday for the fraternity championship and Alpha Xi Delta and Delta Phi Epsilon play for sorority championship)
Basketball (Alpha Xi Delta won for the sororities and Pi Kappa Alpha won for the fraternities)
Volleyball (Tuesday is competition day)
Track and field (Tuesday is competition day)
Skits (Monday was competition day - results not released)
Lip Sync and Talent (Wednesday is competition day).

There are also small competitions like penny wars and sportsmanship that are taken into account at the end of the week.

At most schools, this "Greek Week" is a joke and is described as a competition to see who performs better while intoxicated. At FAU, Greek Week is life. Some organizations spend thousands of dollars for costumes, personal trainers, dance lessons, etc. We have now Greek Housing or a Greek Center at FAU, so that's why Greeks take this week so seriously.

Maybe Greeks would have a place to call their own on campus if they started supporting more campus events.

P.S. - Not only am I in a fraternity - I'm the president of the Inter-Fraternity Council and a member of the executive board for Greek Week. Yes, I criticized the Greeks for being lazy. Hell, only five of the seven fraternities played sports and only three did skit night.

Will the stadium prove worthy?

2007-03-12T17:52:00.000-04:00

Former college football coach Lee Corso was on campus this weekend and was featured as the key note speaker in this weekends fourth annual Owl Auction. The auction raises money for the FAU athletic department.

Corso talked about having a football stadium built on campus. With reports being published about a temporary stadium being placed on campus, Corso's speech couldn't have come at a better time.

Here are my thoughts:
Having a temporary stadium will be positive for the FAU football team. Our current home, Lockhart Stadium, is probably one of the worst (if not the worst) home football fields in college football. But remember - it suits FAU well. It has more seats than we have fans, it is within our campus area (Broward campuses of course) and has enough parking for our tailgaters.

Building an "erector-set" stadium on campus will cost nearly $600,000. DO IT! It's worth every penny. The excuse of "it's to far of a drive for students to get to Lockhart" can be confirmed. I think more students will come out to the game knowing it's on campus.

After all, with the increased presence of ATF and undercover cops at Lockhart, students can now find a place on campus to drink. I'M NOT PROMOTING underage drinking - but let's be serious, we all know it goes on. At least now they can walk home instead of drinking and driving.

In addition, we will get a taste of what kind of fan-following we will have when we have a real stadium on campus.

Here's the trick: the new FAU Track and Field facility is lined for an intramural field - 80 yards long. But if you look closely at the track, you can fit a 100-yard field on that facility. Someone just has to pay to re-line it. And there is already a parking lot nearby and an owl logo at the 50-yard line.

Bathrooms, locker rooms and press boxes would be the hard part. Like at FIU, there are temporary press boxes. But at FIU, they have facilities for locker rooms and bathrooms. I don't know where FAU would put temporary facilities of this kind.

My support is not only for the stadium but for the temporary stadium being put on campus IMMEDIATELY.

Go Owls.

The Best $10 Ever Spent

2007-03-05T10:25:00.000-05:00

It's spring break. Barely anyone is on campus. The majority (if not everyone) who are staying on campus during this 10-day break are staying for three reasons:
1) Work
2) Athletic competition
3) They are going on vacation with friends/family

With the FAU men's basketball team coming off of a huge first-round conference tournament victory over FIU, the momentum going into spring break for the team was huge. But, because of the break, that momentum and spirit around campus would soon die out.

But for 15 students on Sunday night, the spirit didn't die out. We huddled in the Indian River Tower Resident Hall Multi-Purpose Room, where the air conditioning wasn't working, and watched the FAU men's basketball team lose to Western Kentucky.

I purchased the game for $10 from sunbeltsports.org. We watched our boys compete live. It was amazing. We found a resident that had a projector and hooked it up to a laptop and had an instant game-watch party.

Although we lost, those 15 students kept the momentum from last game going strong.

THIS IS WHAT CAMPUS LIFE IS LIKE. This is what campus life should be like.

The caf - Then and Now

2007-02-26T13:50:00.000-05:00

The meal plan. It's probably the most complained about thing on this campus besides parking. But students that have been here since 2002 and 2003 aren't complaining about the new services the Center Marketplace offers. They are complaining about why they didn't have these current services when they were freshman.

The sandwich bar. In 2002, we had a small sandwich bar - very small. This year's sandwich bar is a completely separate kiosk filled with hot and cold sandwiches, subs and wraps.

The center grill. There was no center grill in 2002. Yes, that means no omelets in the morning, no taco bar for lunch and no stir-fry for dinner. We had pizza, chicken patties and burgers for lunch and dinner just like the freshman of today do. We also had soda, but it was located where the salad bar is. Yes, that means we had no salad bar.

We had the delicious ice cream and the Belgium waffles as well. The chocolate chip cookies, though, are a lot softer now than they were in 2002.

The caf closed at 7 p.m. on weekdays back in 2002. Now it closes at 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday. We had no televisions. But, we could eat outside just like students today can. But current plans call for a renovation of the outside area to allow for more food to be cooked outside and an overhang to eat under. Just in the cafeteria alone there has been a lot of growth. Now, the cafeteria isn't only bigger and better, the food isn't as much as a laxative as it was five years ago.

FAU is tradition-less

2007-02-19T23:08:00.000-05:00

Coming off of last week's attempt to fill the FAU Burrow (the basketball arena for those of you who have never been to a basketball game, which is probably 25,000 of the 27,000 students) with over 3,000 fans for the men's basketball game fell short by nearly 1,400. Bury the Burrow IN RED was an attempt to get every fan in attendance to wear red - creating an uncomfortable feeling for visiting Florida International. Plus, it would have looked really cool on television to have the entire crowd wearing red.

Trying to achieve this goal, student government and athletics handed out red t-shirts for fans to wear. Not everyone wore them. The good news - we still won.

But on a much larger scale, I did some research on some other schools (a lot of them that we have played or will be playing in the near future) and their traditions. Let's compare:

Florida Gators v. FAU:
In 1991, Head Football Coach Steve Spurrier talked at a press conference about the season his team just finished. He talked about how teams should be scared to come into the stadium where the Gators play. He called it "The Swamp." The name stuck.

In 2001 and 2002, FAU played home games at Pro Player Stadium (home of the NFL team Miami Dolphins). IN 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, FAU played their home games at Lockhart Stadium (home of Broward County High School games) with a few games being played back at Pro Player to help increase attendance (which it never did). In 2007 - well, we don't know where FAU is playing next year.

Florida State Seminoles v. FAU:
The now-famous Seminole Tomahawk chop that fans do at games started in 1984 when fans that sat behind the band started doing it. By next season, the entire stadium was doing it. The chop also jumped sports over to major league baseball and appeared at Atlanta Brave games. When the "massacre" song comes on that is played by the Seminole band, 80,000 people in the football stadium and millions watching on television do the same hand motion in unison. It's chilling to say the least.

In 2002, I tried to start the Owl Fingers, which are creatively made by putting your thumb and your index finger together - thus leaving your middle, ring and pinkie finger sticking straight up. If you do that on both hands at the same time, you have Owl Fingers.

The fingers died as soon as they started. They resurfaced this football and basketball season and has slowly caught on. Now about 5,000 people at the football games and 900 at basketball games do them when they are told to.

Clemson Tigers and South Carolina Gamecocks v. FAU
The Clemson football team rubs a Howard's Rock on their way into the stadium before a game. The team's entrance has been called the most exciting 25 seconds in football. It started when that same rock was brought to Clemson from Death Valley, California before a big game.

Clemson's cross state rival South Carolina has the most exciting entrance overall. In 2001, to the song "2001-A Space Odyssey," the team entered the field to what was the most exciting entrance the school had ever seen. They haven't looked back. The entrance is now one of the only entrances that is shown on national television.

Last year, FAU purchased a giant FAU inflatable helmet. Note: this year, it didn't inflate for the FIU game. This year, Owsley the Owl ran out to the song "2001-A Space Odyssey." One time the song didn't come on at all.

Stoney Brook v. FAU:
Here's an academic tradition. Stoney Brook does not have any classes in session on Wednesday's between 12 noon and 2 p.m. These hours are called "Campus Life Hours." Students (residents and commuters) are encouraged to participate in pep rallies, free food events, lectures, guest speakers, club events and other things that encourage involvement in school.

FAU has the Breezeway where clubs pass out stuff that most people ignore. There's also Reading Day, where there is no class for an entire day. But that day is reserved for studying for finals, which start the very next day. Oh yeah - by the way - Reading Day was cancelled this semester so that we can have an extra day of graduation ceremonies.

Virgina Tech Hokies v. FAU:
The Hokies got their nickname after a 1896 student body vote to change the fight song. The song was titled "Hokie," thus changing the mascot name.

In 2003, FAU cut it's 86 (or so) Owl logos down to one, it's five school colors down to three and there was some student input. And our Owl mascot name has changed quite often. In 2002, it was the FAU Owl and Owlvin. Fans called him Hootie. It was then changed to Owsley. And we have had four different looking mascots in the past five years.

FAU does have tradition though. There is Homecoming that has happened since forever. Oh yeah - that tradition was changed too. It was changed from the spring semester to the fall semester in 2000 to accommodate the football team, not the men's and women's basketball teams like it had in years past.

Who needs a beach? Not me!

2007-02-12T10:01:00.000-05:00

This is the time of year in Florida most of us are here for: 80-degree days, the sun beating down on us and a light breeze to take away any humidity we would feel in the air.

Students take advantage of this time and head to the beach. After all, it's only a 10 minute drive.

But for those that don't have that much time in between classes or don't have a car, there are plenty of places on campus to enjoy the sun.

On the second floor of Indian River Tower resident hall, residents of that hall can enjoy the balcony - complete with lawn chairs and a table.

For those that don't live on campus, the sand volleyball court and BBQ pavilion area is a great place to get sand in between your toes or plug in a boom box to jam while you're catching some rays. Most of the time there are clubs and organizations BBQing out there. You might even get a quick and free bite to eat.

To get your fix of entertainment and sports while you are laying out. You may choose to attend the FAU baseball and softball games to get some sun. Don't sit in the seats and bleachers - that's boring. Bring a lawn chair, a cooler and a towel and lay on the berms on the first and third base lines. Catch some foul balls, heckle the opposing team and watch our two historically most successful FAU athletic programs play ball.

If all else fails - there's always the beach. But you have to pay for parking! At least at FAU, parking is included in your tuition.

Home of FAU Owls has become Owl-less

2007-02-05T23:22:00.000-05:00

When entering the campus of FAU from Glades Road, it's abundantly clear what university you are at. There are two signs at the entrance that have the FAU name in big letters. There are signs on light poles that have FAU's logo, and directional signs are headlined with the FAU logo. But one thing you won't see when going around campus are pictures or logos of Owls.

Hell, when WALKING within campus, you still won't find Owl logos. The only logo that I know of is the logo from about 30 years ago that is painted on the information booth when you drive into campus.

In 2002, the campus was decorated (somewhat) with Owl logos. The SG office had three Owl logos in the lobby and workrooms, while there was still another in the SG senate workroom and one more painted inside the senate speaker's office.

Right outside of Wackadoo's (now Coyote Jack's) there was a mural painted of FAU students interacting with the Owl mascot. The cafeteria in the breezeway and the cafeteria in the University Center both had Owl logos.

Now, five years later, there are none. They have been painted over by golds, purples and blues. The blue I can understand - it's a school color. But gold and purple? Are we trying to look like royalty?

MTV, VH1 or ABC needs to have a reality TV show called "Extreme Pimp My University Makeover." We need a serious makeover. Maybe if there were Owl logos painted on walls, floors, tables and ceilings, people would know that our mascot is the Owl. And just maybe, if we had more Owl paintings around campus, we would see less ASU, UF, FSU and UCF shirts around campus and more FAU shirts.

Everyone complains that the university has apathetic students. While I can't disagree with that statement, we must remember that leadership comes from the top. If our own administration, Student Government and athletic department can't find someone to paint the Owl logo around campus...what does that say about their apathy?

Phone Calls and Complaints Change Parking Rule

2007-01-30T10:38:00.000-05:00

The new parking lot rules brought resident students together like no other event on campus has this year. Instead of club fliers promoting "ladies night" or "2-for-1" drink specials littering the parking lot, yellow envelopes with $15 parking tickets inside were on hundreds of windshields.

Changing Lot 23 (the parking lot next to AL) to commuter parking angered many people - especially the residents who were use to having the ease of a one or two minute walk to the resident hall.

Now, they were being told to lug their groceries from the parking garages.

But after three days of yelling, complaining and calling traffic and parking, the rule has been suspended. For the first time in a long time, students, residential or not, rallied together to change a rule or policy.

Use this as an example for the future. FAU is a small enough school where 100 or 200 students CAN change something if they really want to.

Two-and-a-Half Minute Super Bowl, World Series, World Cup

2007-01-14T20:33:00.000-05:00

Football and basketball players get four quarters to win their league's national championship. Baseball players get nine innings to win the World Series. Soccer players get two halves to win the World Cup. Professional golfers get 18 holes, and professional bowlers get 10 frames.

Cheerleaders get two-and-a-half minutes. One chance. One routine.

The FAU Cheerleading team took a team of 20 girls to Orlando last weekend to compete in the National Cheerleading Association's annual national championship competition. There were 150 teams total competing in the competition but 21 other teams in their division.

The team didn't finish as high as they had wished - they finished 12th.

Even the award presenter knows how intense this competition is. Before presenting the awards, she said: "Please don't let today's two-and-a-half minute routine and the place you finished in today determine the rest of your season."

There is still a debate amongst top dogs in the NCAA, as there has been for years, to decide if cheerleading and/or dancing should be a sanctioned NCAA sport. Right now they can receive scholarships from their university, but they are not recognized athletes.

The girls that compete in these competitions are athletes. They flip, stunt, tumble, fly in the air and hold each other up with such ease - it's simply amazing.

I have never been in that type of position, so I could only image the pressure that was on them. A whole season of practice for two-and-a-half minutes of performance time. And... although you are competing against other squads, it's not like football where you can capitalize on an interception or a missed field goal. Judges - who you don't know, have never met and will probably never meet - use their subjective opinions to rate how well they think you tumbled, flipped and cheered.

Girls: You did great. Granted I don't know much about it and I am a little biased towards you, but you did better than the hundreds of schools who didn't even think they were good enough to field a team at the competition.

I look forward to next year's competition.

"Reject parking lot" is now for residents only

2007-01-06T19:59:00.000-05:00

Commuter students and resident students usually have one common complaint about FAU: parking. But when students started coming back from winter break this weekend, they found a nice surprise: additional resident-only parking.

In lot 23, which is located next to the Arts and Letters building and just to the east of Indian River Towers Resident Hall, white lines were changed to green lines, indicating a change from Âall decalÂ parking to Âresident decalÂ parking.

In my circle of friends, we creatively called the small strip of parking lot that is located in the southern most part of lot 23 the Âreject lot,Â because if you had to park your car in there, that meant you were rejected from the IRT parking lot and the big part of lot 23.

This should anger commuter students, because they are losing parking spots. However, now residents can leave during the high-traffic times and actually come back to campus and find space to park their cars.

Another parking change: Lot 16, which is the University Center parking lot, is now faculty/staff and commuter students. This should put a smile on the faces of some commuter students. This angered some resident students that live in Algonquin because now they lost their close proximity parking. This will also anger the lazy residents who drive to the caf to eat everyday.

One more thing. Apparently the yellow emergency phone booths work around IRT. A community service officer pressed the big red emergency button the other night, and the blue light started flashing. ThatÂs a good sign. I havenÂt heard about these emergency boxes not working since 2002 when then Boca Student Senator Rafi Menachem went around and pressed some of the buttons just to see if they worked as part of a Campus Action Committee initiative.

Welcome back students, and happy new year.

Students travel to Texas

2006-11-20T18:20:00.000-05:00

16 prOWLers traveled to Dallas, Texas this weekend to support the Florida Atlantic football team against the University of North Texas. The team won in dramatic fashion 17-16. After the game, Head Coach Howard Schnellenberger thanked the fans and the prOWLers for traveling.

The prOWLers are a group of students that support all athletic teams. Currently they have 25 members and hope to grow to over 50 by the end of the spring semester.

The trip was funded by the school's student government. Students only had to pay for transportation in Dallas and food. Student government paid nearly $5,500 for four hotel rooms and 16 plane tickets.

Next for the prOWLers is Schnellenberger's radio show on Monday night and then the home football game season finale against rival Florida International on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Dolphin Stadium.

In the interest of full disclosure, Rick "$mitty" Smith is the Director of the prOWLers.

Stadium coming to campus in 2010

2006-11-09T15:42:00.000-05:00

The Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees voted on Tuesday to pursue plans of building a football stadium on the Boca Raton Campus.

Stadium talks have swirled around the university for nearly five years, but plans finally came to fruition at the BOT meeting in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday. With three options on the table, the BOT chose option three - the "phased" option.

Option one was supported by Head Football Coach Howard Schnellenberger, Athletic Director Craig Angelos and past National Alumni Association President and current BOT member Armand Grossman. The proposal called for a $150 million 40,000-seat domed football stadium surrounded by retail shops and 3,000 bedrooms for residents and employees of the university. The basketball team and other entertainment events would take place in the domed-stadium, but it would cost nearly $5,000 to move the bleachers every time a new event was in the building.

Option two called for the construction of a 30,000-seat open-aired football stadium and a 10,000 seat arena for basketball and concerts. Retail shops and housing would also be included in the $150 million package.

Option three will provide a 30,000 seat open-aired stadium along with housing and retail shopping. Housing and retail shops would open in 2008 and 2009. The continued revenues from these buildings would then fund the continued construction of the football stadium, which is expected to be completed for the 2010 football season. The stadium would be constructed in a manner where a "phase two" could be added years later. Phase two could include extra seating, a dome, or the 10,000 arena.

Currently, there are over 400 students that are on a waiting list for on-campus living. There are also plans for eventually adding Greek housing to the campus - something that could be included in the residential plans for the stadium.

Angelos spoke this morning to 75 football fans, faculty, staff and coaches at Schnellenberger's weekly football breakfast. Along with the exciting news of the stadium, he also told the crowd of the bad news.

For months, there has been talks of the City of Fort Lauderdale and the Baltimore Orioles combining to make the Lockhart Stadium football/baseball complex a state-of-the-art baseball spring training facility for the Orioles. Next football season, renovations will start in what is now the FAU football lockerroom and eventually demolish the stadium. FAU is expected to find a temporary home to bridge the gap between Lockhart and the on-campus facility for the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

Temporary facilities include Dolphin Stadium, which is about $85,000 a game. Another thought was to build temporary aluminum bleachers around the new track and field/intramural football field on campus. That would cost nearly $600,000 a year. Comparably: Lockhart Stadium costs the university $25,000 a game.

The BOT is asking for a minimum of $20 million to be fundraised by the university for the new stadium. The BOT will address construction plans for the stadium in six months.

Greek organizations announce Greek Week

2006-10-29T15:46:00.000-05:00

Florida Atlantic University's annual Greek Week will be held from Mar. 25 - Mar. 31, 2007. Fraternities and sororities will compete in talent shows, athletic events and do a campus clean up. The fraternities and sorority with the most points at the end of the week will win the crown.

The 2006 champions were Sigma Phi Epsilon and Delta Phi Epsilon.

During Greek Week, organizations are not allowed to consume alcohol. Usually, all eight of FAU's fraternities and all four sororities participate. This year, the Multi-Cultural Greek Council, comprised of four small organizations, will combine and submit one team, bringing the total number of teams competing to 13.

For more information on Greek Life at FAU, log on to Greek Life.

Sun., Mar. 25
Basketball and football

Mon., Mar. 26
Education day

Tue., Mar. 27
Skit

Wed., Mar. 28
BBQ Pits, volleyball and relay race

Thur., Mar 29
Lip-sync and talent

Fri., Mar. 30
Football and volleyball championships will be played

Sat., Mar. 31
Campus clean up and awards

FAU in the hunt for conference title

2006-10-28T20:22:00.000-04:00

With Florida Atlantic University's football team beating Arkansas State on Saturday, FAU is now back in the hunt for the Sun Belt Conference Championship. Winning the conference would give FAU an automatic bid to the New Orleans Bowl.

FAU beat the Indians 29-0, led by an outstanding performance by their defense - forcing five interceptions.

The crowd was smaller than expected, but the enthusiasm was not. With the alcohol ban lifted at Lockhart, students partied in the parking lot and came into the game to watch FAU jump to an early 13-0 lead going into halftime.

Brianna Bragg and Jonathan Styles were crowned FAU's Homecoming King and Queen. Both are resident assistants at FAU Boca.

Next up for the Owls will be Middle Tennessee State on Saturday in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The game will be televised.

Fall Family Fest biggest event of year

2006-10-24T11:37:00.000-04:00

Over 1,000 people attended Florida Atlantic University’s 3^rd annual Fall Family Fest. The event included free food for attendees, a golf cart parade, a bon fire, Head Football Coach Howard Schnellenberger’s radio show, introduction of the 2006-2007 Homecoming Court and carnival games. The event was organized by the Program Board with the help of many departments including Housing and Residential Life, Athletics, the Alumni Association and Chartwells.

This was the first year that a golf cart parade took place. About 15 organizations and university departments decorated a golf cart with a movie theme. In my opinion, some of the better decorated golf carts included the FAU Police Department (Men In Black theme), University Advancement (Coach Schnellenberger and Dolly Parton) and the Student Government (wild west theme). Participants in the parade threw candy from their cart to eagerly waiting students, family and friends.

The bonfire was lit in an effort to increase awareness of the football game on Saturday. A 4-foot by 4-foot papier-mâché Arkansas State helmet was designed by the FAU Sculpture Club and throw into the fire by the FAU prOWLers. FAU’s football team will look for their third win of the season against the Indians of Arkansas State on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. There is still no update on the booze ban.

The next homecoming event is Tuesday night on the Housing Lawn. The 8^th annual Timuqua Pageant is named for the recently demolished Timuqua resident hall. It will showcase male and female resident’s talents. The event begins at 7 p.m.

SPECIAL NOTE: Students will NOT be allowed to sit in the endzone at Saturday's game. The Athletic Department made this decision at their weekly game operations meeting on Monday. The department, after listening to players reaction and Schnellenberger's opinion, feel that the spirit and enthusiasm dispalyed at last week's game isbecause 1,200 students were not spread out over a 5,000 seat seating area (the endzone). Instead, they were confined to a smaller seating area closer to the visiting sideline making the noise louder.

Homecoming Week preview

2006-10-21T11:19:00.000-04:00

Florida Atlantic University is celebrating Homecoming Week starting on Monday. Events are scheduled on all campuses and are targeted to reach all students - young and old, traditional and non-traditional.

Homecoming for FAU was anything but traditional until the addition of the football team in 2001. Before football, the men's and women's basketball team would be the center of Homecoming Week and would take place in February.

FAU nicknamed their homecoming Owl Prowl. This years theme: Lights, Camera, Action.

Friday night, as the official kickoff event for Parent's Weekend, the Alumni Association hosted a wine reception for students and their parents. Saturday, University President Frank Brogan will host a brunch at the Baldwin House on the Boca Raton campus from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

On Monday, which is the conclusion of Parent's Weekend and the start of Homecoming Week, Fall Family Fest is being presented by the Student Government Program Board and Housing and Residential Life. The fest will feature free food, a pep rally, a bon fire, a live broadcast of Head Football Coach Howard Schnellenberger's weekly radio show and a golf cart parade. The event starts at 5 p.m. and will run through 9 p.m. It will take place on the Housing Lawn.

On Tuesday, Housing and Residential Life will put on their 8th annual Timuqua pageant - a showcase of talent for residential students. The Timuqua Pageant is named for the recently bulldozed Timuqua Resident Hall.

Thursday will feature the Talon Awards, which is a food and wine reception honoring the Homecoming Court, as well as faculty, staff, community and student leaders.

Friday's headline event will be the comedy show with comedians Mon'Nique, DeRay Davis and Lil Duval. The show starts at 8 p.m. and will take place in the University Center auditorium.

The headline event for Owl Prowl is the football game. Kickoff against Arkansas State scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m., and the team is expecting 10,000 fans. Tailgating will begin at 12 p.m. and will feature free food sponsored by Chartwells. Before the game, meet me and some of the other prOWLers as we meet outside of Indian River Tower Resident Hall and decorate our cars and then caravan down to the stadium. We will be starting at 11:30 a.m. and departing at 1 p.m.

The university and the athletic department are working to help lift the booze ban at Lockhart Stadium.

Sunday is reserved for the Homecoming Dance, which will take place in the University Center starting at 8 p.m.

For more information on Homecoming, visit their website at Owl Prowl.

Loss for team and for community

2006-10-19T17:32:00.000-04:00

Only six days after 34 people were issued written arrests by the police for underage drinking at Florida Atlantic University's first home football game, alcoholic beverages were banned from the parking lot of Lockhart Stadium on Wednesday during what could be argued as the biggest home game for FAU football this season.

The team played against the pre-season pick to finish first in the conference, University of Louisiana-Lafayette, and the game was live on ESPN 2.

Fans, whether they were of legal drinking age or not, were given a white piece of paper as they paid their parking fee that told tailgaters there was no alcohol allowed or people would be arrested.

Students actually started to pull out of the parking lot and never come back to see the game since they couldn't drink.

No explanation from Lockhart parking attendants were given other than "I'm sorry."

For more information on this story, read Ted Hutton's piece on the Sun-Sentinel's website.

MY TAKE:
As a member of the football game operations crew, I can attest to the fact that FAU had no part in this. Lockhart Stadium was probably hiding this from everyone because they didn't want people to freak out about it.

Alumni was still allowed to tailgate. Why? I don't know. President Brogan was visibly upset about it too. Through a conversation with him, I learned that Brogan will be making phone calls this week to see what can be done for the remaining games at Lockhart which are on Oct. 28 and Nov. 11.

There are also talks to allow of-age students to drink inside the Alumni tailgate and make the Alumni tailgate much larger.

Tailgating is usually more fun than the game itself - especially at a school like FAU where we don't have a lot of winning seasons or play big name teams at home every year. Although the University of South Carolina doesn't sell alcohol inside the stadium, they allow tailgating outside. The University of Miami sells alcohol inside the stadium and allows tailgaters.

If Lockhart Stadium is so worried about liability with underage drinking, hire more police. You can't punish the responsible of-agers for the irresponsible under-agers. Now, instead of drinking in the parking lot and not having any more alcohol during the game so that they can sober up to drive, students will probably be driving "shit-faced" from a restaurant or house party tailgate down to the game.

Safety or liability - pick one Lockhart.

Football team, school, getting ready for ESPN 2

2006-10-15T12:34:00.000-04:00

Florida Atlantic University's football team will be playing live on ESPN 2 when they take on the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. This is the first time FAU has been nationally televised since they played Minnesota last year.

On Monday, Head Football Coach Howard Schnellenberger will be broadcasting his weekly radio show from the Heritage Park Resident Hall lobby on the Boca Raton campus. This is the first time coach's radio show has been broadcast from a resident hall. The Athletic Department is doing this in hopes that students get excited about Wednesday's game.

On Tuesday, the dance and cheer teams, marching band, players, coaches and prOWLers will be hosting a pep rally on the bookstore lawn starting at 11 a.m.

A car caravan will be leaving from Indian River Towers on Wednesday at 3 p.m. to head down to the game.

For more information on any of these events, please call me at (561) 297-8200.

First home game is victory for team and fans

2006-10-14T18:12:00.000-04:00

There wasn't a new look to Florida Atlantic University's home football stadium, Lockhart Stadium, in Fort Lauderdale. There were still blue and yellow striped tarps, white press boxes and chain fencing separating the fans and the field.

But it was what happened off the field that was a victory for the fans and the Athletic Department.

Although the fan turnout was 3,000 lower than expected at just under 7,000 fans, there were new additions to the promotions that made the difference in the atmosphere.

The student spirit group, the prOWLers, are now part of the on-field promotions. The team runs out of a huge FAU blow-up helmet. The prOWLers shoot off t-shirts in-between timeouts and run a brand new spirit flag when FAU scores a touchdown. One FAU student even does pushups in the endzone for every point the Owls score.

One fan thought it looked like a good idea to do pushups and jumped the fence to join the student doing them. He was quickly apprehended. It was the first such occurrence at an FAU football game since their inception in 2001.

They also added a PA system and hooked me up to a wireless microphone. I start the cheers and chants for the crowd, band, cheer and dance team. This is something that we liked after attending the South Carolina game.

Students have responded with enthusiasm about the new promotions and excitement at the game.

The next home game is Wednesday against University of Louisiana-Lafayette. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. Parking is free for students with a valid Owl Card. Tickets are free for students as well.

Pep rally was well planned but didn't work out

2006-10-11T17:27:00.000-04:00

Students walking past the bookstore on Wednesday stopped and tried to see what another 200 students were gathered for. The first pep rally of the year was a success - until the microphone broke.

The cheerleaders, dancers and marching band got to perform before the microphone simply stopped working. University President Frank Brogan and FAU Football Head Coach Howard Schnellenberger spoke without a microphone and pumped up the crowd about tomorrow's first home game.

"We need to win tomorrow so we can win game three, then game four, then game five," yelled Schnellenberger. He was referring to the team goal of winning eight games and thus winning the Sun Belt Conference Title.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

Crush Party

2006-10-08T09:15:00.000-04:00

Friday night, the night after their "rival" sorority held their biggest event of the semester, the Alpha Xi Delta Sorority at Florida Atlantic University held their annual social event called the "crush party."

Each member of the sorority is allowed to invite two "crushes" to the event. Each invitee received a can of Crush soda telling them the location (Murphy's Downtown Sports Bar) and time (10 p.m. - 2 a.m.) of the event.

Students danced and karaoked until 2 a.m. The event is held in hopes that everyone has a good time while meeting new people.

Their rival sorority (in terms of having the most members) Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority held their annual "Deepher Dude," where males from FAU fraternities compete in different talent events for the crown. Money raised from Deepher Dude was donated to an organization that works with Cystic Fibrosis.

Other Greek events
Outside of the bigger events, sororities and fraternities are getting ready to wrap up their new member period, where new members learn about the goals and ideals of the organization.

Intramural flag football playoffs are set to begin Wednesday at 7 p.m. on the FAU Boca campus at Henderson Field.

Student Season Tickets

2006-10-08T09:09:00.000-04:00

By showing their student identification card ("Owl Card"), students at Florida Atlantic University receive free admission into all athletic events, including home football games. But this year, the Athletic Department went one step further - mailing season tickets to every students home.

I was one of 11 students that are now sleepless since we woke up on Friday morning to go to class, work or meetings. All night Friday night, Saturday night and all day Sunday, students were putting address labels on envelopes and stuffing season tickets into the envelopes. The tickets are set to be put in the mail on Tuesday morning.

"Hopefully students that weren't motivated to attend football games before will be more motivated to attend the games now," said Vinny Evans, a freshman who was one of the 11 stuffing the envelopes. "I volunteered to help the athletic department with this task because I want to watch the football program grow. If that means stuffing envelopes, then I'll be stuffing."

The first home football game for FAU is Thursday at 7 p.m. at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. They will be playing Southern Utah, a team that competes in division I-AA, a division below that of the Owls.

Wacky's Wake

2006-10-05T10:50:00.000-04:00

Wackadoo's Grub and Brew use to be filled with school spirit, pep and energy. And although the t-shirts, sports jerseys, pictures and fraternity and sorority flags are still hanging from the ceiling, there are now tombstones made of paper hanging on the doors, the columns and the walls of the restaurant.

Wackadoo's will die on Friday, Oct. 13.

Wackadoo's coined itself Florida Atlantic University's "official on-campus, sports headquarters" since it opened in 2001. Wackadoo's replaced Ratskiller in 2001 as the on-campus restaurant for the Boca Raton campus. Wackadoo's is a chain that also has locations at the University of Central Florida and the University of North Florida among other places.

Wackadoo's has gone through four owners since it opened. The latest manager to get fired was part of an underage drinking article published by the student newspaper. The new managers have fixed the underage drinking problem - but not the cleanliness.

From two different sources, I have learned that the reason Wackadoo's is getting closed isn't so that Chartwell's (FAU's catering company who owns the rights to every other food venue on campus) can make more profit. Wackadoo's is closing because of health violations.

Coyote Joe's, the new restaurant going in, should be open in the spring and is also a college-campus chain. According to Stacey Volnick, an official with the University Center, the new establishment will serve alcohol along with other sports-bar type foods including wings, hamburgers and hot dogs.

But what Coyote Joe's can't replace is Wackadoo’s’ rich tradition. Wackadoo's is where the men's basketball team gathered with over 300 students in the spring of 2002 to watch FAU's name light up on national television as they were named to the NCAA Tournament. It's also the same place that in the fall of 2004, over 150 students gathered to watch FAU's football games. Women's basketball also hosted their tournament-bid party at Wackadoo's in the spring of 2006. It has hosted pep rallies, radio shows, television shows and is a meeting place for many students who are studying or just taking a break in-between classes.

It was also used by Student Government Program Board who frequently did karaoke nights there, the Jewish Student Union who offered free billiards on Wednesdays and fraternities and sororities who hosted recruitment events and even some main attractions such as date auctions, Mr. and Mrs. Fraternity/Sorority. Three years ago, Wackadoo's played host to the Greek Week talent show.

According to Volnick, the memorabilia from Wackadoo's is owned by the university and will be retained for the use of the new establishment. But Coyote Joe's isn't going to be permanent. The university is in talks with TGI Friday's and Chili's to bring a nationally recognized name onto the campus. That, admittedly, IS for profit - but not for Chatwell's or for the new restaurant - for the University Center who has been sucking financial pond water for the past four years.

Good-bye Wackadoo's. Rest in peace.

Volleyball gets ready for big week

2006-10-01T14:02:00.000-04:00

FAU's women's volleyball team is preparing for two games this week that could make or break their season - and their fan support.

On Tuesday, the team will host rival Florida International at 7 p.m. Tickets are free for students. The first 50 students in the door will receive a free t-shirt. The fan with the most spirit throughout the game will win a one-year supply of Pepsi beverage product. Tuesday is "FAU Spirit Day."

On Saturday, the team will play host to the Mean Green of North Texas. North Texas is in the Sun Belt Conference; so a win over the team means FAU advances in the conference standings. That game is also at 7 p.m. and tickets are free for students.

The prOWLers will be at both games. They will also host a reception with the Student Alumni Association at 5:45 p.m. on the second floor of the arena for current and potential members.

The team has had moderate support this year from fans. Because women's and men's soccer often plays on the same day the volleyball team plays, fans are split between which team to go and support.

For more information, visit www.fausports.com.

Over 100 FAU fans gather to watch win

2006-09-30T22:28:00.000-04:00

Over 100 FAU fans were at Gatsby's in Boca Raton on Saturday evening to watch the FAU football game. FAU, staff, students, the prOWLers, members of the FAU marching band and fans were excited when the game ended and FAU walked off the field with a 21-19 victory over UL Monroe.

This was FAU's first win of the season and possibly the biggest win this year. The team, after losing four non-conference games earlier this year, started Sun Belt conference play this evening. If FAU wins the conference, they receive an automatic bid to the New Orleans Bowl at the end of the year.

A party is planned for 2:45 a.m. Sunday morning at the Oxley Center on the Boca Raton campus of FAU. The team is due to arrive at the Ox around 3 a.m. Bring posters, cards and chants as we welcome back the Owls from their trip.

Construction on campus

2006-09-30T13:57:00.000-04:00

Students aren’t waking up to alarm clocks in the Indian River Tower resident hall. Instead, some unlucky residents wake up to the deafening echo of steel being driven into the ground by cranes, hammers knocking nails into wood and bulldozers plowing the way for more construction material.

I have one of those unlucky rooms that face the new resident hall construction project. The project is set to be complete over the summer.

It will provide 600 additional beds and the Algonquin resident hall, that currently holds about 200, will be converted into single suites. By the end of 2007, there will be 2400 students living on campus.

According to Housing and Residential Life Director Jill Eckardt, over 400 people were on the waiting list to get into the resident halls at the beginning of this fall semester.

The department has already had a complete makeover since 2002: Mohavi, Naskapi, Seminole and Timoqua have already been torn down. The oldest dormitory at FAU, Algonquin, will remain but will be converted into single suits. Indian River Towers opened in 2001 and Heritage Park Towers opened in 2004.

Students go to South Carolina

2006-09-25T09:14:00.000-04:00

(me) “FAU!”
(prOWLers) “WHAT!”
(me) “FAU!”
(prOWLers) “WHO!”
(me) “LET’S GO OWLS!”
(prOWLers) CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP

We must have gone through that chant 100 times this weekend – and it was well worth it. 18 students rode in a limo party bus and small van to South Carolina this weekend. It was a trip that will be remember for many years.

The students that went on the trip are part of the FAU spirit team – the prOWLers. For most of them, it was the first time they had seen FAU play football – or in some cases – the first college football game. What a way to break them in: 70,000 fans filling a stadium cheering against us and the other 50 owl fans in attendance wondering why we weren’t in class but loving that we were there.

The good news: No one got arrested, in trouble or started a fight during the game. Bad news: we lost 45-6 so Steve Spurrier and the South Carolina Gamecocks.

On Friday it took us nearly 12 hours to get to the hotel. At 6:45 p.m. Friday evening we attended the Alumni Association's pre-game reception. Coach Howard Schnellenberger came into the reception room and said the prOWLers were his “disciples” and this was the last supper before going into the field of battle against South Carolina. Later that night, we went to the college district of Columbia and visited a few local establishments. This is where some of the prOWLers accidentally ran into some FAU Alumni that made the trip. An hour later, they had their e-mail addresses and phone numbers. THAT’S NETWORKING!

Some of us went shopping early Saturday morning. We went to the USC bookstore which was five-times the size of FAU’s. When we got back to the hotel, most of us laid by the pool – the weaker ones took a nap. Then it was off to the game.

At the Alumni tailgate, the prOWLers were interviewed by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. We were quoted in the sports section in Sunday’s paper. In addition, Athletic Director Craig Angelos publicly thanked the prOWLers for coming. He later pulled $mitty aside and said “We’ll talk about the North Texas game…” That game is scheduled for Nov. 11 in Denton, Texas. Can anyone say…ROAD TRIP!?

We got to the game and made our presence known. Fans and players were surprised we made the trip. After the game, players showed their appreciation for us coming after the game as we waited for them by their buses. Coach again addressed us and said that we really made a difference and he wants us to be at every road game. The chant of “Conference Title” nearly brought tears to his eyes. It was the first time he smiled since FAU scored their only touchdown of the day on their first possession in the first quarter.

It was a 14-hour bus ride home including a blown tire 30 miles from campus.

Good times. Great memories.

Can I Kiss You? Event opens eyes, ears, hearts.

2006-09-20T13:02:00.000-04:00

Nello Faulk is familiar with being in front of large crowds. As a leader of the FAU football team’s offense, he performs on the field in front of thousands of fans. But on Tuesday evening in the Life Long Learning Auditorium on the Boca Raton campus, Faulk was laughed at when performing.

During the “Can I Kiss You?” seminar presented by author Mike Domitrz, Faulk volunteered to go on stage and show the crowd what he does to show a woman he is ready to kiss her. Faulk was light-hearted about it and walked off stage with a prize from Domitrz.

On the other hand, when a female from the audience was called on stage to show what body language she would use to show a guy she wants to kiss him, she put her hand on his knee. The males in the audience responded with two answers: she wants to kiss me and/or she wants to physically do more than just kiss.

This is just what Domitrz wanted to see. He proved, just through that simple presentation, that males and females can’t read each other's body language and that’s how accidents happen.

Domitrz was not shy to tell the story of how his bigger sister was raped. Domitrz, who is now doing speeches around the country about sexual assault, told the crowd he wanted to get revenge on the rapist. He is getting revenge – in the form of best selling books, lectures and educating young minds.

He compared two friends asking each other to borrow $5 to asking for a kiss. Paraphrased, he said that if you can ask a friend to borrow money, why can’t you ask your partner to touch them physically? The crowd was stunned and silent.

Through audience reaction, he proved that if a guy asks a girl to kiss her, it’s not awkward at all. If she says yes to the kiss - then good. If she says no to the kiss, he suggested responding with “I’m glad I asked. I would never want to disrespect you.” The female audience members agreed that this was a “cute” thing to say and that it’s the right thing to do.

Domitrz did mention that both males and females are sexually assaulted. He also proved a point about a very popular poster on college campuses. The poster "No Means No" is targeted to prevent sexual assault. He suggests the poster should instead say "Did You Ask?"

About 500 student athletes, Greek life and on-campus residents attended the event. The event was hosted by Today and Beyond Wellness.

Student Trio to Orlando a Success

2006-09-17T16:39:00.000-04:00

The Student Government Program board was upset last year when they took students to Orlando to see a show and didn't get what they paid for. Inclimant weather, Universal Studios closing early and the show not being performed prompted the Board to demand answers. They got them - in the form of free tickets.

Those free tickets were used on Saturday when the Board hosted a trip to Islands of Adventure for 85 students.

Students received a free bus ride and ticket into the park. The most popular rides included The Hulk, Spiderman and the Dueling Dragons - all high-speed rollercoasters.

For freshman Jennifer Tabshey, she had never been to Islands of Adventure and told her mom on a phone call home from the bus that she had "the time of her life." One thing she enjoyed was the short wait in line. She didn't wait more than 20 minutes in any line - except for the food line.

The Board also annouced their upcoming events. Some of them include Homecoming in October, headlined by a comedy show featuring Monique, and the annual Fall Family Fest which will feature a bonfire pep rally, free dinner, music and a golf cart parade. Fall Family fest will be held in the Housing BBQ pits.

In November, the Board is planning two concerts - the annual Freakers Ball which this year will feature hip-hop artist Chamillionaire and a possible second concert - with either Blake Shelton or Lonestar. Blake Shelton and Lonestar are bouth country music artists. This will the be the first country concert held at FAU. The concerts will be held in the University Center.

The Board is funded through Student Government. They receive approxiamly $500,000 a year for programming and have over 10 student employees that receive hourly pay. The Board is advised by Brett Klein, an official with Student Development and Activities.

FAU Greek Life and Intramurals

2006-09-14T09:48:00.000-04:00

I woke up this morning and I felt like I was hungover – my head hurt, I couldn’t walk straight and my arm hung down by my side as if it I had no feeling in it. I didn’t have an ounce of alcohol Wednesday. Instead, I played an hour of flag football. I haven’t played football in nearly a year.

I wasn’t the only one playing though. The FAU Greek teams competed on Wednesday night – a regular weekly happening until mid October. It’s one of the most looked-forward to events for the Greek community. Bragging can begin, organizations show off the talent of their potential new members and its exercise of those that don’t have time to go to the gym and workout.

There were about 50 fans watching the SigEP ATO game. There is usually a big crowd for SigEp. Why? I don’t know – probably because they have the most guys on campus, therefore can spread the word faster and invite more friends. Our team, AEPi, had 7 fans for 10 guys. Good ratio I think.

Although my team lost, we shook the other team’s hands and walked off the field knowing that we had fun – which is why we are out there. Our competition in the other hand walked off the field quietly and then got louder as they got closer to the parking lot. One student continued to talk trash to other teams and to our team. We ignored him and walked right past him.

Campus Recreation also sponsors a men’s flag football league on Sunday and Monday evenings and a women’s league on Wednesday evenings. Campus Recreation receives their funding from Student Government annually and is responsible for intramural sports, the fitness center, the tennis and basketball courts, fitness classes, adventure pursuits and other programming that encourages a healthy lifestyle.

$200,000 of FAU money down the drain?...

2006-09-12T13:56:00.000-04:00

In 2003, FAU created a committee that had the mission of creating a single identity for the university. At the time the committee was created, there was over 80 versions of an Owl logo, five school colors and about three different athletic team names.

In 2003, FAU University President Frank Brogan wrote this in an editorial that appeared in the Sun-Sentinel: “Anyone who receives FAU publications or attends FAU events knows that the university's visual image is anything but consistent. Two different versions of the owl logo appear on FAU license plates, and a much greater variety wing their way through brochures, posters and other university-produced materials.”

In 2004, the committee finalized its decision. The colors were set – red, blue and white. The logo, seal and athletic logo were a go. Although internet search results couldn’t produce a number, I recall a figure of about $200,000 as the cost of going through the process- not including the human hours spent out of the office and instead attending meetings by committee members.

Now, in 2006, things haven’t been updated. Departments aren’t using the colors or the logo. And no one is doing anything about it.

In 2004 when Alvira Khan was student body president of FAU, she paid to have the student government offices painted purple. The purple paint covered two air-brushed Owls that the 2001 student government administration paid $1,000 to have decorated the office. In addition, Khan also spent over $100,000 on couches for the first floor of the University Center. To her credit, she got 50 percent of the project correct. She bought red couches and blue couches, but also purchased gold ottomans and a brown couch.

Sometime during 2004, the painting of FAU students and the mascot enjoying FAU campus life was painted over just outside of Wackadoo’s. The wall is a gold color now.

The tip of the iceberg: 2006 – three years after the branding initiative started. The Centre Marketplace, where students that live on campus eat everyday, had a major renovation and redecoration over the summer. There is no red, blue or white. In fact, the chairs that had “FAU” etched on them have been taken out of the cafeteria and put in an “off campus storage unit,” as described by one university center official.

The FAU Housing Department, who currently supplies me with a bi-weekly paycheck, room and board and a meal plan, gave the staff yellow shirts to wear. Yellow is not an official school color.

Finally, the red, white and blue FAU police cars have disappeared. They have been replaced with black and white cruisers.

What I don’t understand is why we even spent the money to complete the branding initiative if departments aren’t going to follow the rules of the university. Student clubs can’t make the eyes inside the Owl logo red to spice up the design of their t-shirts. However, the cafeteria, police department and housing department can get away with painting their walls, making their t-shirts and designing their vehicles without FAU colors or logos.

FAU loss to KState devastating to morale

2006-09-10T10:17:00.000-04:00

After losing the last game of the season last year to FIU, FAU fans turned their backs on the 2005 season and yelled out the sports cliché "there's always next year!"

Next year is here; and some Owl fans have already turned their back on the team. After losing 54-6 to nationally ranked no. 18 Clemson, the team looked forward to playing Kansas State - a team some players said "is a team we will beat." They didn't. They lost - miserably - being shutout and giving up over 40 points for the third straight game (dating back to last season).

The only good news being talked around the dorms this week about the team is that the prOWLers have received approval to attend the Sept. 23 game @ South Carolina. 30 students, mostly freshman, will be attending the trip. The trip is co-sponsored by the Student Alumni Association. The prOWLers is currently going through what we are calling a "rejuvenation." After being active as the spirit group of FAU students in 2002 - 2004, the prOWLers burrowed for two years and have resurfaced this year. (Rick $mitty Smith is the student director of the prOWLers)

Players that didn't go on the trip, fans, freshman, recruits and their friends hung their heads last night around 10:00 p.m. when the final score was announced. Shouts of "we suck" and "we're never going to win" were thrown around like Kansas St. threw the football on the field Saturday evening.

While a loss isn't devastating, an ass kicking is.

Some resident freshmen are giving up on the team already - saying that they rather work than go to a game.

Next weeks game isn't going to be any easier as we go on the road and take on Oklahoma State. And because, according to Palm Beach Post sports writer Marcus Nelson, no one wants to pay to show the game, FAU will not be televised. You can listen to it on the radio. I will be. Join me in praying that the Owls get a touchdown - let alone a win.

Still holding onto hope,
$mitty

FAU = No Tradition

2006-09-04T12:35:00.000-04:00

Tonight, 80,000 people will be there. The ramps people walk on, made out of cement and enclosed with green metal fencing that goes at least 100 feet in the air will be shaking. The noise will be deafening. The seats people sit on will be vibrating as if an earthquake was hitting. Three minutes before the show starts, heroes will run out onto the battleground led by a 6-foot tall white ibis bird, through a tunnel filled with smoke and will emerge to an eruption of cheers, whistles and claps.

It's the Orange Bowl. It's the Miami Hurricanes playing the Florida State Seminoles. It's the game fans look forward to from the second the previous year's game ended.

The game is 50 miles down I-95, yet for FAU, the atmosphere that stadium creates seems 50,000 miles away.

It's called TRADITION - something FAU is struggling to build. The fraternities and sororities don't have houses on campus, so there is no real Greek tradition. There is no football stadium on campus, so there is no football tradition. And with employee turnover rates in some areas very high, no one sticks around to develop something special.

For over 10 years, block painting was one of the only traditions on campus. Clubs and organizations would receive free paint from Student Government and would paint their logos, goals and colors on a 6-foot by 6-foot square of sidewalk. The sidewalk leading from the main thoroughfare to the resident halls was decorated for many years.

That stopped after 2003 because construction was taking place and the buildings that surrounded the sidewalks were demolished. Replacing the sidewalks that were once rich with tradition are now open areas of grass, sprinklers, empty beer cans, food wrappers and an occasional game of Frisbee.

FAU has to start a tradition - something - soon.

Gator Growl has been around for many many years. It's the University of Florida's Homecoming celebration that is attended by students, alum, fans and even students from other universities. FAU's Homecoming = Owl Prowl; complete with a comedy show (usually the best attended event with over 2,000 students), a dance, a football game, and other events that students don't attend.

The University of Miami baseball games have created a tradition of their own. After balls and strikes, fans chant certain words or phrases to correspond with the count. FAU gives coupons for a McDonald's cheeseburger if you help the overworked athletic department interns retrieve a foul ball. Its creatively called the FOWL ball promotion.

The Florida State Seminole fans chop their hands to the beat of their fight song when anything good happens - a touchdown, turnover, interception, etc. Some FAU fans chant "Who Let the Owls Out - hoot hoot hoot hoot hoot" to the song of "Who Let the Dogs Out?”

The Pegasus (their mascot) at UCF comes onto the field of cheers with traditional chants and hand movements. FAU runs onto the football field led by an Owl that has had three different names over the past five years. FAU also runs onto the field coming from a parking lot, then running through an open gate that separates the field from the fans.

Something small needs to happen. Something big will come from it.

Have any ideas for starting a tradition? A new chant? A song? A hand movement? Something on campus?

Post your comments.

FAU Soda Machines and Gold Dollars

2006-09-03T17:06:00.000-04:00

Soda Machines in Indian River Towers

The first big problem with the switch from Pepsi to Coke was the 25-cent increase on soda in 2004. Although the switch happened in 2003, the soda went from $1 to $1.25 after Pepsi was the only allowed soft drink vender on campus. Stacey Volnick, who works in the University Center and was on the committee, said the switch was written in the contract and agreed to.

But that's not the only problem with the soda machines. The other day, freshman Ryan Miller had a $5 bill. The soda machines don't accept $5 bills - but the ice cream machine does. So he bought a $2 ice cream and received three, one-dollar bills in return. He then went to the soda machine and attempted to put a dollar in the machine. The dollar taker didn't work. So now he needed five quarters.

So he did what any smart college student would do: put two of the dollar bills in another vending machine and press change so he would receive quarters. Instead, he received gold dollars and quarters. Weird, but whatever.

So he took the gold dollar and put it in the soda machine. Not only did the gold dollar go into the machine, but it didn't register as a real coin. And so he pressed "coin return" and nothing came out.

Here's a tip FAU/Pepsi: If your vending machines distribute gold dollars, they should accept them to.

Any thoughts? Similar problems from anyone else?

FAU football game party on Saturday, Sept. 2

2006-09-02T21:44:00.000-04:00

FAU’s football team played a tough game on Saturday, losing to Clemson 54-6. Clemson, who came into the game as 30-point favorites and ranked 18 nationally, couldn’t be stopped on either side of the ball.

What’s more important than whether the Owls won or lost though was the atmosphere in the cafeteria. As a Resident assistant, I am required to plan events throughout each semester. I decided to host a game-viewing program for this game. Over 200 students showed up and enjoyed FAU football on four plasma screens.

The reason the venue changed from Wackadoo’s to the Centre Marketplace is because Wackadoo’s can not receive the channel the game was televised on. The downside was that students who are 21 could not drink alcohol. The upside, however, is that there were more televisions, better seating arrangements, and it was an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Students are finally starting to grasp onto the idea of there being a football team on this campus. Over the past four years, it was like pulling teeth getting students to attend a football game. I believe that because we are more nationally-recognized now and the teams we are playing are more well-known, our attendance will go up.

My question to you: What makes you want to go to the football games? It is because you love the sport? Are your friends on the team? Are you there just for the tailgating? Post your replies so I can share them with the Athletic Department and cater to your interests.

FAU Campus Life

2006-08-31T20:18:00.000-04:00

This is the start of the coolest blog FAU has ever seen!