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2 C AMPUS September 29, 2020 thesouthtexan.com Loteria, food, fun Last week, Texas A&M University-Kings- ville’s (TAMUK) sorori- ties and fraternities held Anti-Hazing Greek Life events to spread positiv- ity and acceptance and the intolerance of haz- ing. Each day from Mon- day through Thursday sororities and frater- nities participated in themed events and com- peted for points. Monday, Sept. 21, was the “These Hands Don’t Haze Photo Challenge” for which members wrote an anti-hazing message on their palms and posted pictures of their messages. Tuesday, Sept. 22, members wore purple in support of Hazing Prevention Week for the “Purple Challenge.” Wednesday, Sept. 23, each sorority and frater- nity created and posted a video demonstrating a team-building activity for the “Hazing Preven- tion Video Challenge.” Thursday, Sept. 24, members wore NFL gear for the “Tackling Haz- ing” event. “We are just trying to spread awareness that we don’t tolerate hazing and we are not for it,” ju- nior and member of Del- ta Phi Epsilon Danyelle Green said. “Also, it’s a friendly competition among so- rorities and fraternities.” It is state law to report an event of hazing. Fail- ing to do so or to commit hazing that does not re- sult in bodily harm is a Class B misdemeanor.A more serious offense, or a Class A misdemeanor, results in bodily harm and an organization can expect a $5,000 to $10,000 fine. Universities also have the right to determine its own punishments. TAMUK, however, has not dealt with a re- ported haze since Spring 2017. “Hazing creates stress, anxiety, intimida- tion and often results in physical and emotional harm to victims,” Public Relations Chair of Alpha Sigma Alpha Brissa Ace- vedo said. “The importance of spreading awareness of Hazing Prevention Week is to continue to build a safe atmosphere for all students on cam- pus. If a hazing event were to happen, we want the student body to know where to report it and that we are here for them because we don’t need hazing to be amazing.” Students can report hazing to the Dean of Students and TAMUK’s University Police De- partment. Due to the pandemic, these events were done virtually, utilizing social media such as Twitter and Facebook. “It’s more than a statement, it’s a move- ment. Pledge to prevent hazing before it occurs, stop hazing when you see it happening, take responsibility to report it and help empower others around you to do the same!” said a tweet from sorority Theta Phi Alpha. Videos, pictures and tweets of last week’s events can be found on the TAMUK Fraternity & Sorority Life Twitter page. “Hazing Prevention Week allows the Greek community to spread awareness about hazing and for us all as a whole to reflect on our oath not to haze,” Acevedo said. “By promoting events against hazing we are spreading positivity and are creating a welcom- ing atmosphere for all students at Texas A&M University- Kingsville.” Loteria the game of Mexican bingo didn’t get its start in Mexico like you may believe. The game originated in Italy and wasn’t brought to Mexico until 1769. The game consists of 54 different cards that are adorned with colorful images. The modern loter- ia card has 16 spaces and when your space is called beans are quite often used in place of daubers or any other material usually used in bingo to cover a space. Hispanic Heritage Month began on Sept. 15 and TAMUK has host- ed many events to help celebrate the culture and background for stu- dents. Loteria was hosted on Sept. 24 in the MSUB ballrooms for students to celebrate. Nachos, quesadillas and churros were served during the event and the room was decorated with vibrant pinatas, a staple in Hispanic cul- ture. Different Mexican candies were spread out on all of the tables for students to try and may- be bring back a memory if they grew up eating them. “I grew up with it, so it’s always been a part of my life. Every weekend we would always get together do cook outs, loteria and play a couple of games,” Kassandra Carrillo, a student who attended the event, said. Many students re- called playing the game growing up, which helped connect them to the event and celebra- tion of Hispanic Heri- tage month. Students had the op- portunity to win movie packages, a Keurig cof- fee machine, a Tv, and Air Pods. Each student who attended the event also had a chance to win a door prize that includ- ed a Hispanic Heritage Month T-shirt and a choice to pick a little toy maraca or plastic donkey and several other items to go with it. “I enjoy it personal- ly since I’m Hispanic, it gets us closer to our cul- ture,” Cytlaly Reyes, a student attendee of the event, said. Reyes said she felt connected to her culture during the event. “Events like this bring students closer to their heritage by introducing them to food and a game that they wouldn’t nor- mally do,” Tanya Pra- zelini, a Resident Life Communication advisor said.“It helps them [stu- dents] understand the culture more,” Prazelini said. Ronni Reyna Julio Menchaca, Vyktoria Rodriguez and IrazemaSalinas enjoy a game of Loteria. OSA hosted Loteria event Ronni Reyna |News Editor [email protected] Greeks promote Anti-Hazing Daily themed events spread hazing intolerance Fall recitals moving forward Texas A&M Universi- ty-Kingsville’s concert bands, orchestra and marching band are pre- paring for recitals in the upcoming months, some of which will be held outdoors. The fall concert bands are working on an amalgamation of compositions from ear- ly traditional works to contemporary pieces, “flex” pieces (this allows virtual collaboration), brass choir and jazz-in- fluenced works. “All three Fall concert bands will be perform- ing in some capacity. However, each group is broken up into smaller groups, which are called ‘chamber ensembles,’” Adjunct Professor of Music Dr. Edward Mon- cada said. The concert band conductors are Dr. Scott Jones, Dr. George Schrader and Dr. Mon- cada. The orchestra con- ductor is Dr. Colleen Fer- guson, and Dr. Kenneth Williams will be con- ducting the choir. Small ensembles will also be performing and con- ducted by other faculty. Recitals and perfor- mances will split loca- tions between the Perfor- mance Hall, Recital Hall and outdoor settings. The Javelina March- ing Band will also have a performance outdoors for faculty. Although the exact date has not been set, the performance is set to be in early October. This year’s show theme is “Wonderful World” in tribute to Louis Arm- strong’s “What A Won- derful World.” However, due to the pandemic, many students have not been present during re- hearsals, but instead par- ticipate online or submit recordings. “I believe the pandem- ic did have some huge ef- fects on the whole orga- nization,” music major and French horn player Jesus Castillon said, “but in terms of spirit I think we still have that pride of South Texas in us, and it helps us go on and continue to do what we love.” The bands have made many adjustments due to COVID-19, making it difficult for students and faculty to correlate with one another. To ensure everyone’s safety, rehearsal times were cut down from one to two hours to now 20 minutes. To accommo- date social distancing regulations, around six to 12 students are al- lowed during each re- hearsal, whereas the number of students used to be 50 and up. Musi- cians now wear special masks that allow them to play safely; brass instru- ments wear bell covers, and woodwinds wear bags that cover the entire instrument all in order to contain aerosols. “We have followed all campus guidelines as well as international sci- entific studies on aerosol transmission through singing and playing wind instruments,” As- sociate Professor and Di- rector of Bands Dr. Jones said. Holding virtual re- hearsals has made an impact on the students. Rehearsals are a combi- nation of Zoom meetings and recordings. Zoom causes poor sound quali- ty and is incredibly diffi- cult for students to play in sync with one another. “Music majors and di- rectors have been forced to explore ‘new terrains’ during these times,” Dr. Moncada said. “Between virtual col- laboration, social dis- tancing, etc., there are tons of new methods that students and teach- ers alike are having to adopt in order to have a quality music-making experience, as well as a quality education. How- ever, I believe that this is also forcing students and teachers to become more versatile - perhaps for a day and age where virtual collaboration will be more common than it ever has before.” Gabriella Mastroianni | Reporter Gabriella Mastroianni | Reporter Aryssa Enriquez TAMUK marching band practicing outside due to COVID-19 regulations.
