UM NEWS
Leaders up for state award
Florida Leader magazine has announced the seven finalists for the Florida Student Leader of the Year award. Among them are UM students Minal Ahson, president of COISO, and Jason Guercio, chief of staff internal for Student Government. The winner will be announced on Apr. 16 at a press conference in Tallahassee.
S. Miami fitness center receives donation from UM
The University of Miami has donated $100,000 of fitness equipment to South Miami’s new Multipurpose Center. The fitness center equipment includes cardio-vascular, weight training and total body conditioning machines to help residents achieve their complete physical fitness goals.
U.Oklahoma freshman becomes instant McMillionaire
Oklahoma Daily (U. Oklahoma)
Erika Mendez, a University of Oklahoma freshman, was randomly selected as one of 15 possible winners of McDonald’s 2004 Instant Prize Giveaway of $1 million. She walked into the restaurant and was met at the door with a video camera.
“I had no idea what it was,” she said. “I didn’t watch the commercials, and I haven’t seen any of the ads.”
Mendez said even after this experience, she will continue to eat at McDonald’s.
“I go to McDonald’s a lot,” she said. “Why not? It’s good food.”
Sigma Chi fraternity’s secrets offered on eBay before removal
Indiana Daily Student (Indiana U.)
One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Just not if it involves secret fraternity documents. On Feb. 19 an eBay user posted the Sigma Chi fraternity ritual guide for a starting bid of $25.
“This 136-page document contains all of the secrets of the fraternity including initiation, chapter meetings, and everything having to do with the ritual,” the item description stated.
The seller, with the user ID “scerry,” removed the ritual guide from auction before any bids had been received and “the item is no longer available for sale,” according to eBay. Executive Secretary of the Sigma Chi International Fraternity Mark V. Anderson said the eBay document wasn’t real.
“We hired an outside investigator to look into this matter, and it was determined that the supposed Sigma Chi ritual guide offered on eBay was in fact a fraud, so we made sure it was removed from auction,” Anderson said.
According to the Sigma Chi official Web site, the document contains forms of integrity each chapter is expected to live by.
“Our guiding principles, unchanged for almost 150 years, continue to define the essence of Sigma Chi,” the Web site stated. “Like all Greek organizations, Sigma Chi’s ideals and purposes are set forth in a secret document called our Ritual.”