From basketball and flag football to racquetball and billiards, the sporting events at UCF are diverse in every aspect. The Student Government Association has funded over 50 of the largest action-packed events of the semester.

The university offers men’s, women’s, and coed leagues and tournaments to the student body. Aside from some of the well-known sports such as volleyball and soccer, UCF also offers special event sports such as midnight bowling, sports trivia, and a dodgeball league.

Worried about missing the ball or forgetting the answer to that trivia question? Relax-skills aren’t a prerequisite. Teams take on a variety of students, from those who have never played a day in their lives to those who eat, breathe, and live for the sport. Students can sign up for the team of their choice by attending each team’s meeting or contacting the office of student activities.

Once on a sports team, competition gets hot. Tournaments can last anywhere from one day to nine weeks, as seen in the flag football competition of UCF’s 142 teams. Fans crowd the bleachers to cheer on their classmates, and coaches anxiously pace the sidelines while instructing their teams. By the time the championship games roll around, UCF is engulfed by screaming fans. A deejay blasts hip-hop music throughout halftime, and spokespersons from the school’s administration speak out in support of the top teams. “Anytime there’s a winner or a loser in the game, there’s going to be hard competition for the last win,” says James E. Wilkening, associate director of the program.

These competitive sport teams are taken seriously at UCF. Two teams regularly recruited graduate students to make sure events run smoothly. “My job is to ensure that the sports run well, to supply officials to regulate the competitions, and to work with other organizations in getting programming for the events,” says Dion Wade, a sports management graduate assistant. With the aid of these assistants, some bigger teams have been broadcasted on the Nightcast Radio Station on UCF’s campus.

“However the day turns out, people should always remember that at the end, the competition doesn’t matter,” Wilkening says. “It’s simply about having fun.” —OB

Contact Wilkening at imsports@mail.ucf.edu or Wade at dionwade@mail.ucf.edu.

Each fall and spring semester, UF invites motivated 12- to 18-year-old minority students from all over Florida to campus, showing them what engineering is about firsthand. “The program focuses on minority students and women-those groups that are generally under-represented in the stem disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,” says Dr. Jonathan Earle, program administrator and associate dean for student affairs for the engineering college. By exposing these students to engineering, the outreach inspires more of the quickly growing minority population to become engineers, helping to ensure enough future manpower for the United States to stay competitive in the global market.

During the program, speakers discuss engineering’s essential role in today’s society and tell students which courses they should take now to prepare for a technical major in college. “UF engineering students come in as part of the program to do presentations, telling them about their own experiences,” Earle says. UF students also take the young visitors on tours of the department, giving them advice and a student’s perspective about being an engineering student.

Earle started the outreach 10 years ago in collaboration with ExxonMobil, a corporation that recruited heavily at UF and already had a strong relationship with its engineering department. Over the past decade, ExxonMobil has made the students’ trips possible by donating $300,000 to cover all of their transportation, housing, and food costs. But a free educational trip isn’t the only benefit to participants; for many, it’s the first time they’ve ever left their own communities. “When they visit for the first time, they get out of those inner-city places to go anywhere significant on a main university campus, and they’ll tell you that,” Earle says.

While not intended as a recruitment tool, several students have decided to attend UF after participating in the program. “Some of our students will tell you the first time they heard about engineering was when they took one of these trips, so it’s sort of a reward for having the outreach program,” Earle says. —AMC

Contact Dr. Earle at jearl@eng.ufl.edu.

With America’s ever-increasing number of golf courses and sports fields, there’s been an increasing demand for turf grass technologies and professionals. This major combines the study of grass, soil, water, and pests and the business to educate about the intricacies of managing turf grass. “The science involves studies such as turf grass breeding and other various segments,” says Russell Nagata, professor at the Everglades Research and Education Center.

If you’ve ever noticed the broadloom perfection of the landscape when you’ve gone to play golf, then you’ve just noticed the work of a turf grass professional. This degree serves people in need of professional advancement in sports management, pest control management, golf course superintendents, and other professions in Florida’s eight billion dollar turf industry.

The 23 students majoring in this science take courses in environmental horticulture and plant pathology, with classes such as plant identification and botany. Sports and landscaping internships are also required, and the majority of students complete them at golf courses. “Word of the major travels fast at UF,” says Judy Wilson, staff and academic program assistant. “Word-of-mouth, counselors, or golf players usually spread information about the turf grass science.”

If you’re going to join any club this year, make it the Turf Grass Club. The organization, mainly made up of students majoring in the science, commits to service projects in golf tournaments and lawn services. They’re also involved in state and national societies that participate in research for the management, breeding, and industrialization of turf grass. For the most part, the students create their own projects on campus, working with sports fields such as Florida Field, UF’s football stadium.

“Golf industries are growing with the number of citizens, theme parks are expanding, and there’s an increasing demand in grass management,” Wilson says. “For that reason, I see a bright future for a bachelor’s in turf grass.” —OB

Contact Wilson at 352-392-1831 or Nagata at nagata@isis.ufl.edu.

“As we were students and then worked with students who were our clients out at the Women’s Center, we were so impressed by everybody’s consternation about really getting to and developing a life that works,” says Dr. Annabel Brooks, research associate and events coordinator. “We were all so ensconced and entrenched in all this academic theory and pontification, but for so many women, our lives just weren’t working.”

Pulling inspiration from recent theses on transformational leadership, Brooks and Anita Vorreyer-Hedges got busy to create a program and a theme that would help women “get a life” beyond the boundaries of their academic lives. “Academic classes and course study don’t always help you in practical ways to live your life better,” Brooks says. Just in January 2004, grrrls can make a lunch time count during a brown-bag lecture on “Cultivating Imagination and Spirit,” define dating do’s and taboos at a workshop entitled “Was It Good For You?,” let it all hang out at “Grrrl Talk,” a feminist discussion group, and get the healin’ feelin’ when famed doctor and dream-realizer Patch Adams comes to address the center. The monthly activities will culminate in March with the national conference, “Women Moving at the Speed of Dreams.” Partnering with Society for Success and Leadership, Brooks says the Women’s Center has recruited speakers “who really think ‘out-of-the-box’.”

“We’ve gotten some much response on campus, like when we planned for our mother and daughter documentary expecting 40 people and had 160 show up,” Brooks says. “We’ve gotten a lot of inquiries, even from other colleges looking at our web site.” Smart chics who want to carry their search for fulfillment further can attend courses being developed by the continuing education department from the information disseminated at the conference.

“Our hope was to demonstrate some very practical ways to make our lives better and richer,” Brooks says. “The goal of the conference is health, wealth, and creativity, because those are the three components that I think everybody’s looking for, and if we can look at different paradigms and find a place where all three of those things are working, our lives will certainly be working.” —SRR

Contact Brooks at abrooks@unf.edu or visit www.unf.edu/dept/womens-center.

A minimum of two members from each of USF’s 300+ registered clubs packed themselves in the Marshall Center Ballroom last fall for the Office of Student Activities’ annual “Bull Session.”

Each club’s members picked two workshops to attend, their choices ranging from “Team Up! Improving Teamwork in Your Organization” to “Stop Managing and Start Leading!” All workshops pertained to how to make their organization better in the upcoming year, with most focusing on how members could better their organization by improving relations among themselves. Team building, trust, and leadership exercises were included in every workshop throughout the day.

“We keep the interests of the club members by switching things up every year. Also, our program leaders are always bursting with energy, which keeps people into the event,” says Alicia Keating, leadership development graduate assistant, who has organized the training event for the past two years.

For the last six years, students have turned out to “shoot the bull”. It’s always in the very beginning of the fall semester, so it’s a great way to get each club and its members motivated to start the year. But just in case talk isn’t enough to start the ball rolling, Keating always has her secret weapon.

“Good food is one of the most vital keys to keeping a big group’s attentiveness,” she says. “It’s always the driving force at this event.” —JT

Contact Keating at AKeating@admin.usf.edu.

Forty years later, the station plays classical and jazz music in the evenings to entertain its listeners. Throughout the years, WUSF moved away from only targeting the students of USF as their sole audience. They actively pursue fans in other areas of Tampa and beyond. Blind listeners of the station can hear newspapers and magazines read to them during certain times.

When WUSF’s signal only reached half a mile out from campus, management decided it was time for a change and increased the power of the signal so the radio station could reach more people. Soon, the radio station had a fan base outside USF that included an array of community members.

“We’re reaching people who have and don’t have an interest in USF. We bring them to the university in a different way,” says JoAnn Urofsky, WUSF’s general manager.

WUSF makes a conscious effort to bring together both the community and the students. It airs University Beat, a two-minute program that plays five times per week, which focuses on student activities that greatly benefit the community.

The station became the first public radio station in the country to broadcast High Definition radio, which provides the listener with better reception. WUSF hopes to send information through the HD radio waves to a listener’s receiver in the future. This would make something like the Amber Alert System more accessible to the public.

“I think WUSF will keep changing. As society and media grow and evolve, so do people’s need for music and news,” Urofsky says. “A radio station must adapt and change with the public or it won’t last.”

For its 40th anniversary, 89.7 WUSF has dedicated its station to the community. Through the years, it has evolved into a station which sets its goals on bringing together the students of USF and the surrounding community for positive changes. —JT

Contact Urofsky at jurosky@wusf.org.

ThE-News is a tri-weekly e-newsletter that keeps e-verybody working for UWF well informed. Created in 1998 by the UWF Office of Public Affairs and Marketing, ThE-News has become the e-nvy of college e-mployees statewide.

“ThE-News is regarded as a reliable, up-to-date electronic newsletter,” says Jamie Woodard, assistant director of communications.

From a student’s participation and placement in the popular TV show Jeopardy to important deadlines and congratulations messages, ThE-News keeps staff members aware of the world around them. Each e-dition offers its own variety of e-xciting news.

Monday’s newsletter contains “On Campus”, and “Around Town”, where readers receive the low-down on campus and local e-vents. No more complaining about having missed the campus theatrical presentation of Spoon River Anthology or the mega-discount hours at the campus bookstore due to lack of communication.

On a similar note, ThE-News readers have no e-xcuses for missing academic deadlines. Wednesday’s e-dition, featuring “It’s Academic” and “Resource Rack” where announcements for important academic programs and deadlines appear, provides pertinent links and important contact information to readers.

Thursday’s e-dition includes “University Notes”, where important and noteworthy UWF information is displayed, and “Campus Congratulations”, where students and faculty receive recognition for achievements from outstanding presentations to research grants.

E-very e-dition provides readers with headlines and links to on-line stories. —MDJ

Contact Woodard at jwoodard@uwf.edu.