This is the true story of 35 sisters picked to survive the fall semester and see what happens when people stop being nice and start getting real. The Real World: Bowling Green.

The cast: Tau Beta Sigma, Alpha Xi, a marching band, and a new director.

The Script: Last year’s director comes to the end of his contract. The new director is hired three weeks before fundamentals week. He arrives in Bowling Green to find the shields have been activated, attitudes flying, tempers raging and a very sp arse kind word of welcome.

He arrives to find 35 sisters of Tau Beta Sigma, a sorority which he has exclusively worked with before, are not necessarily living up to the five qualities and eight essential factors they pledged they would. More specifically, they are forgettin g about that one of cheerfulness at all times and under all circumstances, even in the face of great trial.

Enter center stage, the new director who, coming in three weeks before the start of the marching season, had no clue of the band’s marching style, how it functions, its history, its traditions. You can’t blame him for that, but he was, by brothers , sisters, and veterans. Eventually, the negative attitudes spread to the new guys and even they, who had no prior knowledge of past directors and traditions, exuded unfriendly attitudes.

Enter stage right Alpha Xi, the disgruntled. These people exerted little effort to make the transition easier, to offer their services, but were wonderful at shooting dirty looks and making comments under their breath.

Enter stage left Alpha Xi, the sick and tired. These sisters try to keep things civil on and off the field. They are sick and tired of dealing with the disgruntled and try to keep the sorority’s best interest at hand.

"Aren’t we supposed to be the models around here?" a sick and tired sister asks. "What new members are going to join a sorority that criticizes every move the new director makes, and scowls when he messes up? We can’t have this happen. "

The sick and tired sisters decided to do something about the disgruntled. They asked that whenever the disgruntled felt the need to roll their eyes or make a comment, to keep it to themselves and do it in the privacy of their own homes. This seem ed to work for some, but not for all. A system of checks and balances was sort of created…look out for your fellow sister. If they get frustrated, help them out. Most of all, keep a smile on your face.

The result? The disgruntled eventually let their guard down and dealt with the situation in their own ways. They joined the sick and tired to recruit one of the strongest membership classes they have seen in a while. These new girls could care l ess if the new director picked his nose, or did the polka. They wanted to have fun and serve the band.

And so this class pulled the disgruntled and the sick and tired together to form a new group of sisters who could forgive and forget and move on. Those who couldn’t were left behind.

In the end, the sisters had one heck of a learning experience to put under their belts and say that in the end, they all pulled through together.

Respectfully Submitted,

Carolyn L. Steckel – Alpha Xi Delegate