Midnight Holiday Madness

The day after a hardy Thanksgiving meal is spent by most sitting and watching television with family, but for dedicated shoppers it’s spent running around retail stores.

Black Friday, known to many as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, is a day where people tend to hit the stores looking for the day’s biggest bargain.

For some Black Friday begins immediately after their Thanksgiving dinner, but for others the traditional dinner of turkey and mashed potatoes is substituted for whatever fast food restaurant is open in the parking lot of the store in which they have been waiting at for hours.

Cody Patten had been waiting since 9 a.m. in the front of Best Buy in Vacaville hoping to get a new laptop computer.

Patten said that it was his second time taking part in the Black Friday sales, and that the year before he managed to save $600 on a new television.

Lines of tents were set up along the perimeter of the Best Buy store, filled with shoppers hoping to save money on merchandise.

One could easily spot the experienced Black Friday shoppers because of the preparation they had taken to pack all the necessities to spend hours waiting for the store to open.

In Vacaville and for its surrounding cities one of the premiere Black Friday shopping centers are the Vacaville Premium Outlets, many of its stores opening as early as midnight on Thanksgiving.
The outlets tend to be popular on regular days, but nothing can compare to the amount of visitors they receive on the eve of Black Friday.

Parking lots are filled and so are the lots of every other store adjacent to the outlets. Police cars patrol the streets in front of and around the stores patrolling, citing vehicles that are illegally parked.

A quick look at the popular stores that are housed in Vacaville’s Premium Outlet shopping center and one can see where preparation was indeed a virtue.

The Coach and Nike outlet stores are two of the prime sources for Black Friday shoppers.

Stacy, a Sacramento resident, was in Vacaville having Thanksgiving dinner with relatives and when she decided to take part in the outlet shopping experience for the first time.

“As far as I can remember yes this is my first time (shopping on Black Friday), but I might have done it once before a long time ago,” she said.

While waiting in a long line at the Nike Outlet, Stacy said that she planned on saving 60 percent on her merchandise before she walked out the door.

Stacy admits that she is an avid shopper, but said that when it comes to Black Friday shopping it is important to do your homework before you wait in long lines at stores where you think you’re getting a bargain but you’re really not.

Black Friday continually ranks among the top as one of the busiest retail shopping days of the year, along with the Saturday before Christmas.

A New Causeway Tradition has Risen

A bitter rivalry has taken a new twist this year between UC Davis and Sacramento State.

Both schools are commonly seen trying to beat one another on the gridiron, but now a new playing field will be added to the challenge.

This year marks the first Causeway Classic Blood Drive, sponsored by Bloodsource.

The competing schools will try to see who can register the most Bloodsource blood donors, and the winner will be awarded a trophy at each year’s Causeway Classic football game.

This year will mark the start to an annual competition between the two schools.

Project Director, Kate Blake, has seen firsthand how enthusiastic students from their respective schools can get about donating blood.

"The best thing about this blood drive is how energized the students are about helping others," Blake said in a press release. "I think it will only get better every year."

Blake has seen the large amount of students coming out to donate blood firsthand as she patrolled the University Union Ballroom in the blood drive’s second day. Blake said that the numbers have more than tripled compared to years past.

“We’ve had a fabulous turnout this year. We’ve had a huge amount of participation from all the social groups on campus,” Blake said. 

In the second day of a four day Bloodsource tour of Sac State, the University Union Ballroom was nearing it's 1,700 capacity with students, faculty and Bloodsource workers all combining to aid the blood drive in any way they could.

Patty Rouen has been working for Bloodsource for the past 13 years and believes that students should donate blood because an individual’s donation can help multiple types of injuries.

“There are many, many patients that need blood in the hospitals,” Rouen said. “Your blood donation helps more than one person.”

From students who were donating for their first time to those who have been donating for years, each student has their own reason for donating blood.

Caitie Gardner, a second year communications major, donated blood for her first time and admits the waiting process made her a bit nervous.

“I feel like I should donate blood because you can save up to three people’s lives by donating,” Gardner said.

Erin Lewis is a Sac State student who has donated blood multiple times, and is surprised by the turnout.

“I always give blood…I’ve been giving blood for a couple of years, so I figured I’d come here to do it too,” Lewis said. 

Brooke Vinaten believes it’s a calling for her to donate blood because of her specific blood type.
Vinaten donated blood alongside one of her friends on the second day of the blood drive.

“I figure it’s a good way to give blood…I’m a rare blood type so it’s a good reason why I want to do it,” Vinaten said.

The blood drive will continue for two more days on the Sac State campus, Bloodsource will return on Nov. 3 and 5 to register and collect donations from individuals interested in donating.

A New Beginning

For a large amount of immigrants that come into the United States a goal that he or she hopes to achieve is to become a citizen of this country.
People from over 50 countries worldwide filled the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium on Sept. 17, 2008 some waiting to get sworn in as citizens and others serving as their audience.
The process of gaining citizenship can range from an easy journey to a terrible expedition, but for the more than 1,000 men and women who lined the auditorium floor the journey was coming to an end.
Fitted with flags from the United States and from their various native countries people sat in anticipation as patriotic music rang through the auditorium’s speakers.
On the outside a different story was playing out, lines of people stretched onto J street waiting to be let in to the already full auditorium.
Not only were potential citizens lining up in front of the newly renovated building, but so were protesters, political party representatives and street vendors.
There are numerous advantages to gaining citizenship, but on that day the importance of voting became evident for the large group of potential new voters.
Both Republican and Democrats had tables with information pamphlets and voter registration cards set up awaiting the large group of untapped voting prospects.
While some gain their citizenship to vote and lay claim to their portion of our nation’s democracy, others do it for another reason.
For those who have family members in other countries who wish to come to the United States, with the aid of a relative who has his or her citizenship the process of becoming a permanent resident is easier and can go by smoothly.
A silence came upon the crowd as the host announced that the newly sworn in citizens would swear their allegiance to a new country, for some this would be a new experience.
The pledge of allegiance could be heard from the outside as the new citizens proudly displayed their love for their new country.
As people began to file out of the auditorium, tears began to rain across the faces of some, knowing that the long trip toward citizenship was over.
On a day where citizenship was celebrated all over the United States, Sacramento put forth its share of new citizens.

Broomball...Enough Said

Broomball for many is considered a leisure activity, but for the men of Tau Kappa Epsilon it’s a serious matter.
Every semester the one constant rush event held by the fraternity is broomball; it has become popular among not only the active chapter but also by the potential new members.
Broomball is a combination of hockey, soccer and speed skating, but for those who have never played it could feel more like an organized team game of slip and slide.
With the large turnout the chapter has had so far, this semester’s broomball games were between teams of an estimated 15 guys per team.
As rush week progresses active members begin to talk about new techniques and equipment they will display once broomball arrives, yet it’s interesting to see who doesn’t get the memo of wearing sweat pants instead of shorts.
Mark Wells, an active member of TKE, participated in his first ever broomball match this semester and believes it provides for an experience to share with friends.
“Everyone has a story about playing broomball and getting pulled over,” Wells said.
Getting pulled over the rink wall has also become tradition for the men and potential new members of TKE.
With the large turnout this semester, staying away from the outskirts of the rink was particularly crucial.
At every rush event it’s important to get a large amount of actives to show up, but for broomball there is no need to worry about the attendance of the active chapter.
“Broomball is a great way to meet everyone,” Wells said of the event.
For some broomball provides an outlet to be wild and to participate in something that not everyone gets to do, for Marco Salas, a potential new member, it did just that.
“I thought it was sick. It’s something you don’t get to do all the time, and it allows for bonding between the members of the fraternity,” Salas said.
Whether it’s a strictly business game or if it just serves the purpose of being a social event to gather the men of TKE, it’s safe to say broomball is here to stay.

The Hunt for Potentials

The first few weeks of a new semester at Sacramento State can be a bit hectic for students, and adding to the chaos is what is known to many as “Greek Row.”
As students roam from class to class a number of different student organizations immerse themselves in front of the library and union looking for potential new members.
For those in a sorority or a fraternity the start of a new semester means re-uniting with friends and reminiscing about their vacations, but more importantly it means the start of rushing.
The term rush in a nut shell means: the act of attempting to recruit new members so he or she can become part of your organization. For many first time students this can be an intimidating process.
Countless times will a person attempt to stop another individual in order to persuade them to either meet some other members of their group or to come out to a rush event being put on by that organization.
Being able to start up a conversation with a complete stranger while selling your fraternity or sorority at the same time is an art, yet it goes unnoticed by passer bys who turn the other cheek and continue walking passed booths.
Dustin Mora, the rush chair for the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, spends most of his day at or near the booth trying to recruit new members.
"It is really hectic in the sense that I have to add classes, set-up rush events, talk to potential new members and spend a large portion of my day at the booth," Mora said.
Day in and day out members of fraternities and sororities engulf their booths, hoping that the next person that walks by will show interest in their organization. Once the student reaches for a rush flier or pamphlet the “rush process” has commenced.
Recruiting new members can not only build a stronger chapter, but it also guarantees that the traditions put in place by the group can continue on for years to come.
" If you don't have a good rush the chapter can't get the quality of guys we're looking for, which hurts the chapter because we don't improve the strength of the organization," Mora said.
Rushing is a two way street, not only does the organization play an important role, but the person who is showing interest in a certain group has complete power in their hands. Making them the most important piece to the “rush puzzle.”
At times rushing can not only be time consuming, but it can also be difficult Mora said.
"Having active members show up at the booth and talk to perspectives and try to get them to come out to our rush events can be hard," Mora said.
Rush Week can be an interesting time for students at Sac State because one can either be annoyed with all the extra foot traffic that it brings, or one can live it up and visit each booth and potentially make a life changing decision with a simple hello.