Oeuita Devita simply meant "of life." Jo Goy, instructor of biology and sponsor of Devita, said students de– cided on the name when the club began in 1987. "I didn 't coin the phrase," Goy said. " I guess the students who started it back [in 1987 did]." Devita strove to give biology ma– jors the opportunity to fellowship with one another. "It is basically a social organiza– tion and it giyes the students a chance to get together and talk abou t biol– ogy and other issues in science that interest them," Goy said. At club meetings, members dis– cu ssed journals and new scientific happenings. " It really gives me a ch ance to mingle with other biology students and meet all the people in our de– partment," senior Janel Sh e lton said. Devita kicked off the yea r in Sep– tember with a cookout at Berryhill Park. Biology majors and faculty Senior Melissa Holland and junior Derek Spears glance through the Nursing Stu– dent Association's cookbook at theOct. 25 meeting. Membersofthe organization com– piled recipes in the fall and sold the book as a fundraiser. (Photo by Renee Lewis) Senior Louisa Dukesortsthrough a box of hygiene itemsdonated by the student body in October. The Gedanken Society hosted the drive and gave the items to various charities for distribution. (Photo by April Clem) _ . 198 organizations members met to mingle and share a meal. Devita members also provided food for the weekly seminars re– qu!red by the science department. Senior biology majors and pro– fessors presented semina rs on top– ics including how to app ly to grad ua te school, summe r intern– ship experiences, current research and othe r topics relating to the field . Dr. Nathan Mills, assistant pro– fessor of biology, presented a semi– nar on his amphibians research. Senior Jon Gers t spoke in the fall abou t his summer internship at the University of Rutgers. "We always bring snacks to our seminars and just get to know one another since weaBpractically live in the science building," senior Adam C rane, presiden t of Devita, said . Devita was a lso involved w ith other clubs in the science depart– ment. During the fa ll semester, , members played a game of softba ll agai nst the Gedanken Society. In the spring, Devita hosted " dinner-and-a-movie" nights. Members o f the club met at the Gays' house, cooked dinner and watched movies w ith nature or bi– o logy related themes, such as "Ju– rassic Park. " "It's a really grea t chance for us to get togethe r outside the class– room," senior Ali DeLukie, vice president of Devita, said. "It's ex– citi ng that we're actua lly starting to do some th ings as a group." Students involved in Devita enjoyed it because the organiza– t ion prov ided opportun iti es to share co mm on int erests w i th other peop le. " I like the orga ni zation/' se– nior Beth Prost said. " It is h ard to talk about biology w ith a lot of people, but in Devita everyone is studying the same things so it makes it so much easier." -Jaime Falls
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