It Starts With The Bow For as long as she could remember, Aubrey Cupp always wanted a sister. As of iO p.m. Friday on October 23, 2009, she had 82. Pledge week brought many sleepless n ights , st ressful days and slightly embarrass – ing moments. For freshman Aubrey Cupp, it also brought a b ig purple hair bow, a skir t , high heels and a who le new family. Cupp, along with 29 others, set out to survive and conq uer club week with women's social c1ub]u Go ] u. The week began its long festivities with a petite, pretty purple invita – tion delivered to the pledges' dorm rooms with instructions on what to do next . "When I met all of the girls by the Lily Pond when I received my bid, I knew Ju Go Ju was right for me," Cupp said. "As I walked towards them, which ended in a run, they saw me and began to yell my name and scream! It was immediate excitement!" Sunday night was spent in avid prepara – tion for the looming week ahead. Ju Co Ju pledges were decorating purple binders, borrowing purple pa "aphe r nalia and memo– rizing the ir given pledge names. When asked about the impossible amount ofwork she had to do, Cupp remained optimistic. "Lack o f sleep is a defmite, but I know I can count on my pledge sisters," Cupp said. "I honestly have no clue what this week tru– ly has in sto re for me, but I know it will be worth it in the end!" H oweve r , after Sunday afte rnoon's bid, the excitement soon wore into apprehension and di stress when the pledges were given their assignments for the week and began their first day on the job. Cupp said the hardest , most intimidating place for any pledge was the stud ent center. The building was packed full of older mem– bers who were waiting to be addressed by the pledges, who were supposed to know each member 's full name and status in the club. The oldel' members were to show no emo– tion and in some cases, were down-right rude to the pledges. " It was very int imidating trying to ad– dress all of them when they showed no emotion or acknowledgement of your presence at all," Cup p said. "Just getting up the courage to go into the student cen – ter frightens me!" Not only did pledge class member s have to get the signature of every member of Ju Co J u, but they were supposed to fill out numerous other face ts of their pledge book as well. This included signatures from all the clubs on campus, major and minor d ates every day, and a full page handwritten b iography of every member in Ju Go Ju. Pledges wer e supposed to accomplish all of this on top of a regular class load. "1 was able to sleep about two hou r s per night on average," Cupp said . "That was the toughest part, and a lot of our pledge class was sick from i t. " Although] u Co J u club week is difficult , each pledge member was given two big sis– ters t o help and encourage. On Wednesday night of club week, the big sisters threw a party for their "little sisters." This seemed to be a tUJ'ning point fo r Cupp. " It was so nice to have all t h e girls be so kind. and truly themselves ," Cupp said. " I loved being with my new]u GoJu family!" Tessa Knight, Cupp's big sis ter, com– mented on how well Cupp did through out club week. "Aubrey is beautiful on the inside and out," Knight sa id. "She had a great attitude and was always was willing to do what she had to. She was great." Cupp continued to say that the Wednes day night devotional drew all club mem– bers, new and old, together to worship. She sai d she made ve ry strong ti es with her club s isters that night. "The devo r eally helped us grow clos – er," Cupp said. "After leaving there 1 felt like I could talk to any of those girls about my problems. They all mean so much to me. 1 wouldn't trade their friendships for th e world!" With club week comi n g to an end, the girls hustled through their daily activi t ies and burned the midnight oil to complete their pledge books. By Friday, all the pledge members were completely exhaust– ed, emotionally , physica lly and mentally. H owever, the final night was known to be the hardest, and the pledge members had to be prepa red to be c ri tiqued , judged, accused and cautioned. It 's no wonder Friday night was called "rough night." "Just kn owing that pledge week will be over soon is the on ly way 1 will make it th rough," Cupp said. "I think 1 am ready. " Mter much ye ll ing, crying and antici– pation, the pledge members were finally given their most prized possession: a pur – ple and wh ite ] u Co J u jersey . Club week was finany after long last ... over. " I am so happy to be in Ju Go Ju ," Cupp said. " If you would have asked me on Tuesday, I would have sa id that I absolutely did not wan t to b e in a club, but now that I've been through it, it was absolutely worth it. Being with those girls is absolutely the best feeling in th e world. Getting 82 sis– ters a t one time is amazing. They are truly a bleSSing from Cod. I L-O-V- EJ -U-C – O -J - U... I , 1 LOVE IT! LOVE IT! Ju -Ju– Ju - Go -Ju!" . Jonet Orgoin Sophomore Callie Huey and Freshmen Aubrey Cupp, gather around the lily pond after recieving a bid on Sunday Oct. 18. Both girls pledged Ju Go Ju this year. Noah Darnell Aubrey Cupp smiles after Monday nights messy games with Sub-T and TNT on Oct. 19. She was involved in two slip-n-slides in one night. Noah Darnell Freshmen Alex Dean and Aubrey Cupp along with their pledge class cheer at roll call on Oct. 22. Ro ll ca ll was the time for everyone to show their club spirit . Noah Darnell Aubrey stands with her new sisters around the fountain on bid day, Oct. 18. The members gathered around the new girls and congratulated them. Noah Darnell club week 251
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