UJBS I ACADEMIC I PEOPLE I LEADER HIP I ATHLETICS I ORG IZATIO YEARS After originally voting to disband themselves in their 50th year, members of Alpha Tau Epsilon decided to keep the club alive. AND COUNTING A club rooted in strong values and unity faced the possibility of disbandment in fall 2018, the same semesterthey celebrated their 50th anniversary. Men's socialclub Alpha Tau Epsilon (ATE) was encouraged to take on spring recruitment as a tool for continuing the club's traditions. During homecoming weekend 2018, the existing members of ATE hosted club alumni and were able to learn from past traditions and memories. Adjunct Professor in the College of Business Administration and ATE SponsorErastos Evdoxiadis said he felt inspired from hearing stories from the club's 50-year history. We saw people from 30 to 35 years ago that were just like us in many ways," Evdoxiadis said. "It was neat that the spirit of the club had not changed which is encouraging." When the members and sponsors began to look at the future of the club in fall 2018, they realized that most of their members were graduating che following semester. The members took a vote, and the majority decided that ATE should disband at the end of the schoolyear. According to ATE president sophomore McKinzy Kendall, the deans came to the men and stated that as long as one member and one sponsor stillwanted to keep the club going, they would not be forced to disband. According to Kendall, Evdoxiadis told Kendall that it would be a lot of work, but they were both willing to keep the traditions and the club spirit alive. Members ofmen's social club Alpha Tau Epsilon gatherfor their annual club photo in 1973. More than 40years later, after voting to disband, members ofAlpha Tau Epsilon worked with the deanofstudents to develop a spring recruitment strategy to help the club grow. I photo courtesy of Christopher Reynolds Sophomores Thomas Bowen and McKinzy Kendall and junior Josh Smith come together on March 4, 2019, and stand prepared to prevent the disbandment of men's social club Alpha Tau Epsilon throu.gh spring recruitment. In 2018, Alpha Tau Epsilon conducted the first-ever social club spring induction and planned to do the same in spring 2019. I photo by Sterling McMichael Alpha Tau Epsilon member participates in a softball game in the 1970s. In their earlyyears, Alpha Tau Epsilon actively participated in club sports and won the 1970 club sports swimming championships. I photo courtesy ofthe Christopher Reynolds Members ofmen's social club Alpha Tau Epsilon and GATA gather at Pattie Cobb Dorm in the 1980s. In 2019, this was the traditional spot for clubs to take group photos each spring. I photo courtesy of Marty Dejarnette The men ofsocial club Alpha Tau Epsilon come together for a Spring Sing group photo in 1989. Alpha Tau Epsilon joined GATA, Sigma Phi Mu and Ka Re Ta to develop a show called "Cell Block Rock," which they performed in the 1989 Spring Singshow. I photo courtesy of Marty Dejarnette SeniorQuinn Holleman leads members ofAlpha Tau Epsilon in a club cheer on Oct. 22, 2018, during AIl-Club in the Rhodes-Reaves Field House. The club received a standing ovation from all other social clubs in honor ofwhat was believed to be their last All-Club before disbanding. I photo by Sterling McMichael "Afterwhat nearly happened to us last semester, it felt a lot like God was saying, 'You have a shot at this, so go for it,"' Kendall said. In spring 2019, the remaining three active members, Kendall, freshman Marcus Bocox and junior Colin McIntosh, began spring recruitment, something that, according to Assistant Dean of StudentsKara Abston, had never been allowed before. Springrecruitment, according to Kendall, involved many individual conversations, encouraging interested students to join the club. ATE hosted game nights in the student center and sent postcards to incoming male students, hoping to attract potential members. One of Kendall's friends, sophomore Thomas Bowen, was one of the first members to join as a result of this recruitment. Through the personal relationships formed with the members of the club, he was encouraged to attend All-Club on one of the last nights of Club Week 2018. The night he attended, the other 29 clubs on campus gave ATE a standing ovation with the understanding that it would be their last All-Club performance. "I went to All-Club for the first time last semester just to see what it was like, and the outpouring of support that this tiny club got --- I couldn't wait to a part of it," Bowen said. Through support from faculty and students, ATE grew from three in December 2018 to sevenofficial members by March 2019. Kendall remained hopeful for the future of the club. "We're making progress and were hoping to reach the 100th anniversary," Kendall said."We'd like to be here forever." scory by Hannah Foust 72
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