82FALL SOCIAL CLUBS Men’s social club Theta keeps it cool with new jerseys. WHAT’S COOLER THAN BEING COOL? Sophomore Tyler Dixon and junior Jase Hutcherson tower over the other members. Hockey jerseys were chosen to help Theta stand out among the other clubs. Photo by: Julianne Baker MEN’S SOCIAL CLUB THETA always held fast to a standard of doing things differently. The officers of the club kept this ideal in mind when deciding to create jerseys for the first time in club history. They settled on hockey jerseys rather than traditional social club attire, which was a way for the members to stand out while still representing their club. Theta chose a creative team of members including senior belle Holland Chupek, an honorary Theta member, to brainstorm what the jerseys would look like. “The vision was that Theta would represent the idea of a club not doing things because everyone else was,” Chupek said. “However, we knew the members wanted something that established their pride for the club.” Each year Theta added to its numbers and presence on campus. Sophomore Drew McGinness said this decision was important to make in order to capitalize on the momentum Theta gained in the 2020-21 school year. “With the largest pledge class in the club’s short history pledging Theta in 2020, we were only going to expand and become a larger part of Harding’s community,” McGinness said. “This meant more eyes on us, more attention directed towards us and more excitement revolving around us.” This decision also came at a pivotal moment for every club— recruitment season. While every club participated in the tradition of Jersey Friday, members of Theta wore t-shirts before getting their jerseys. “Something to connect Theta’s members with the club was important,” McGinness said. “Not only for the freshmen looking to pledge, but for the entire campus to see that we are finally established.” The process to get hockey jerseys was a long and tedious one because it wasn’t a unanimous decision among members of the club. Every decision Theta made required intentionality due to the newness of the club. “Theta is really trying to make a name for itself,” sophomore member Charlie Parsons said. “The club itself is only four years old, so it feels important with every decision we make to decide what kind of club we want to be.” Once the jerseys arrived, there was a buzz around campus. Theta continued to set themselves apart each year, and hoped to continue to do so. “We are so excited for this new part of our identity,” Chupek said. “We are proud of how far we have come in just a few short years.” WRITTEN BY WATKINS KELLY CREATING A LEGACY Members of men’s social club Theta smile for a picture. Their new jerseys were a way to show club pride. Photo by: Julianne Baker
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