1983-11-30

              *  *  *    Special Sports Edition    *  *  *

Blazermania Burns Up CSB

by Chuck Dewey Blazer Sports Information

That overstuffed tomato bounding around campus isn't a refugee from the Fruit of the Loom gang. She's a fireball. And she's spreading BLAZERMANIA across the St. Ben's and St. John's campuses.

The Burn Unit is a pep club designed to unite, excite and ignite student support for Blazer athletics.

Its mission is to seek out and discover St. Ben's sporting events — to boldly go where no fan has gone before.

December 1 will be the first test of the spunky Burn Unit's fire as it attempts to fill SJU's Rat Hall with screaming fans when the Blazer basketball team plays its home opener against Dr. Martin Luther College.

The CSB/SJU Jazz Band will be on hand to fan the flames and inflame the fans between the JV and varsity contests.

The action-packed evening promises

to be the biggest and most exciting sporting event St. Ben's has ever seen.

The growth of the Burn Unit has been phenomenal. More than 170 St. Ben's and St. John's students form the group's core — the membership is split about evenly between the two campuses.

The name came about because St. Ben's teams are called "Blazers" and, as everyone knows, Blazers burn!

The Burn Unit milks its medical theme. Members will be selling white painters' caps branded with blocky red crosses and the group's name.

Some students will bring boxes blaring out the themes from popular doctor shows, such as "General Hospital more appropriate to the general rowdiness of the evening — "M*A*S*H."

Still others may show up garbed in "Blazerheads," papier mache versions of the Fireball that are worn as masks.

Most of the Burn Unit's activities up until now have centered around the December 1 basketball home opener at SJU's Rat Hall. But the Unit is a highly-organized, ongoing endeavor.

It's set up like a lodge, but it's not full of middle-aged men with funny sounding titles and even funnier looking hats — it's full of college-aged men and women with funny sounding names and funny

hats.

The heads of the Burn Unit, Barb Makie and Cathy Klarkowski, are the "Co-Pilot Lights" — they're responsible for keeping the unit's spirit lit.

The secretary, Jill Arbeiter, is the "Tender of the Log." The treasurer, Karen Peterson, is the "Keeper of the Flame."

Committee heads are knighted "Match-heads." Currently they are: Kelly Peters, recruitment; Kirsten Berg,

"St.    Elsewhere," '   and   —   perhaps

Others may show up in doctors' smocks and stethoscopes, carrying bandage-laden friends on stretchers.

Fireball nuzzles student

College of St. Benedict

Volume 8, Number 5

30 November, 1983

LIBRARY HAS PRIORTY OVER GYM

by Jane Merickel

The President of CSB and the presidential staff feel that sports enhance student life but the new library is the first priority over indoor athletic facilities.

Sister Emmanual Renner, Ph.D., president, said it's important to participate in sports for reason's of health, handling stress, and coordination for a student in studies—Emmanual walks two miles a day. Sister Coleman O'Con-nell, Ph.D., director of planning, says, "I don't want women in sports to feel unloved there isn't a one [administrative person] who speaks lightly of sports, it's a way to gain self-esteem as men have." Sister Coleman is known to be an early morning jogger.

Chuck Villette, Ph.D., academic dean, who believes physical activity has great significance, said that sports and academics are of equal importance; physical activity promotes well-being, mentally and physically—ihere needs to be a proper balance. Mike Ryan, M.S., director of college relations, says sports are especially important to a women's college. "Drive by St. Ben's any given day and it's possible to see 20 women running." said Ryan. "Women in sports are as acceptable as men right now."

(Top) Sister Emmanual Renner (Bottom) Sister Coleman O'Connell Photo by Jane Merickel

Sister Coleman points out that we do have tennis, softball, rugby, swimming and that we are getting a two mile exercise track in the spring. But what we don't have is an adequate gymnasium. "We could emphasize these sports as we wait for indoor athletic facilities " said Coleman.

According to Coleman, CSB grew fast — we have as many students now as we had in total from 1913-1970. We built the gym before the women's movement began, when ladies didn't exercise. But as soon as the movement took hold, our gym was inadequate. In order to have a first rate institution, we had to invest in faculty. "Now the central mission of the college is the library. We have to make choices," said Coleman. "This is not a jock school; we want sports, but they have to be secondary. When the library is purchased, we'll increase sports facilities."

"I hesitate to put priority on intercollegiate sports because intramurals lets everybody play." said Emmanual. "Sports isn't everything, it's something to be intergrated." According to Emmanual, our first priority as a liberal arts college is academic—the library. Adequate physical space is one of CSB's major ten year goals. According to Villette, the plan for the gym will probably be component style, building piece by piece.

Villette and Chuck Dewey, assistant to the director of public information, have sent a letter to faculty and staff to come to the opening game of the CSB Blazer basketball team at Rat Hall, Dec.

1

Villette cont. page 4-

Photo by P.LO.

first night prep; Diane VanOverbeke, sales and funding; and Laura Harker and Barb Dickerson, publicity.

Officers were chosen earlier in the year, before the surge of Johnnie enlistments — the gender balance of the general membership will probably carry over into the leadership next year or even later this year as more committees are added.

The zany naming continues as Burn Unit enlistees are classified as "first degree,'' "second degree" or ' 'third degree" members depending on their level of committment.

The Burn Unit plans to follow all Blazer sports. They will continue to support the basketball team throughout the season, sponsoring theme nights and special events at other home contests.

And the Unit will be making a big splash at the CSB Invitational swim meet in January.

is "What's 30-40 feet tall, red, and scared the bejabbers out of Dr. Martin Luther College basketball players attempting free throws in Rat Hall? ,**

Come to the Blazer basketball home opener Thursday night and find out.   -

The junior varsity plays a prelim game at 6 p.m. .:;.-   _;:¦/¦ ^... ¦ ^^^^r^;^^^

At 7:15 p.m. the CSB/SJU Jazz Band, under the direction of assistant professor of music Dale White, stokes

At 8 p.m. varsity action begins as the Blazers attempt to fry the Lancers in their   first   conference  contest  of the

season.