The clubs TU Blue Thumb, Kappa Delta Pi, TU Crossfit and TU eSports have recently been chartered by SA.
Blue Thumb
TU Blue Thumb has existed for “about a dozen years,” according to Austin Evans, head of the organization.
The organization has been reinstated as a chartered club several times in its history. Evans hopes to attract more students, especially younger ones, in an effort to make the club continuous.
Evans said the goal of TU Blue Thumb is to “monitor local streams and other moving bodies of water” for pollution because such water is “indicative of how humanity is influencing the environment.”
The secondary goal of monitoring for pollution is to share that data with others, especially those who have an undue impact on the environment, such as businesses and farmers. Presenting data can be a way to share how to positively impact the environment or mitigate damage.
Since the club’s data is open source, Evans said universities and others can use the data “to see how humanity is working to influence the environment for better or worse.”
The club records water quality monthly, testing the chemical components in the water. Three times a year, the club collects bugs, which are the first to die when pollution occurs.
Evans says collecting during spring and fall can let the club gather interesting data on how the summer affects the bugs.
Blue Thumb does these recordings as a group. Most of the club is comprised of ENS students, Evans said, although TU Blue Thumb has been trying to work with TU’s environmental club.
Blue Thumb has branches all over the state and works with the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, which provides them with opportunities to further share the data.
Although they “don’t organize the events directly,” Evans said members prepare the data and staff events such as a home and garden show.
Crossfit
Crossfit, a competitive fitness sport, is the foundation for the TU Crossfit club. Colby Deweese, president of the club, wants to use the club to build a crossfit community at TU.
Deweese hopes the club can bring attention to crossfit as a type of exercise. The club is meant for both those currently involved in crossfit and those interested in learning.
Having the club will, he hopes, show people that crossfit “is not intimidating,” as they learn to engage in body weight exercises.
The goal of the crossfit club is to “encourage healthy lifestyles,” Deweese said.
Crossfit can encourage students to go to the gym, even if not to do crossfit, and eat healthy.
Crossfit “changed my life in a positive way,” Deweese said, and he wants to share this experience with others.
As for events, the club hopes to have free body weight workouts, instructed by a professional, on the New U. A healthy snack or meal would possibly be provided after the workout, followed by a Q&A session on healthy living held with the professional crossfit instructor.
These plans must pass through SA, but Deweese hopes to have the first workout in the coming weeks.
While Deweese said there is currently an active TU crossfit community, he hopes the addition of a club can create a larger interest in the activity and grow and strengthen the community on campus.
Kappa Delta Pi
Kappa Delta Pi is an education honors society that hopes to “foster scholarship among education majors,” according to Hannah Lafranzo, head of the organization.
The club also works to bring education majors of different concentrations together and “unite everyone for the common goal of better education,” Lafranzo said.
Although the organization was just recently chartered, Kappa Delta Pi has “been active for about twenty-five to thirty years” on TU’s campus, according to Lafranzo.
The club hopes that chartering will allow for better funding of events, which will “provide incentives for people to come and get our name out there,” Lafranzo said.
Currently, the club plans to have workshops once a month relating to an educational topic. These workshops are organized to “increase professionalism and knowledge of the profession” of education majors.
Kappa Delta Pi has been more active in recent years. Lafranzo hopes this pattern will continue, as the club attempts to attract more members.
eSports
Alfred Song, president of the TU eSports club, hopes to bring together “a bunch of people who are interested in aspects of competitive online games.”
Song hopes the club will develop a community of gamers at TU.
Some members may want to play for fun, either with friends or with the goal of meeting new people. Others may want to watch professional gamers play games. That last group, Song said, has many students who are interested in playing competitively, at a collegiate level or higher.
While eSports is not devoted to a specific game, Song expects it will be mostly composed of League of Legends players. He does have plans, however, if enough members are interested in Defense of the Ancients (DotA), Counter Strike or StarCraft.
Most events the club plans to hold are divided into viewing parties and game playing.
When a major tournament occurs, Song said they plan to hold events so members can watch.
Other times, the club may just play online without needing to meet up.
For members more interested in competing, the club will host or attend tournaments, either locally or within the state.
Such tournaments would be year-round, especially for League of Legends. The club also plans to hold a Super Smash division tournament at TU.
Before spring break, the club attended their first League of Legends tournament qualifier. While they did not make it, Song hopes that next year the club will keep attending such qualifiers throughout the year.
Although Song expects the majority of members will already be interested in the games, the club would “definitely love for people who have always wanted to learn about a game” to join.
Those interested in TU Blue Thumb can contact Austin Evans at austin-evans@utulsa.edu.
For TU Crossfit, contact Colby Deweese at colby-deweese@utulsa.edu or check out their TU Crossfit club Facebook page.
For TU eSports, you can direct your questions to tu.esports@gmail.com.
