Enjoying Summer... Remembering Destination Unknown

Spirits Explore The Unknown at DU!

On April 16, 2011, Texas Spirits and their dates boarded three buses at 10:30 a.m. and dared to go into the unknown. Destination Unknown is a yearly, all-day social event, and the details of where Spirits are going and what they’ll be doing are kept secret by the Special Project Haunts until they arrive at the destination.

Rumors were flying about a trip to the river, Lonestar Jam, or Fiesta Texas, but when Spirits arrived at Cypress Canyon Canopy Tours in Spicewood, Texas, they were all excited to find out they’d be zip lining around beautiful Paleface Ranch.

Members of Spring '10 Weenie Class

Spring ’10 Weenie Jenna Fahle and her date were ready to go when they found out what they day would consist of. “I was so excited! It was such a unique idea,” said Fahle. “I’ve been zipping before, but never through trees! Some people were more comfortable with heights than others… we all depended on each other! The activity facilitated a group setting. I was able to hang out, literally, with girls in my group I probably wouldn’t have had the chance to see otherwise.”

Spirits and their dates formed teams of eight to journey through the course together, and after they completed the course, Jalopy catered delicious fajita tacos for lunch. There were tether ball and football games going on, and many were taking advantage of the small lake with a rope swing and zip line.

After all 180 guests finished their canopy tours, they made a quick change into dinner attire and got on the bus to eat at Hickory Street Bar & Grill in downtown Austin. The private event’s buffet of chicken, salad, pasta and fish was delicious, and it gave DU-ers the chance to relax after a full day outside.

As Spirits boarded the bus for the last time after dinner, Special Project Haunts Nancy Tan and Gaby DeLeon announced the last stop would be a bar tab at Qua on 4^th and Lavaca.  Everyone danced the night away as they ended a fun-filled Destination Unknown.

This is always one of the most anticipated events of the year, and Destination Unknown 2011 definitely lived up to the hype. Way to go, Special Project Haunts! 

Texas Spirits Support UT Dance

On Saturday, April 30th, Spirits came out to support the UT Dance Team as they performed their spring dance show to show off the dances they have mastered over the last year.  A fellow Spirit, Sarah Smith, has been part of the dance team for two years; she is one of the thirteen girls that are currently on the team.  The dances that were performed were a compilation of what they had learned for other competitions, as well as personal dances that they were able to choreograph themselves.

Sarah Smith (top row, second from left) and UT Dance Team

"The best part about the show and having a student-run team is that if you think to yourself 'Wow, it would be really awesome to do a dance to this song', then you have the chance to make it happen," says Sarah.  Sarah had a solo in the show, which was the first one she had ever had.  With the support of her best friends cheering her on from backstage, she ended up dancing beautifully and having a lot of fun.  In addition, the dancers performed a variety of styles of dance--jazz, modern, hip-hop, tap, lyrical, and ballet.

Congrats to UT Dance on a great '10-'11 season, and we look forward to see what you have in store for next year!

Summer Spotlight!

Spring '11 Weenie, Jules Bunch, and Spring '09 Weenie, Rachel Platis, have spent the past 30 days studying multimedia photography in Prague through a UT Maymester program. Below is the first of many recaps stolen from Jules' blog documenting her experience. 

Jules (center) and Rachel (right) in front of the Lennon Wall

"Morning Glory: Starting Off Right 

On my first morning in Prague, I awoke groggy and still jet lagged from the overnight flight over the Atlantic. I was sleepy enough to go back to sleep for summer hibernation, but the view from my window stopped me. An hour later, I was wondering the streets around my new apartment and stopped in a small cafe for a Czech take on American breakfast. I felt pretty guilty that my first meal in Europe claimed to be “Authentic American”, but having yet find an ATM, it was the only place I could find that would take debit. I was not disappointed with the bagel filled with sausage links. As with most Czech cuisine, meat is the center of attention. Going to the grocery store has, so far, been my favorite two hours spend in Prague. My new roommates and I took turns calling each other out from different isles voicing our amazement. “Look! They have dried mushrooms!” or “Guys! They don’t have peanut butter! They only have nutella!” While there were plenty of recognizable American brands, most of them had completely different packaging or design that what I’m used to. The oddest thing I found was prepackaged toast. It is sold similar to rice cakes and isn’t eaten hot. Off to have a nutella and jelly sandwich."

To read more about Jules' trip, and to see some beautiful photography, click here. 

Rachel also documented her trip and photos via blog which can be viewed here. 

Spring 2011 Newsletter

The Spring 2011 Newsletter is here! You can view it by clicking here.

A big thank you to the Newsletter Committee for working so hard on this!

Midnight Drag Wars

11:59 p.m. Sunday…It wasn’t your usual drag paint.

As part of Texas Spirits tradition, Midnight Drag Wars took place at 12 am on April 4^th.  The drag paint followed Pseudo Haunt Jaunt this year, which ensured that the night would be full of competition. Spirits of all classes it made out to the event and all girls were divided up into five windows separated by class. Not surprisingly, all of the windows turned out great! In order to fairly declare the winner, a few architecture students were asked to judge the paintings, and they named Fall ’09 as the winner, however they decided the commented that it was close.

 The upperclassmen placed second at Smoothie King, and Spring ’10 followed close behind at Potbelly. The employees of UFCU enjoyed the Weenies artist work at their window and are already looking forward to see what the Fall’11 weenies will come up with for Drag Wars next semester.

Pancakes for Parkinson’s

The Texas Round Table (an organization on campus comprised of fourteen Spirit organization current and former presidents and currently headed by past Texas Spirit Chief Haunt Melanie Torre) honored Dr. James Vick, former Vice President for Student Affairs and a current Plan II Math professor, and all others who are fighting Parkinson’s disease by hosting a pancakes fundraiser on Wednesday, April 20^th, at The University of Texas at Austin in front of Gregory Gym. The pancakes were handed out free of charge, but people were encouraged to give a donation of their choosing with all raised funds sent to the Team Fox Foundation to help fund Parkinson’s disease research. Thousands of pancakes were made and an incredible amount of $56,863.11 was raised for the cause as of April 20^th. 

Texas Spirits joined other volunteers from Spirit groups to talk to people, make pancakes, and clean tables. This event united the school and even brought President Powers to make an appearance. To learn more visit this link.