Washington State Cougars: The Sophomore Experience at WSU

Oct 31, 2013; Pullman, WA, USA; Washington State Cougars mascot Butch wears a Superman costume during the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It’s incredible to think I am half-way done with my sophomore year at Washington State University. Seems like yesterday I was starting my freshman year of school and writing about my freshman experiences.

With another semester in the books here at WSU, I can say I made the right decision to be a Coug! Instead of living in the dorms like I did last year, I moved into my fraternity (Phi Kappa Tau) this semester. Living in the fraternity and being apart of the Greek system here at WSU is an awesome experience.

Though I joined my fraternity last year, I was still wasn’t that close with my fraternity because I lived in the dorms. Having the ability to live in the fraternity has helped me form closer relationships not only with the guys in my Pledge Class, but upperclassmen as well. Phi Kappa Tau also does nice job of scheduling social events every weekend with sororities and different fraternities every weekend. Along with scheduling brotherhood events such as going to a movie, playing “pick-up” football and basketball games as well.

Overall I’m happy with my decision to be a “Phi-Tau.” This house has helped me become more of a leader and will be big part of my life. I encourage any future or current WSU students to join the Greek System. I was a little hesitant at first because I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. By joining the Greek System at WSU, you will have the opportunity to meet a many students along with forming relationships that will last a lifetime. I would suggest to give it a shot and see what happens. Know that the Greek System isn’t for everyone, which is not a bad thing at all. The Greek System is only a small part of WSU, and there are plenty of more opportunities to get involved at WSU.

Another area that I am involved in is writing for the school newspaper (The Daily Evergreen). I wrote for the Evergreen last year, but this year I took a giant step with it. Once again I was the beat writer for the WSU Cross Country team, but I also covered WSU football during the fall. Unfortunately I only got to sit in the student section for one home football game which was against Southern Utah, but I got the opportunity to sit in the press box this for football games since I was covering football for the Evergreen.

Sitting in the Press Box was an awesome experience for me because I got to watch the game from the best view in the stadium, along with eating free food and meeting other sports journalist. Another interesting part about covering football games is the ability to go to the press conference after games. I was able to witness Leach’s rant after the Oregon State. With football almost over, I am currently the Washington State University men’s basketball beat writer for the Daily Evergreen.

I’ve enjoyed this process because basketball is my favorite sport to play and watch. Being the beat writer for WSU men’s basketball has given me the opportunity to interview players like Royce Woolridge, Que Johnson and DaVonte Lacy, along with men’s basketball coach Ken Bone.

On the broadcasting side, my friends Curtis Calhoun, Chris Shaw and myself once again did a sports radio through the WSU student radio station KUGR. From 12-2 pm every Sunday, we would debate various sports topics from the Cougar athletics to National sports. This is a great opportunity for myself and my two friends to get that hands on experience.

For academics, this was truly my hardest semester for school, however I learned a lot of material this semester. I finished this semester with a 3.1 gpa. I got my first taste of what the Edward R. Murrow School of Communications has to offer. My hardest class of the year, Com 295 was brutal. I decided to take this class with the hardest teacher (Roberta Kelly) and it sure paid off. For two hours, twice a week, all we would do for this class was write stories.

What made this class so difficult was the requirements. If you misspelled a name or got a date wrong in your story, you automatically failed the paper. In order to pass this class you needed to have a C or above. Even though I failed four papers, I was able to pass the class with a C+. Another communication class I took was COM 210. This class wasn’t as difficult as Com 295, it still required a lot of work. This class taught me how to do photo shop, audio, and video work.

I also took a couple Sports Management classes. I decided I wanted to double minor in Sports Management and Spanish. Taking sports management was a great decision for me. I learned that sports is more than just a game, there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes. A highlight from my Sport Management 276 class was I got the ability to interview Sports Illustrated writer Phil Taylor for an assignment. I was able to get a lot of information from Taylor about working in Sports Journalism which got me excited about working in the field of sports.

With the Spring Semester starting up in January, I will try to do my best to write up some more Sophomore experiences.

Go Cougs!!

—Evan Baron (Follow Me On Twitter: @Evan_Baron)