S.C.R.E.A.M. gathers KSU sports fans

Amanda Vasil

During high school athletic events, fans could be seen wildly yelling and cheering for their team, dressed in bright school colors and bizarre clothing combinations.

At Kent State, there is an organization that recognizes these spirited students — S.C.R.E.A.M.

Students Creating Ruckus, Energy and Mayhem was established in the mid ’90s by Kara Zufall-Hall, then director of athletic marketing and promotions, to try to get spirited students together to support athletic teams. After Zufall-Hall left her position, the organization failed to be maintained and folded.

Gail Moseley, current director of athletic marketing and promotions, revived the organization last year because she said she feels it is a worthwhile group.

“This can be a very fun organization, and hopefully, more students will want to be involved,” Moseley said in an e-mail interview.

Jane Sorosky, junior fashion merchandising major, has been a member of S.C.R.E.A.M. since its revival last year and is president of the organization.

“It’s an organization for people who are energetic and excited about sports. Our main goal is to spread awareness about sports,” she said.

S.C.R.E.A.M. members try to attend all sports events, Sorosky said, but tend to favor basketball because of its popularity.

“That’s just the nature of the sport,” she said.

Because the organization is so new and membership is still growing, S.C.R.E.A.M. hasn’t been able to head many programs but is working on getting more involved with Relay for Life and Future Flashes.

Future Flashes is a Kent State Athletics kids’ club for children 13 and under. Previously, each sport had its own club for children. When Moseley accepted her position, she combined all the sports’ kids’ clubs. Now, children can be involved in all the sports on campus. S.C.R.E.A.M. puts on events such as pizza parties and pajama jams to interest children in athletic games. Future Flashes is also a way for children to receive free tickets to games.

“We are hoping to be more involved with the Future Flashes with some kind of ‘Big Brother, Big Sister’ type activities,” Moseley said.

S.C.R.E.A.M. members may receive club T-shirts, pizza parties, do-rags, discount cards, and e-mail updates and reminders about events when they join. But that’s not all they get.

“The main benefit is that you get priority seating for sports events,” Sorosky said. “It’s cool to see other members at a game with the same T-shirt.”

Another appealing aspect of the organization is that it allows students to meet new people with similar interests and network, she said.

If students are interested in joining, they may access the S.C.R.E.A.M. Web site through the Kent State Athletics Web site or stop in the M.A.C. Center to sign up.

Contact sports correspondent Amanda Vasil at [email protected].