Activities Center-Virgil Henson
The Virgil Henson Activities Center is a 270,000-square-foot facility which houses a weight room, recreational pool, eight-lane bowling alley, eight racquetball courts, and a 38,000-square-foot all-purpose gymnasium for volleyball and basketball, and a 40-foot tall climbing tower, 1/8 mile jogging tract, and a game room. The weight room has free weights, plate-loaded weight machines, pin-select machines, a cardio area with treadmills, stationary bikes, elliptical machines and StairMasters. The game room has billiards, shuffleboard, foosball, air hockey, table tennis, darts, game tables and board games. The Activities Center houses the offices of the Department of Sports and Exercise Sciences, Recreational Sports, Department of Communication Disorders, Student Medical Services, Kids Kollege, and Office of Intercollegiate Athletics. For more information, access the website at wtamu.edu/vhac.
Alumni Association
The WTAMU Alumni Association, located in Buffalo Courts Alumni Center, serves as a positive liaison between the University and its graduates and former students. The Alumni Association represents the alumni constituency in the daily life of the University. The Alumni Association is the exclusive source for the official WTAMU series ring, a tradition unique to West Texas A&M University and its graduates.
For more information, contact the Alumni Association at 806-651-2311 or buffalum.com.
Athletics
WTAMU has 17 men’s and women’s teams competing in intercollegiate athletics as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II. The majority of our teams compete as a member of the Lone Star Conference, while men’s soccer competes in the Heartland Conference and equestrian as a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. For more information regarding athletics, access the website at gobuffsgo.com.
Buffalo Sports Park
Buffalo Sports Park is the largest grouping of synthetic fields in the United States. The sports park includes a lighted three-field intramural and recreational softball/flag football facility. Buffalo Sports Park also includes lighted courts for recreational tennis, two recreational basketball courts, and two sand volleyball courts. The grand plaza area is great for campus organizational events. Buffalo Sports Park is the home for WT’s Division II intercollegiate complex and includes baseball’s Wilder Park, Schaeffer Park for women’s softball, soccer and track and field stadium, two combination football and soccer practice fields which are also used by the WT Marching Band. A lighted jogging trail winds through and around the sports park. Rest room, concession and ticket facilities are located in each area.
Buff Branding
Buff Branding, part two of our new-student orientation experience, is designed to help first-year students become familiar with the WTAMU culture and traditions, develop a network of support, understand academic expectations, and successfully make the transition from high school to the university. Planned and implemented by Rogers LEAD WT, Buff Branding has been a campus tradition for more than 35 years. It starts the day the residence halls open in the fall and includes the University’s traditional Branding Ceremony, a new student’s official welcome to the “Buff” family. For more information, contact the Office of Student Engagement and Leadership at 806-651-2313.
Campus Media
The campus publication, The Prairie, is published in print format monthly and weekly in online format and informs readers of student activities and voices student opinion. The editor and staff of The Prairie are students interested in journalism and work under supervision of mass communications faculty. For more information, access the website at wtamu.edu/prairie and on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/theprairiewt/ or Twitter @The_Prairie.
The Eternal Flame is the university magazine which is published in both the spring and fall semesters. Students coordinate the writing, photography, graphic design and advertising aspects of the magazine. Eternal Flame staff members photograph university events throughout the year and post them on their Facebook page. (https://www.facebook.com/wteternalflame/).
WTAMU owns and operates a non-commercial educational radio station, KWTS-FM 91.1, which allows students hands-on experience in the radio field. The student-operated station provides the opportunity for on-air announcing. KWTS prepares daily newscasts as well as broadcasting of WTAMU sporting events. Access the website for more information at wtamu.edu/kwts or click on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/kwts91.1/.
1910 PR is a student-led public relations firm that handles public relations campaigns for both campus clients and off-campus clients. For information about 1910 PR, contact Dr. Emily Kinsky at ekinsky@wtamu.edu.
Chapel-Joseph A. Hill
Dedicated to the first faculty of the University, the chapel is available as a place of individual worship, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and to student groups for reflection/worship. Facilities of the chapel are also available for weddings and other appropriate services. Arrangements for use of the chapel are made with the Information Desk in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center.
Cultural Opportunities
The Formal Art Gallery, located in Mary Moody Northen Hall, has frequent shows of art created by both students and professional artists. Hundreds of open-to-the-public concerts, recitals, exhibits and theatre performances are staged on campus each year, most free to students. The University boasts its own fully endowed Harrington String Quartet. Qualified students are invited to participate in performance ensembles, including band, jazz band, choir, orchestra, and instrumental and vocal ensembles.
For more information, contact the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities at 806-651-2777.
Diversity Programs
Diversity Programs provides culturally diverse student programs that promote a strong sense of campus community and an appreciation of diversity. Monthly programs expose students to a variety of cultures and cultural issues. Events show that diversity is more than just ethnicity. For more information, access the website at wtamu.edu/diversity.
Convocation
Convocation is a special event to welcome new students, introduce them to the traditions of the University, encourage students to become engaged members of the student body and provide suggestions for successfully completing a degree.
Greek Life
WTAMU hosts eight national fraternities and sororities; groups of women or men who join together for a common purpose or goal. Membership into these organizations is mutually selective. For more information or to register for sorority or fraternity recruitment, contact the Office of Student Engagement and Leadership, located in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center, Suite 103, at 806-651-2313.
Peer Education
The Peer Education group, PULSE (Peers, Understanding, Listening, Speaking, Educating), receives special training in social issues that affect today’s students. PULSE educates the student body on issues such as alcohol awareness and sexual responsibility to help students make healthy choices. Access the website for more information at wtamu.edu/peered.
Recreational Sports
The purpose of recreational sports at West Texas A&M University is to provide a comprehensive and varied program of competitive recreational experiences designed to meet the needs and interests of regularly enrolled undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty/staff members. The program includes intramurals, special events, sport clubs, Camp Tatanka, fitness, outdoor pursuits, Splish Splash Academy, and the Virgil Henson Activities Center.
- Intramurals is competition offered in sports for women, men, and where men and women are combined on teams (co-rec). Competition is provided in the form of leagues, tournaments and/or special events each semester. Programs offered are based upon student interest and availability of resources and facilities.
- Special events are offered at certain times during the school year for all students and faculty/staff. These activities allow students the opportunity to engage in wholesome activities on campus. Some activities offered are preseason tournaments and Saturday Night Alternative Programming (SNAP). One of the most popular special events is Trash Eastern Night, sponsored by the Office of Recreational Sports and CORE.
- Sport clubs provide opportunities for students to engage in wholesome competitive sports beyond the intramural level and in sports not part of the intercollegiate athletic program. Sport clubs at WTAMU include the Bowling Club, Cycling Club, Tennis Club, Rifle Club and Cricket Club.
- Fitness Services, located in Virgil Henson Activities Center, is dedicated to building and encouraging personal health excellence. Services offered include group exercise and special events. Group exercise classes include, but are not limited to, step aerobics, water aerobics and yoga. For more information, contact the Office of Fitness Services at 806-651-2323 or http://www.wtamu.edu/student-life/rec-sports.aspx.
- Outdoor Pursuits provides students with the opportunity to experience and enjoy the natural environment around them. Trips and classes will be offered each semester. The Outdoor Pursuits Shop in the Virgil Henson Activities Center is available to students for camping equipment and bike rentals.
The Office of Recreational Sports, located in Virgil Henson Activities Center, can be contacted at 806-651-2400 or http://www.wtamu.edu/student-life/rec-sports.aspx.
Religious Activities
Opportunity for continued religious growth and development is provided by student centers supported by Baptist, Catholic, Christian, Church of Christ, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Methodist churches. Student religious organizations provide opportunities for religious fellowship.
Student Activities
Student Activities provides social, cultural, intellectual, and recreational programs to all on-campus and commuter students. Activities include opportunities to connect to campus, connect to other students, and enhance the educational experience through diverse and exciting programming and events. For more information, contact the Office of Student Engagement and Leadership, located in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center, Room 103, at 806-651-2313 or http://wtamu.edu/student-life/student-engagement-leadership.aspx.
Student Center-Jack B. Kelley
The Jack B. Kelley Student Center, often referred to as the JBK, is the gathering place for the entire West Texas A&M University community. The JBK provides a convenient, central location for students to grab a snack, meet a friend, or just hang out and study. It is essentially our living room on campus! Additional services provided in the Student Center include:
- Large and small meeting rooms
- Large-screen televisions
- Wireless Internet connections
- Food Court
- Starbucks
- Information Desk
- University Bookstore
- United States Post Office
- Office of Student Affairs
- Student Government Offices
- Buffalo Gold Card Office
- Student Engagement and Leadership
The building is named in memory of former Amarillo businessman Jack B. Kelley, whose family provided an endowment to be used for facility improvements. The Food Court, Pod Store, and Starbucks offer a variety of different food options including Sharky’s, a locally owned burrito company, Chick-fil-A, Which Wich sandwiches, snacks, and specialty coffees. For more information, call 806-651-2394 or come by the JBK Information Desk. Additional information is also located on our website at wtamu.edu/jbk.
Student Government
Student Government’s purpose is to voice the beliefs and concerns of the entire student population within the West Texas A&M University community and The Texas A&M University System. Student Government consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. The executive branch consists of the student body president, student body vice president and chief justice. The judicial branch consists of the chief justice and members of the Student Judicial Board. The legislative branch is overseen by the vice president and consists of approximately 50 senators who represent each college, graduate and freshman students. Membership of Student Senate is comprised of a ratio of one senator for every 200 students within each college. Freshman and graduate senators are elected in the fall general election.
For more information, contact Student Government at 806-651-2385.
Student Organizations
West Texas A&M University has more than 130 organizations for students to participate. Quality education is preparation for a lifetime of learning. The University fully supports a well-rounded approach to education and encourages involvement in student organizations. While experiences in the classroom are vital, the vast majority of education goes beyond the classroom. Opportunities for involvement include departmental and professional, honorary, mutual interest, recreation/sport, religious, residence halls, service, student services and social organizations. Student organizations have freedom of choice in membership selection. Although organizations are free to develop standards for membership, these standards may not include provisions for denying membership on any basis that violates the law.
For more information, access the website at wtamu.edu/orgs.
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