Yee haw! It’s that time of year again, classes are starting and new friends are being made. The USF Round-Up, a type of pep rally for new and incoming students, is a back-to-school tradition that draws in organizations from all over the campus and allows students to become familiar with the different activities on and off campus.

The Round-Up will be held in the Sun Dome Arena on August 26th at 7 p.m. According to Keri Riegler, program coordinator for student activities, “The Round-Up is to get incoming students acclimated with the University to know what (it’s) like to be a Bull and feeling the USF pride.”

This year’s program will include a student organization fair with free food and great prize giveaways. There will also be appearances from key university administrators.

“The Round-Up is a fun event and is a great way to recruit incoming students into our fraternity,” said Jose Arias, junior and a member of Sigma Chi.

Besides students recruiting for Greek organizations, volunteer organizations or religious groups, the Round-Up benefits all students. Kara Johnson, USF junior said, “I feel it’s important to have this type of activity at USF because it helps you get a sense of what the university is like without being pressured into one particular type of activity. Plus, who doesn’t like free food?”

What’s an event without prizes? This year USF spared no expense. Students can win a semester of free rent (for a current USF residential student), parking passes, Coca-Cola products, Bulls merchandise and more.

The events showcased will be hosted by USF alumni Melissa Howard. Melissa Howard graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in May 1999. Many students may have seen Melissa Howard on MTV’s hit reality series Real World: New Orleans in 2000. Since Real World Howard has hosted several MTV shows, appeared on Real World/Road Rules Battle of the Sexes and is now working on an Oxygen gag show titled Girls Behaving Badly.

“It’s nice to have a USF alum come back and put her spin on what it’s like to be a USF student and allow incoming students to see where USF alumni can end up,” Riegler said.

Shortly following the student fair, there will be a 45-minute comedic performance by Kathy Griffin presented by CAB, student activities and Student Government.

Kathy Griffin may be best known for her role of Vicky Groener Rubenstein on the television series Suddenly Susan and television show Average Joe.Originally, she lived in Chicago before starting show business, but when her family moved out to California, she went along and performed stand-up, where she was eventually discovered.

Other featured speakers will include USF President Judy Genshaft and new Athletic Director Doug Woolard.

So what’s the point of students coming to Round-Up?

“To get themselves back into USF and knowing what it’s all about, to come see a great comedy show, see a fellow USF alum and to meet back with other students. It’s really a great way to start off the school year,” Riegler said.

If you’d like to learn more about the USF Round-Up, please visit the Web site at www.ctr.usf.edu/roundup.