University club has so much spirit it's spooky

Everything had to be perfect and it was. Calli Conti, 18, a freshman at the University of Texas, wore a summery black and white layered dress, 3-inch black peep-toe high heels and, for good luck, the diamond necklace that was a gift from her boyfriend. She paraded about her dorm, Hardin House, for everyone to see.

They approved, so she headed for what she believed was a second interview with the Texas Spirits, one of the most prestigious, tradition-rich and secretive spirit and service organizations on campus.

"I wanted it so badly. Yeah, I was stressed," Conti said.

When she met the Spirits member at the UT Tower, she learned that she had been accepted into the group. She was now a Weenie, which is what new members have been called since back in the day when the group, founded in 1941, inducted new members on Halloween.

With the widest smile, eyes glistening and giddy written all over her, Conti joined her fellow Weenies on the West Mall. A hugfest ensued.

The Spirits are known for painting the storefronts on the Drag to promote UT sports. They are the flash card section in the south end of Royal-Memorial Stadium during football games. You might recognize them as the seriously bubbly, spirited women wearing their signature burnt orange scarves around their necks with "Texas Spirits" embroidered in white.

Every fall, hundreds of young women compete to become Texas Spirits, Texas Sweethearts, Texas Honeys and the esteemed Orange Jackets — those wearing orange vests emblazoned with a white "T" on the side pocket and leading fans in singing "The Eyes of Texas" before kickoff. The recruiting and selection process of the 217 spirit, social and service organizations is a highly competitive, all-out effort to belong, make friends and serve the university in some way. Balancing crazy-busy social lives and the classroom, college women like the Texas Spirits find time to volunteer, raise a lot of money for charities and bring spirit to all Texas sports events.

Spirits, for example, annually raise $20,000 through a benefit concert called Bam Jam and donate it to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Additionally, the women collectively volunteer 2,000 hours each semester for causes like the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure , Heart House Austin and blood drives.

Today, when the Longhorns tangle with Oklahoma for the 105th time in the AT&T Red River Rivalry before a national TV audience, the team counts on student groups like the Spirits to be in the stands cheering. At Wednesday's Torchlight Parade, Texas coach Mack Brown emphasized the importance of UT's spirit groups to his team.

Spirits are more than rah-rah-rah. Some members are pursuing degrees in academically demanding fields. Sophomore Christine Laramy is studying biomedical engineering, and junior Madison Dayton is studying aerospace engineering.

And coach Brown thinks he has competition for 22 starters on the football field? Initially, more than 450 young women showed interest in early September in becoming a Texas Spirit. Of those, 304 filled out applications (including 279 from Texas and one from Finland). The Spirits' 17-member executive board, called the Ghost Council, spent nearly an entire Saturday whittling the list to 62, who then had to fill out more forms and interview with the Ghost Council.

"The difficult part of the selection process," said Vice Haunt Emily Slattery, second in command to Chief Haunt Rachel Green, "is that all are good girls, and you want every one of them to make it." Finally, two weeks after interviews and participation in social and volunteer activities, 26 were "tapped in" the 121-member group last week.

"It's such an honor to be part of a spirit group, especially an organization with such a great reputation that serves the UT community," Conti said.

"And you immediately feel welcomed and are part of something that is big," said Aly Kasberg, a Weenie and freshman from New Braunfels.

"When you become a member, you immediately feel protected," said Dionne Dias, a freshman from New Braunfels, who is carrying on a family tradition. Her older sister, Dani, was chief haunt in 2006.

Now the work begins. Conti, Kasberg and Dias will spend the semester proving themselves worthy by volunteering and attending games and weekly meetings. They must maintain a 2.5 grade-point average. In December, if they meet requirements, they will be officially inducted, promoted from a Weenie to a J.I. (Just Initiated) and given the trademark burnt orange scarf and a Caspy pendant — a ghost character standing on skull and crossbones.

They will also search for Casperella, the Spirits mascot — a rag doll that Weenies are shown when they are selected, then the doll is hidden somewhere on campus for the semester. Weenies are given clues by their "big sisters" and have to work together to find her.

Founded in 1941 by Grace Doss and Wanda Lee Turner, and originally known as the Texas Spooks, the group still guards many secrets about its traditions and activities. Early on, the group met secretly in restaurants and sorority houses dressed in "ghostly garb" of hoods, masks and sheets, according to the Texas Spirits website. Members, wearing gold pins in the shape of skull and crossbones, lit red candles and sang to the football team to "spook" away any bad luck. Members painted windows along the Drag at night, so as not to be seen. During the selection of new members, Weenies were whisked out of class and paper bags with holes cut out were placed over their heads to protect their identities.

In 1966, officers changed their names to "haunts" and the executive board became the Ghost Council. In 1993, the Texas Spooks agreed to change its name after students complained the name was insensitive.

"Spirits" more accurately described the purpose of the organization, according to its website.

In May 2008, the UT office of the dean of students disciplined the Spirits for hazing after a new member alleged that other members forced her to perform calisthenics or exercises as part of the acceptance process.

Mary Beth Mercatoris, assistant dean of students, said the Spirits executive board underwent a yearlong "mutual agreement process" — they were educated and counseled about changing their behaviors and tactics for accepting new members. The group developed a written recruitment plan and established better operating policies. The Spirits successfully completed the oversight in May of 2009, Mercatoris said.

Spirits speak of becoming a family and finding an immediate support group to help them get through school.

"I would have left UT in my freshman year if it hadn't been for making Spirits," said Amalia Anwar, junior from Grand Prairie. "When I got to UT, it was so big. I didn't know people. It was not fun. I was homesick," she said.

Anwar lives off campus with senior Tiffany Yep, junior Taylor Foreman and Slattery, who is on the board. "When you become a Weenie, you immediately get a big sister. And your big sister once had a big sister. I can trace my family tree to 2006, and we get together for dinner," Anwar said.

Through the years, the group has reached out to the community in ways not publicized. B'lou Stone , who once owned a retail shop on the Drag that sold items used by service groups and was named an honorary Texas Spooks member in 1989, said Spirits adopted her younger sister, Ginny Belle Scorse, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994. They sent Scorse encouraging letters, and after chemotherapy, sent her Casperella.

Her life was extended 21/2 years "because of the support and positive thinking from the Spirits," Stone said. "That was very special."

Conti knows she's part of something special, and it's not the feeling of instantly having more than 100 new best friends.

"They are wonderful girls who will make my college experience so much better," she said.

rgandara@statesman.com; 445-3632