Well, I tried to reply to the bell question, but evidently my
message only got to the original sender that I replied to and
not the entire list.  As Brian has already stated, the bell
belongs to Delta Sigma Phi (DSP), not Sigma Delta.  While it
may not ring as loud in Cheel as it did in Walker, it still gets
the point across and annoys the visiting teams while cheering on
the home crowd.  Just this past weekend when the Clarkson/Colgate
series was happening, the Colgate team apparently tried to put the
bell temporarily out of order (and I hear they aren't the first
team to try 8*) ).
 
On Saturday, we (the Pep Band) arrived for the game, and when the
brothers from DSP showed up to put the clapper on the bell, they
turned it around and found that it had been plastered with athletic
tape and a Master lock had been put through the hole where the
clapper pin goes.  I guess Colgate hadn't appreciated it ringing
the night before.  Anyway, their attempt to stop the bell was a
failure.  While one of the brothers cut away the tape, the other
walked over to his structures lab (100yds. across campus) and came
back with his wire cutters to remove the lock.  I believe they
had the bell ready and ringing before the drop of the puck.
 
Later, I learned that something like this had happened before.
A few years ago (back in the days of Walker), the Cornell team
tried to put the bell out of commission by jamming a stick in the
hole where the clapper pin went.  I guess it was in there so
tight that DSP had to use a blow torch and burn it out.  Boy,
what some visiting teams will do for a little peace and quiet. 8*)
 
However annoying the bell may be, I think that it has met its match
with the fog horn or whatever it is at LSSU.  I'll never
forget my Freshman year when we went there for the playoffs.
The Pep Band had top row end seats (I think that whole end was
the visitors section).  We were playing along and having a
great time and then LSSU scored.  For those of you who have
never been there, LSSU has a full-size fog horn right behind
the section we were in.  When they score the thing goes off at
full blast.  It scared the living sh-t out of us so much that a
few of us nearly fell over the back edge.  I have to admit, they
definitely get the message across when they score. 8*)  By the
way, LSSU is where the yelling of (K)NIGHT during the National
Anthem began. 8*)  We did it to get the team psyched and nearly
got ourselves killed.  The crowd really hated us and booed us
really bad.  For the rest of the game, we had armed escorts
whenever we left our seats--even to go to the bathroom!  The
minute the game was over, the guards surrounded us and quickly
shuffled us through the crowd and to the safety of our bus.
That's one trip I'll never forget (especially since we won 8*) ).
 
Laura Myott
Clarkson Pep Band '94
 
P.S. To me, the bell is as loud as ever--I stand directly next to it
with two snare drummers on the other side of me--and I often have
a hard time hearing after games. 8*)