Ben, ‘11

November 19th

It’s almost Thanksgiving Break and I am really excited. I have big plans. I’m heading to New York to visit my best friend from high school. Meanwhile, life has continued over the past weekend. Friday night was spent going from one event to the next. I briefly stopped into the Men’s Basketball game and grabbed some free pizza as part of the pre-game festivities. The attendance at the game, however, was terrible. I went from the pre-game activities to an a cappella concert. I am afraid that I must admit something. I am addicted to a cappella music. I have been to almost every single a cappella concert since I’ve been here. The Octaves (our male only group) performed along with two guest groups and they were really good. Right after the concert, I went to the Multicultural Quiz Bowl put on by one of our on-campus groups. It was a really fun competition and I was surprised at how much I knew about different cultures. I definitely want to get a team together next year and compete.

The Multicultural Quiz Bowl

On Sunday, I went to church once again early in the morning. After brunch, it was Packers time. I had very little homework this weekend and was so happy. Our football team had won its game on Saturday. I had really wanted to go, but hadn’t found a ride. On Sunday, it was revealed on ESPN that we were one of the sixteen teams to make the playoffs. We will have a home game this Saturday, which is disappointing since no one will be there due to Thanksgiving Break.

Monday continued as normal. I was really upset with my CORE teacher because of her grading policies and her analysis of my paper. It took her one month to grade our midterms and get them back to us. However, I was one of the two students whom she had not finished grading. So, I am still waiting for her to get me my grade after she only graded my first paper. However, I was fairly happy with my grade on my Public Policy Education paper. She is a very tough grader, but gave me a decent grade, which I thought reflected my hard work on it. Still, I wonder what it takes to get an A for her class.

The main event happened tonight. It was FreshMAN Night. As Class Chair, my main job is to put on events for Freshman guys. However, we had many setbacks from limited budgets to scheduling conflicts to legal issues. In short, we faced many frustrating setbacks. However, we pulled off a successful event. We were told my most people to anticipate 10-15 guys. We actually had 30 come. This is still pathetic compared to the 133 girls who went to their event and the fact that we have 400 guys in our class. Regardless, we had perfect planning. The event was a Poker Night and a showing of a James Bond film. My Cabinet did a good job in helping me out with this. We had pizza, chips, soda and a good time. It was a lot more work than I had anticipated, but it was worth it… for now. Now, I need to plan one for the spring semester. Tradition has it that it should be a luau.

Playing poker at FreshMAN Night

Our Class Cabinet put on FreshMAN Night with poker, food, and James Bond

That has been my weekend. I’m really tired and looking forwards to the break. I’m also starting to wish that I could go home. I haven’t been home since August 15th and haven’t seen my family since then as well. Not surprisingly, the number of phone calls home has increased lately. It started out with one call home every week or two during the first part of the semester. Now, it’s not rare to call home three times a week. Anyways, that’s my life and I’ll let you know how my Thanksgiving Break goes.

Quote of the Week: “I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.” - Sir Winston Churchill

Thought to Ponder: Can you read a picture book?

Shout Outs: My Class Cabinet for helping me pull off FreshMAN Night