October 4, 2008
So, if any of you read my blog last week, you might have been worried about me. Yes, I did get several e-mails and comments about “remembering to not overwork yourself”. Reading it again, I may have come across a bit stronger than I had wished. I completely agree with everyone’s comments, which is why this week was much needed for me. I still had plenty of obligations and things to attend to, such as a Council for Christian Unity meeting, an InterVarsity Community Team meeting, Diversity Training for Student Government, contacting bus lines to reserve a charter bus for the Collegiate Disaster Relief Team’s Spring Break trip, an Evangelism Workshop for InterVarsity, and my weekly United Methodist lunch, but the week flew by and I was able to take some time to enjoy myself.
There were five events in particular which made my week really fun. The first was New Faces, which is a series of one-act plays performed by new members of our Theater Department. I knew some people in them and they were hilarious. It is one of my highlights of the year for the Modlin Center. Plus, it was free! Two other events were the season premiere of “The Amazing Race” (my favorite show of all time) and the start of intramural volleyball here on-campus.
Additionally, InterVarsity hosted Karaoke Night. This is always one of the most hyped events of the year. The men battle the women for supremacy as Karaoke champion. Once again (for the third year in a row I might add), the men won. I actually got up in front and performed ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”, Relient K’s “Mood Rings” and Wicked’s “Popular”.
Two of my friends performing George Michael’s “Faith”
These girls won Best Song of the Night with Spice Girls’ “Wannabe”
David tried to make me “Popular”, like himself
The final event was a sorority social that I was invited to by a friend. We hung out for a while before heading downtown to Tiki Bob’s, one of the bars in downtown Richmond. The theme was Babies from the Eighties (commemorating the last class of Richmond students to be born in the 1980s), so everyone dressed up in crazy outfits from the eighties. It was a lot of fun to get off-campus and relax on a Friday night.
Me decked out in the “eightiest” apparel that I own
A group of my friends at Tiki Bob’s for the sorority social
Academics have also provided me with plenty of things to do this past week, mainly in my Campaigns 2008 class. Mark Hyman visited our class to talk about bias in the media. He is the Vice President for Corporate Relations for Sinclair Broadcasting Group (the largest chain of local television stations in the United States). He is most famous for his commentaries on The Point. What he presented regarding the role of media in politics and the spreading of information was really interesting. We’ve had some very interesting and high-profile guests visit our class, which has been really exciting. On top of this in-class activity, I also attended a program last Friday afternoon called “Main Street Bails Out Wall Street”. It was a discussion among students as well as Political Science and Business professors regarding the opinions of the financial system bailout that was in the works. It was quite interesting to hear all of the different viewpoints. Of course, I also attended a Presidential Debate viewing party last Friday night and there were actually a considerable amount of students there considering it was a Friday night. This week also saw Palin and Biden clash in the Vice Presidential Debate.
Students watching the Presidential Debate at the viewing party
(one of the guys in the picture was really into it
and painted his chest for his candidate)
One quick fact regarding the debate that I think is cool is that one of our newspaper reporters, Dan Petty (who also happened to be a Spider Diarist a few years ago), watched the debate at the viewing party and did a live blog on it for the New York Times. A common question asked of me as a tour guide is what the political leaning of the campus is. Dan did a survey of students on campus for our newspaper and this is what he found:
“Our newspaper just finished a three-day survey of 350 undergraduate students on campus. We’ve got a diverse representation of opinion. 71 percent of respondents said they were absolutely certain to vote in November. 52 percent said if the election were held today, they’d vote for Obama, 32 percent said McCain, 17 percent were undecided. More interesting: The people who identify as Democrat, Independent and Republican was virtually split. 35 percent said independent, 33 percent Democrat, 27 percent Republican. We’ve got a sizable number of religious conservative students on campus.”
Also regarding academics, I’ve continued in my path to minor in Leadership Studies by turning in my application to the Jepson School of Leadership Studies. Only about 50% of student are accepted, but I am fairly confident in my chances. For my current Leadership Studies class, Justice and Civil Society, I am continuing to volunteer for four hours every Tuesday with the ESL program at a local middle school. I’ve worked with students who have a great grasp on the English language as well as those who are just beginning. Most of the students are really fun to work with. Thus far, I’ve worked with students whose first languages are Spanish, Korean, or African tribal.
I gave a narrative speech on Wednesday for Rhetoric and Public Address that went great and, after urging from that Rhetoric teacher, I have applied to be a Speech Consultant in the Speech Center. It would require six hours of work each week next year and an additional Rhetoric class next spring, but I’m interested in pursuing so I will see what I finally decide. During my interview for the position, the Director of the Board of Trustees happened to stop by and so I was able to talk to him for several minutes, which was fascinating. The only reason that I am contemplating becoming a Speech Consultant is because I have reevaluated everything that I am involved in and am in the process of possibly dropping one or two of my organizational commitments. I did learn that my commitment to the disc golf course will be decreased greatly. I have been informed that the disc golf course will almost certainly come to campus, but it is wrapped up in our President’s “Strategic Plan” and it could be some time before it gets implemented, perhaps not even by the time I graduate. I also might pass on my responsibilities to the Council for Christian Unity to someone else.
As of right now, I’ve managed to get myself ahead in most of my subjects and I’m in good shape academically. I had classes and worked almost non-stop from 7:30 AM until 6:30 PM yesterday, attempting to get all of my homework out of the way for the weekend. I actually accomplished everything that I wanted to. So, I have a fun weekend ahead of me and I hope to be able to relax while I can. Have a great week everyone!!!
Quote of the Week: “Live and work but do not forget to play, to have fun in life and really enjoy it” -Eileen Caddy
Thought to Ponder: How is it that “ough” can be pronounced in eight different ways? The following sentence contains them all: “A rough-coated, dough-faced ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough, coughing and hiccoughing thoughtfully.
YouTube Video of the Week:
This kid is amazing
