Butler University

Butler Football and Other Exciting Things!

AshlenC — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:42:00 GMT

I've been so busy answering Forum questions lately! I'm glad that I get to answer questions one on one....and everyone has such good questions! Now, though, it's back to blogging. Last weekend I decided to kick back and relax for a day. I had finished clusters, but then was immediately overloaded with pre-lab assignments, quizzes, and I finished off the week with a test in my International Politics class.

I started out my Saturday morning by doing some serious cleaning of my apartment. It had been neglected for two weeks, and it felt like I was living in a pig sty. I cleaned the bathroom from top to bottom. It's not a task that I enjoy, but I put some music on to help me out, and it felt great when I finished. Unfortunately I'm still catching up on laundry. See, I have so many clothes that I can go for incredibly long periods of time without washing anything. That means that I have a massive pile to do when I finally get around to it. On top of that, I'm the kind of person that throws a load in the washing machine and then forgets to move it to the dryer for a day or two. It's a bad habit!

After I finished cleaning up, my fiance and I headed over to campus to watch the Butler - Drake football game (you know, they're the bulldogs too, but I think that Blue II is still the best bulldog mascot around). We showed up a little late, but we still saw a majority of the game. It was good to see the "better bulldogs" prevail! Go Butler! In other news, the Butler marching band showed off their brand new uniforms, and they looked pretty spiffy. Apparently they're cooler than their last uniforms both literally and figuratively, according to this week's edition of "The Collegian" (Butler's weekly newspaper).

I took a couple pictures at the game - the first is of the Butler cheerleaders spelling out "BUTLER" with the flags after we scored. You'll see these flags at every Butler basketball and football game. I have to admit, I once saw them spell out "BULTER" which was good for a little chuckle. The second is of my fiance and I sitting in the student section - a grassy hill on the south side of the stadium. We don't have a huge stadium like some big schools, but games are still fun nonetheless.

We left the game a bit early (in my defense, it was the fourth quarter and we were winning) and headed over to Broad Ripple Park, which is less than 10 minutes away from campus. I had driven by the park a lot, but I had never checked it out, and I was surprised to find out that it was a lot larger than I would have expected! Brian had brought a football, so we tossed that around for a few minutes. Then, we headed over to one of the shelters to attend a pet blessing (I saw Blue II went to a pet blessing too!) I was there to get some water blessed for my goldfish. We were basically some of the only people there that didn't have a four-legged furry creature on a leash pulling them around, so I was asked to help give out the goody bags to all of the pets in attendance. I'm a huge dog lover, and I really miss my two dogs at home, so I was in my own little heaven. There were dogs of all kinds, but to my disappointment, no bulldogs!

I hit the books again Saturday evening and all of Sunday. I had assignments due this week that had to get done. I've been busy this week with a few extra class sessions. Pharmacy professors book classrooms to go over tests, separate from the regular class meeting time. Technically, these "classes" are not mandatory, but they help you understand a lot of the concepts you missed - which were often concepts you thought you understood, and then realized on the test that you didn't! It also gives us an opportunity to see questions that we feel had the wrong answer and should therefore be "challenged." We have to write up a page explaining why we believe another answer was acceptable, and site sources backing up our theory. I have one challenge that I'm planning on turning in today - I know that a few other people are challenging the same question, and I feel that I put a good argument together, but I've never put a challenge together before so I'm a little nervous.

This weekend I'm off to Cincinnati - look for a blog post on that later next week!

Until later,

Ashlen

It ranks right up there with Apple Kuchen....

StephF — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:30:00 GMT

So as always, it has been a very busy & exciting week in the life of Stephanie. This past weekend I got to do almost all of my favorite things....shop, watch movies,dance, drive, and visit cool people. :) (Thats a lot of favorite things isn't it??) I went shopping at Castleton with my best friend from high school who is here at Butler too, Taryn...and we had a great time as always. (She understands how I shop....which is a very complex concept) Then we came back just in time to see SGA's showing of Wanted....which is an AMAZING movie that I highly recommend. I'm not going to lie, after I watch it I want to go to a shooting range so I can try to curve a bullet like they do....they just act so cool in that movie...it makes me want to be as cool as them. Haha. Then on Saturday I got to dance at my first football game...YAY!! it was so much fun. I really hadn't realized how much I have missed performing, but it was nice to get to be in front of a big crowd again. We will be dancing at Homecoming in a few weeks....so you should come out and watch if you can! After I was done at the game, I decided to go visit my boyfriend at his school...which was fun because as you may have read in previous blogs, I love to drive, and I guess he's pretty cool too. I really like just singing like I'm a crazy person, and not even stopping when someone passes me...even though they probably think I'm a freak. I used to have a serious lead foot...and I still somewhat do, but since I got my first speeding ticket EVER a few weeks ago....I have been obeying traffic laws. Overall, I had a wonderful weekend filled with very festive activities...and here is a video of the dance team dancing pregame...:) You probably won't see us...but the other freshman blogger Liz and I are both in it! :)

So right now in a town close to my hometown they are having the Fall Festival...:) Which is this huge street festival where they block of a whole bunch of downtown Evansville and every club or organization you can think of has a booth, and every one sells different kinds of food. If you even enjoy food in the slightest bit, it would be heaven for you. Last year was my maiden voyage to the Fall Festival....and my favorite thing that I bought was actually on my way out....there was a church selling Apple Kuchen (Apple Cake in German) and I thought that I would be nice and buy one for my mom and dad. But I got it....and I ended up eating like 75% of it because it was so delicious. I have been dreaming of that Apple Kuchen ever since that fateful day one year ago....and I just might get to go there this weekend. :)

So yesterday I had the privilege of not having any afternoon classes....so I got to go to the Obama rally at the State Fairgrounds! :) I had seen Obama once before during the primaries....but I just can't get enough of political rallies...they rank up there with that Apple Kuchen. haha. Obama was great as always I thought, but what I enjoyed even more was just all of the people there. I did go with a pretty fun group of girls...:) But it was so amazing just to be in one place with so many people who believe in something just like you do. I've had a rough week or so dealing with my beliefs and just trying to remember that it's ok if we don't always agree...our differences are what make us each so unique and amazing. But like I said, being able to see thousands and thousands of people who care about a cause...or who believe in a person just like I do was the most comforting feeling I've had in a long time. And it was just sweet to see everyone saying to complete strangers, "Can you see him? Here, this is where you should look." And then they would give up their spot to let that person see. It's small actions like this that I think mean the absolute most to people. So there are now only 25 days until the election....and I am ecstatic because for the first time in my lifetime, and in even some of our parent's lifetimes....Indiana is a swing state! Indiana hasn't been won by a democrat since 1964....which is a really long time. Haha. But I've been so ready and psyched to vote for so long, that this is the perfect situation for me to be casting my first vote for president in. And I love that people can't say, "Oh my vote doesn't matter, I don't need to vote"....because this year, it obviously does. Something else that I keep thinking about is how this year's elections are making history in every way. No matter what, when we have grandkids, we are going to be able to tell them about how we voted in this election...and how intense everything was. :) I love that I will be able to tell them that I got to see Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Hillary Clinton all speak...which ony happened because Indiana is such a battleground this year! Yeah I know...I am a major dork. I love this stuff though!

So here is a video from the rally....hope you enjoy it!! :)

One Blessed Bulldog

butlerblue2 — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:04:00 GMT

I don’t know what you did this weekend, but this bulldog had a pretty solid couple of days. In fact, if you stretch it from Friday through Monday, I got blessed, helped my fellow Bulldogs go 5-0, entertained house guests, hosted a Colts viewing party, and attended a golf outing. The only setbacks I faced were being denied access to a parade and seeing the doctor for an ear infection. Not bad for a dog, right? It’s just another weekend in the life of this mascot. I suppose the logical place to start...(read more)

Rain, Pom Poms, and Nerf Guns, Oh my!

LizM — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:20:00 GMT

Today was kind of gloomy, only not really because I love the rain! The warm weather from the weekend took a sharp turn. It was pretty warm in the day today, but it started to rain this afternoon. My roommate Abby and I went to Walmart this afternoon to get nerf guns (explanation for that to follow) and as we were leaving the store it began to rain. I don't know why exactly, but we get EXTREMELY hyper in the afternoon. When we are in the dorms we usually get scolded for being too loud, because in the afternoons and evenings we have quiet hours so people can get their studying done. Our disruptive behavior generally consists of dancing around the room singing songs from "Camp Rock," telling hilarious stories about what has happened that day, or being completely random. All conclude in us rolling around on our dorm floor in fits of laughter. What makes it even better, is that our door faces directly to the stairwell, so strangers coming down the stairs will stare at us with a look that says "holy crap what's wrong with those girls."
Okay, so we are leaving Walmart being our usual loud crazy selves, when we realize it is raining. Frantically, we start running through the parking lot to her car. The only problem is that we have forgotten where her car is parked. Seriously, if you were watching this it would be like a scene directly out of The Three Stooges. We are running back and forth in a zig zag pattern screaming, when we see a car coming down the aisle. Finally we found the car and ran to it immediately. However, when the car passed us, an elderly lady grunted out the window, "Thats not very safe!" It was hilarious! We were standing there laughing in the rain for a good couple of minutes before we finally got in the car and drove back to BU.
The reason for nerf gun shopping, was that this week is the epic, the great, the feared...Zombies vs. Humans! Zombies vs. Humans is like a real life video game. I first heard about it last week at Ballroom Dance Club. There are two twins that run Ballroom Dance Club, Steve and Jeff, and they are the ones who started the Z v. H game at Butler. The game is played at other universities as well, I'm not sure where it started. Basically, the humans have nerf guns or balled up socks and they wear a bandanna around their arm. Zombies have skill and sheer insanity, wearing a bandanna around their head. The Zombies try to touch the Humans' bandannas to turn them into Zombies, while the Humans try to shoot the Zombies to disable them from catching any humans for thirty minutes. After the thirty minutes is up, the Zombies are free to strike again. This game is not a joke. It is very serious business over at Ross hall. Many of the guys have crazy weapons, like the nerf versions of an M-16. Not to mention they have all stocked up on foam darts and carry ammo around in their pockets. Truly a force to be reckoned with. I'm pretty low-key but the game is fun! The best time to play is at night. Yesterday there were Zombies everywhere, some were even hiding in the trees on the mall! Unfortunately, you aren't allowed to play in any of the residence halls anymore because its too much of a disruption. But thats okay, outsides better anyways.

I believe I mentioned a few posts ago that I'm on the dance team, as is Steph! It has been so much fun so far, our first performance was Saturday! We came on right before the start of the game and did a kick routine to a song by Fallout Boy. The performance went very well, and we went out and celebrated at Noodles afterward :) Tonight we started our routine for the homecoming game. In addition, we got our poms. Im a huge dork, I have never been a cheerleader or done anything at all that involves poms, so I was really really excited! When I got back to the dorm I went to people's rooms and did little cheers for them, and shook the poms in their face. It was quite rewarding. If you are ever having a boring day, just get some pom poms and go crazy. It will spice up your life guaranteed.
I'm looking forward to Basketball season, but even sooner than that is Geneva Stunts and Homecoming! Geneva Stunts is a big production put on by all the residence halls. It involves singing, dancing, and skits...almost like a mini musical! Schwitzer is paired up with Tri Delta and Phi Psi, so it is going to be fantastic! Im pumped. Another exciting event coming up is Homecoming. The theme was announced last week, and this year it is Superheroes. We are paired up with Tri-Delta and Tau Kappa Epsilon for this one, and we will get to help them decorate their houses and such. Its going to be an awesome next couple of weeks.

What I'm really looking forward to is fall break. I can't wait to go home again and see my family and get to hang out with my friends! Last time I went home I didn't get to do too much since it was such a short visit, so this time it will be nice to relax and not feel rushed. The only bad thing about it, is that since we will be gone for four days, I have exams in most of my classes this week and next week. Its life. Exams just have to be done, so I'll suck it up and look forward to a nice, comfortable few days off.
I will miss Butler though! Friday night our unit did a scavenger hunt and it was a BLAST! We had to find so many things. For example, a lacrosse stick, a live flower, a piece of a building, take a picture with a professor, and bring someone back wearing our team color. Our team's color was purple and we were ready to dominate. I must say we put up a good fight. We stole a brick from Jordan hall to act as our piece of a building, and we got the Broad Ripple Bus driver to step off his bus and take a picture with us, pretending like he was a professor. It was hilarious, we were going to say that his name was Professor Dumbledore. Okay so maybe it wasn't that funny, but it seemed pretty good at the time.
I've been getting some emails with questions about Butler, and I have tried to stay up to date with the discussion forums on the website. The most common question I have been asked is "So what made you choose Butler?" This is my basic answer:

1. Size
Butler has all the conveniences of a large University, but has a comparatively small student population. Butler has about 4,000 undergrads. I think my largest class probably has 20-25 people in it, and one of my classes has only about 15 people in it. These classes are even smaller than the size of my high school classes, and its great because you really get to know your professors. Its not a huge lecture class where you will never be noticed or get your questions answered. At the same time there are tons of campus activities going on all the time and the athletic events are crazy fun. Its just the right size for me.
2. Location
I live in Columbus, Ohio so Butler is only about 2 and a half hours away from me. Its a good distance because its far enough away that I can be independent and make my own decisions but home isn't too far away and my parents can come down and visit me easily.
3. Majors
Butler has a great Exploratory majors program, which is what they call the undecided majors. You get to compare different majors and do job shadows and take personality tests to see which career you would enjoy most and utilize your skills in best. There are so many majors here and thus, many choices. For someone like myself that didn't have a clue what to major in entering college, this program was very appealing
So those were my main points for coming to Butler. Its a well known school, and a credible education. Not to mention the job placement rate after graduation is something like 90%. Pretty awesome. Now that I'm here I've realized how many awesome campus organizations and activities they have too. The greek life here is amazing, and I definetly plan on rushing. So thats it in a nutshell.

Keep the emails coming! Its a nice distraction from homework :)

Ya BAMA!

AllisonB — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:37:00 GMT

Oh goodness. Note to self -- the little clipboard looking thing at the top of this page to write my blog does NOT mean copy!! Ohhhhh noooo... it means erase. Just for future reference any case any of you out there ever become a blogger -- after writing an entire post and not saving DO NOT PRESS THAT BUTTON! Haha...

Anyhow, let's see if I can remember what I had...

Tonight was our Butler American Marketing Association (BAMA) marketing mixer! It was AWESOME! This past month I have worked as VP of Programming for BAMA to put together our marketing mixer event. The point of this event was so that we could promote BAMA and get new members involved as well as give students a chance to see and talk with their professors outside their classrooms. All but one of the marketing professors was able to come and we had a great turnout! I was so psyched to see so many freshmen there. Even a few from my orientation group -- good work guys! Just think...the future president of BAMA may have been in attendance tonight...*sigh*...haha!

Just to give you an idea of what BAMA is, it is our marketing club on campus. Butler is jam-packed full of clubs and there is always something to get involved in. So fun! BAMA meets once a month and we have different events each time. It's always some sort of thing that will help marketing majors, such as a panel of sports marketers or seniors, an auction, mixers, etc. We actually are pairing with the Public Relations club on campus for out upcoming meeting -- an Election Event! I'll try not to forget the camera this time, okay? I've been in BAMA since I was a freshman and it has definitely taught me so many skills. I was even able to talk about it during an interview today! Can't be that, right?

Okay, on other notes... I've come to the conclusion that every semester there is that one week that everyone thinks they can't make it through. It comes at different points for everyone, but for some odd reason there always seems to be that one time when everything hits at once! And of course...lucky me...it's this week! I think if I can make it until Thursday I'll survive. My sorority has a formal this weekend so that will be a blast! Case in point: So far this week I've had... a 10ish page paper, a quiz, tons of reading, two meetings, one event, internship-ing, an interview (for a REAL job...YIKES) and am about to start on another paper right now. You'd think it was Friday already!

Speaking of which it is time for me to get on that whole paper thing. I think I've put it off enough already. If any of you have anything that you would like to see or know about campus, organizations, etc. just leave me a comment!! I'm looking for something fun to put some cool new pictures up... Hmmm... Share your ideas! Have a great week all!

My BFF Becquer

ChristinaL — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:45:00 GMT

Dearest readers, before we go on any further, I’m going to have to make a confession to you:

I am a huge English major nerd.

Last year, I took a Jane Austen seminar class, and I spent the entire fall trying to convince my classmates to come with me and do our reading in the English gardens across the street at the Indianapolis Art Museum. I thought it would be cool to read Austen in a setting just like the ones she wrote about. Apparently I was the only one who thought so, because it never happened.

However, I am so thrilled that I got the opportunity to indulge my nerdiness here in Spain. Dr. Willem’s class for all the Butler students here is about 19^th century Spanish short stories, and right now we are reading Leyendas, which is a book of Spanish folktales told by Gustavo Becquer. They’re basically fairy tales with sad endings. That’s just how Spanish Romanticism works – the sublime hero always has to be too cocky and then get killed by some supernatural force like a statue that comes to life, the spirits of dead Templar Knights, or a gnome. Seriously, people, do not mess with gnomes! It’s dangerous business. Also, if you ever feel the desire to jump in an enchanted fountain, don’t. That never ends well.

The really cool thing about Becquer’s work: even though it has all this crazy supernatural business in it, the stories are set in real places in Spain, such as Toledo and this town called Soria.

The really cool thing about our classes here: they all have at least two field trips! (This also means no classes on Friday! sweet life.) So, as you can imagine, our literature class had to go to Soria! (This is much cooler than reading Jane Austen in the IMA gardens… as pretty as the gardens are, Austen’s novels do not actually take place in Indiana ;) )

Last Friday was the big day. We had to leave at 8 am, which is basically dawn in Spain haha… we had a two and a half hour bus ride, which gave us time to sleep, and when we woke up we were in the beautiful countryside of Castilla y Leon province, which is full of mountains! (Indianapolis, sadly, has no mountains, so this was exciting for us.)

In Soria, we got to go to the Monastery of San Juan de Duero, a beautiful church and cloister built by the Templars. It is also located on the Monte de Animas (the Mountain of Spirits) where the ghosts of the Templar Knights come out and the wolves kill the hero of one of our stories… but don’t worry. The ghosts only come out on All Saint’s Day.

The cloister was SO cool, because it has arches from like six different periods of architecture, as different parts were rebuilt over time. Many of us are taking an art class together, so we were pumped to be able to identify the different kinds of arches. We took pictures to show our teacher… extra credit, por favor?

Then we walked to the Hermitage, which is built into the side of a cliff overlooking the River Duero. One of Becquer’s crazy heroes climbs up there to try and look over the river and find a woman he is chasing – who turns out to be just a ray of light from the moon. Sorry, bud. The hermitage was really sweet because it was basically a retreat for the monks carved out of the rock! Can you imagine how much reading you could get done living there? I would never get behind on my homework if I lived in a hermitage J

There was also a really beautiful chapel there, where I learned about some religious traditions from one of our Spanish professors, Carlos, who comes on all our trips with us. He’s a fantastic guide. I am learning so much about the culture, and especially about Catholicism which is a dominant force in the history of Spain.

We got a few hours off to eat lunch and explore Soria, where Rebecca and I found this sweet mural of our bff Becquer! What a hottie.

We finished off the day to visit the Becquer museum, which was one room in a tiny town. We literally had to wait for the owners to come from their house to unlock the museum for us. However, this town had a SWEET 1000 year old tower, and we got to climb up it (up ladders, mind you) and see the amazing view of the countryside from up top. Here's me and my friend Brian up there. Prospective students may recognize him... he's pretty famous for being one of Butler's best tour guides : )

So, I got to be a literature nerd in another language and see some beautiful places in Spain! (on Butler’s dollar. Thanks, Uncle Ovid!) I can’t wait till our next field trip! (…and now I sound like a first grader. But it’s fine. I love my life.)

The 10 Coolest Things About Being a Pharmacy Student

AshlenC — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 23:26:00 GMT

I've been meaning to write this post for a while, because some of the things we get to do / learn about still amaze me. Before I started pharmacy school, I had no idea how much pharmacists know! So here's a list of some of the really cool things we do in school. A lot of my favorites are hands on practical applications. After all, that's what we're really going to need to know in the real world!

10) Learning how to take blood pressure. You learn to do this in your P1 (junior) year and we practice in group work sessions weekly (even in the P2 year). I don't think most people realize that pharmacists have clinical skills at all. In fact, we take a course learning about diagnosing disease states that a pharmacist may see, and it also covers diagnostic tests. We have a lab section that teaches us about the general tests used by doctors, and we learn how to perform some of those tests. It might not be skills that we use everyday, but it allows us to get out in the community and help out with health screenings. In fact, I'm helping with a health screening at Butler in November, and pharmacy students have the opportunity to help with health screenings at Colts games!

9) Helping seniors sign up for Medicare Part D. We hold an annual event to help seniors sign up, or renew, their Medicare Part D. Everyone over the age of 60 is eligible, and a lot of seniors don't know how to use computers to sign up online (which is the easiest way!) This year the even is being held with the previously mentioned health screening in Novemeber. I helped out last year, but hadn't taken the class that explains Medicare Part D, so I didn't feel very helpful. This year I'm a lot more knowledgeable and I'm looking forward to helping out!

8) Making really cool things in lab. Okay, so not everything we make in lab is super exciting, but last year we got to make chap stick and sunscreen that we got to take home and use! We get to flavor (or color) our products however we want, which is very cool. My partner and I made blue sunscreen, and I think our chapstick was pineapple flavored. We've been flavoring a lot of our products in lab this semester too, which is nice considering we're the ones that have to taste it to make sure a patient would be able to use what we make! We made an orange flavored solution a couple weeks ago, and yesterday we made a tropical punch flavored suspension (which still tasted disgusting because it was a really bitter drug!).

7) We learn about really cool disease states. Maybe I'm the only one that thinks this way, because I'm a bit of a nerd, but I'm really enjoying this semester because we're finally starting to learn really practical things about diseases. I'll admit, the first few years of pharmacy school we take a lot of general science classes, and eventually you start asking yourself "what am I ever going to use this for!?" But this year I can see a use for almost everything I'm learning. I had a pain management lecture in Therapeutics, which I found really interesting, and an Anemia lecture that was pretty interesting as well.

6) Everyone you meet is impressed that you're a Butler pharmacy student. I'm not kidding. I go anywhere in Indianapolis, and if I tell someone that I go to Butler, the first question I'm asked is "are you in pharmacy?" And when I reply that I am, I always hear about how amazing our pharmacy program is or about how they knew someone who graduated from Butler pharmacy and how successful that grad has been. It might not seem like a big deal, but when you've just had a bad set of tests and you feel completely stupid, it's nice to be reminded that people really respect what you're doing.

5) We get computers. Not just any computers, but laptops. And not just any laptops, but tablets. I can swivel my screen around and write chemical formulats in my notes. Unfortunately, the current P2s got stuck with Vista, which has had more than its fair share of problems, but things are going a lot more smoothly this year now that the kinks have been worked out. The great thing about having a COPHS computer is that if you are having problems with anything, you can take it into the computer experts in the IR department, and within half an hour your computer will be fixed or you'll have an identical loaner with your hard drive in it (as long as your hard drive isn't the problem!)

4) I don't worry about passing the NAPLEX exam when I graduate. The NAPLEX is the standardized exam that all pharmacists must take to be legally certified to practice pharmacy in America. Butler pharmacy grads have an unbelievably high pass rate on the exam (almost 100% on the first try). Apparently Butler didn't even know how awesome our grads were at the NAPLEX until the rankings came out a couple years ago, and we were sitting right near the top (3rd or so maybe?) The rankings encompass all the pharmacy schools across the country, so that's pretty cool! It's a relief to know that I'll be well prepared when I graduate.

3) Everyone wants to hire us - both now and after we graduate. We get e-mails all the time about pharmacies looking for students to work. There are mainly retail positions available, but there are a lot of hospital positions available as well. The chain I worked at back at home over the summer has already contacted me about picking up hours over Christmas break. After we graduate - well, our options are endless!!

2) We get to enjoy Butler for 6 years! More basketball games to attend, more time to put off getting into the real world, everything about it is good. If I wasn't in pharmacy, I would be graduating this year. I don't feel ready yet to be responsible enough for everything! I'm getting there, but I'm glad I still have two years before I have to enter the big scary real world.

1) Rotations!!!! I'm already excited for my P4 year. We get to try out a lot of different areas of pharmacy, which I will really enjoy, because I change my mind about what I want to do when I graduate just about every month. I've heard that you learn A LOT on rotations, and it's a great way to transition from school to being a Pharm.D. I hope I get some cool rotation sites....but I won't find that out until spring of 2010!

I've got Friday night activities planned, so I'm going to get on to that (and yes, those plans do include finishing watching the White Sox play Tampa and starting my Therapeutics care plan, but who says that's not fun!?)

Until Later,

Ashlen

Stressssssed.

SarahG — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:47:00 GMT

The title of this blog pretty much sums up my life right now. I feel like I've been running around doing a hundred things this week, and I'm about to explode! So here I am, finally done with classes for the weekend... you would think I'd be glad that it's all over, right? Well I am, somewhat... until I realize that next week is going to be even worse. The main source of my stress is coming from my psychology study, which finally got approved by the Institutional Review Board last weekend. Although this is a good thing, it means that I now have a TON of work to do. The submission deadline for SEPA, the first psych conference this year, is October 10... one week away. I've been recruiting and running subjects all week, which means that this weekend/next week will be spent scoring protocols, entering all of my data into the computer, analyzing it, and writing up a report. Yikes! Oh the woes of being a psychology major...

The good thing? Next Friday, after all of this craziness is done and over with, my sorority has its semi-formal! At least I have something to look forward to, that should keep me motivated while I'm slaving away...

Wish me luck - and come visit me at my temporary residence in the psych department!

My Get Real Weekend Continued....

StephF — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:25:00 GMT

So as you might have read in my previous blog, I had the second day of my Get Real Weekend this past Saturday....and it was AMAZING. :) Even though I didn't go up on the high ropes course, I still learned a lot about myself and everyone else, and there were plenty of other fun things during the day too. :) So here is a video of the high ropes part of the day with a little help from my friend Josh....enjoy!

A (new) View from the Corner Office

butlerblue2 — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:13:00 GMT

Sorry for my long delay in posting, but I’ve been a busy bulldog over the past couple of weeks. Sure, I’ve kept my nose to the ground with the enduring search for the missing Butler Bulldog mascot costumes (more on that later), but I’ve also been helping my dad move our office. Yep, that’s right, I’ve moved offices at Butler, but this actually isn’t my first move. We started in Jordan Hall office 11 and not too long after, we took over office 13 where we spent the majority of the last four years...(read more)

Alpha Phi's Heart Throb Competition

JoeW — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:27:00 GMT

You can't hear the music very well, but for Alpha-Phi all of our music had to come from boy bands and we had two trampolines at our disposal in the back. Alpha Phi's Philanthropy is Cardiac Care so all of the heart refrences make sense. This video is not as impressive as our lip sync was in person, but it's pretty good.

Steering clear of the dark side

LizM — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:12:00 GMT

"Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering."
-Yoda

I'm not much of a Star wars expert, but I don't think it takes a diehard fan to know that "the dark side" refers to the bad guys in the Star wars films. According to wikipedia its when Jedis use the bad side of the force (I wikipedia everything, its a lifestyle). Here in good ol' one east we now have a "dark side" and a "light side," and in some special cases a "gray area."
You might be thinking this has something to do with peoples' moral code or values or something. Like we are being judgemental, deciding who is good or bad. But alas, its got nothing to do with that. Its if you are in a relationship or single.
I'm not really sure who instigated the whole "light side/dark side" reference, but its been the conversation starter since I returned from Ohio Sunday evening. Living with all girls, probably 80% of what the conversation revolves around is the opposite sex, past relationships, campus couples, weekend romances, etc. And when we aren't talking about it we are watching some sappy show like Grey's Anatomy or One Tree Hill, which pretty much is like the same thing only we are watching other people talk about it. Most of the time I'm just a listener, a bystander if you will. Thus, I am on the light side. The light side means that you are single and have no prospects for dating. We are proud. Its nothing to be ashamed of. Being single is the way to go, for me at least. I mean there are a lot of attractive males here at Butler University, so prospective lady students you have a pretty good selection. However, the girl to guy ratio is kind of insane: There are quite a few more girls in comparison to guys. Which definetly cuts down on the selection factor. For me and a few other girls in the E-unit, we are just chilling. No rush. Its college, we have four years to meet people and right now I'm all about making friends.

On the other side of the spectrum, we have the dark side. Many girls came to college in relationships. As for people I know, there are a few girls that are still making the long distance relationship work, but for the majority of my friends it hasn't been successful. Its just a very hard transition. Both of the people are in a new place trying to meet people and juggle grades and activities on top of that, and with a relationship on the top of the pile...its a lot to handle. And of course its not just a problem here. Several acquaintances of mine that are going to Ohio State are dealing with the same thing. Even though there are many people in the same situation, it doesn't make it any easier or soothe the pain that comes with a break-up. But thats why we have the light side--to brighten things up when life gets gloomy! Anyhow, its funny how fast things move in a college situation. Several girls have already met some "special friends" and are running on the moving walkway to making their dating game a "facebook official" relationship. I suppose love has blown in with the chilly fall air. Its really exciting to hear the girls stories when they come back from a date, or hangout, or ballroom dancing club where they have just seen that special someone. We always disrupt someone or upset the RAs because we will be screaming or clapping or giggling ridiculously, all piled into one room listening to the said girl recount the evening's events. But, these are the girls that are on the dark side.
I love listening to these stories and sharing the happiness with the girls. Sometimes its strange though because it almost makes me feel insecure. Like I need to find someone or be experiencing the same things. But thats just silly really, because I am who I am and naturally I'm not going to be exactly the same as them. Besides, there are lots of other girls that aren't with someone. It should be about being with a person you enjoy spending time with, not just going out with someone so that you don't feel alone or left out.

And there are always those Grey's Anatomy episodes serving as a constant companion :) And that Yoda quote basically means relationships (the dark side) =suffering. Thats how I like to interpret it haha.

Okay so thats the end of my Carrie Bradshaw-esque tirade on relationships. As I mentioned before, I went home for the weekend and it was great! Who knew I could miss Ohio so much?! Well, Its not really Ohio that I missed. I was eager to see my family and close friends. The weekend was packed with activities. I rode home Friday with one of my friends who lives in Indy. Her family is close friends with mine, and she moved here just this past year with her boyfriend. Amy is a teacher in the area and lives very close to Butler, so everything worked out really well. After being stuck in traffic on the outskirts of Indy for 45 minutes, we made the trip that normally takes 2.5 hours in about 3.5 hours. I wasn't complaining though, I was just glad to be home. My little brother recently had his big tenth birthday, so he played me some beautiful music on his new electric guitar. He is really good, I was so surprised! My family and I went on a picnic and a hike on Saturday. Later that night my best friend and I went and saw "Burn after reading." Pretty funny. Then on Sunday my mom and I went and saw the Lion King on Broadway in downtown Columbus. Hilliard reminds me a lot of here actually, because Butler is kind of tucked back in a suburb, but the city is really close just like in my hometown.
It was great to be home and see everyone. It was hard to leave Sunday, I definetly wanted to stay home. Its comfortable and familiar. My family, who I know is always going to love me no matter what, is there. But it was nice to get back to BU. My roommate Abby and I were talking tonight about how strange it was visiting home and then coming back. She went back to her hometown, Lafayette, last weekend. One thing that I missed the most was just being able to drive around at night in my car. I always purposefully take the back country roads home because its nice to just drive, and think, and see all the places you used to go. Its funny how much you can change in a month or two, how different your life can become. Its good though. I still like it here.

Here is a picture of my little brother, Will, and me from Saturday.

So I debated about putting this one up for a while...I mean one night we were out walking around and we just saw these two girls climb into star fountain...it was crazy! I wouldn't want to get them in trouble or anything, which is why I kept their identities concealed. Swimming in Star Fountain is so illegal. Its much deeper than you'd think. But you didn't hear that from me...

That was a very long and random post! I've been getting some awesome emails and I'm really enjoying answering them, so please don't hesitate to talk to me :)

Hoosier Weather 101

AshlenC — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:43:00 GMT

I realize that the topic of weather is usually reserved for talking with elderly folks, like your grandparents, during awkward pauses in conversation. And, if you're from Indiana or the midwest, you're probably familiar with the weather patterns I'll be referring to later in this post. If that's the case, I hope you keep reading just for fun. This post is really intentioned for all you international and American-but-not-Midwestern people out there who have absolutely no clue what they're getting into when they decide to pick up and move their lives to Indiana for four (or more) years. I'm writing this because I was clueless about Hoosier weather when I first moved to Indiana, and I wish that someone had written this for me. In fact, the weather (or lack of warm weather) was one reason I held against Butler (gasp) and I almost didn't even apply to Butler because of it! Read on, and you'll understand why.....

If you read my "about me" section, you'll know that I came to Butler from Canada, via South Carolina. Canada and South Carolina are polar opposites when it comes to weather. Canada is freezing cold 75% of the year, South Carolina is scorching hot 75% of the year. Canada experiences all four seasons, while South Carolina experiences "tourism season" and "non-tourism season." Canada's weather can be so dry your hands crack and bleed all the time, and South Carolina can be unbearably humid. I think you're getting my point.

Growing up in Canada, I remember several occasions when the first snowfall was on October 31st...that's right, Halloween. Snow began to stick around mid-November, and all my Christmases have been white. The snow might start to melt in March sometime, but don't count out blizzards in April, or even May. You can't even begin to count on consistently warm summer weather until early July. At the end of August, the geese are already flocking together for their flight down south, and by the time school starts in September the leaves are almost ready to change. Autumn is gorgeous at home; I always loved the colors of the tress and the smell of smoke that was always in the air. Then November came, and it was winter all over again.

South Carolina spoiled me. I could golf all year round, although December and January could get a little chilly. It snowed only once while I was in high school, and it resulted in everyone running out of their classes to get pictures of the palm trees and snow. I distinctly remember getting the worst sunburn of my life one March, and then leaving for West Virginia a few days later for a golf tournament and having to deal with a snow delay. The weather in SC was gorgeous (except for hurricane season, which was a bit rainy) and I never wanted to leave. I became a Southerner in mind, body, and soul. So, when it came time to apply to colleges, my main criteria was "nothing North of the Mason-Dixon line." I'm positive that my desire for warm weather over great academics exasperated my parents to no end. I considered a few schools up north, but my favorites were all in the south. When my acceptance into Butler pharmacy came in December of my senior year, I wasn't too happy about it. My father had convinced me to apply (although I was unwilling and uncooperative about the matter) and once I was accepted I knew that it was too good of an opportunity to turn down.

The reason I'm writing this post now, is because today the temperature dropped like a rock. I froze when I walked to class because I was too stupid to turn on the Weather Channel while eating breakfast this morning. It's officially autumn, which is a season that I didn't get to experience in South Carolina and it has become my favorite part of the weather once I returned north. I get to see the leaves change again, and carving pumpkins is way more fun when it actually feels like fall (rather than being 80 degrees and feeling like its the middle of summer). I also get to enjoy some snow leading up to Christmas, which I love (come November, you will all see how much I adore Christmas). The bad things? I hate the winter starting around mid January. I probably wouldn't mind it so much if I didn't have to walk to class for 15 minutes in the cold. Spring also lasts forever here. Slushy, yucky grey snow everywhere. It snows, then melts, and snows and melts again all through February. We generally have miserable grey skies until end of March, when it usually starts warming up into warm summer weather again.

I'm very excited for the next month or so. It's still nice enough to enjoy being outside as long as you're wearing a jacket. Halloween is just around the corner, and I'm going to try to make it out to a Butler football game soon. It should be exciting. Yesterday (which had gorgeous summer-like weather) I got to go walk around downtown. I took a picture at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, because I rarely get to see it with the water. It was great to finally seen the monument up close. It's a lot more detailed than I would have expected. Apparently there's a museum and an observation deck, which I really want to see sometime before I graduate!

Deflating an Icon

AllisonB — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:02:00 GMT

Hellloooo again!!

Turns out I am once again getting the chance to breathe -- amazing huh?! So here in my down time I decided to do something I enjoy doing and have meant to do for quite awhile now.....blog! And I've got some cool pictures to show you. Anyhow, let's see, what have I been up to lately? Basically just keeping really busy with school work and my internship and organizations, like always. This past week was clusters for those pharmtards (I say with affection, come on now....) and mid-terms for the rest of us. I realize Jake has been pretty fair in his explenations of clusters but us business majors always like to point out that we often have a week (or day as mine always turn out) full of tests too. And do we get classes off?! Nooooooo.... Haha, but that's another story for another day. This past week I feel like has been lots of meetings to prepare for meeting. Sound weird? It's actually not. This upcoming Tuesday is our BAMA Marketing Mixer and tomorrow is our first big Mortar Board meeting. Both of which I'm in charge! Hence the meetings to prepare.... Promise once these fun and exciting events actually occur I will write all about them!!

For now though.... Ever heard of the RCA Dome in downtown Indianapolis? Where the Colts used to play? Chances are, if you are from Indiana you probably have. It is (well was) an awesome building! However, with the constuction of the new Lucas Oil Stadium the city decided that the dome was no longer useful. So on one grand day last week they shut the giant fans off and the thing literally deflated. I must admit, it wasn't quite as thrilling as I was hoping. I was secretly hoping they'd shut the fans off and *boom* the whole thing would just rapidly cave in. That'd be cool, right?! Well....in all reality it took about 40 minutes. But let me tell you, it was a nice day, the thing had been around forever and the people came out in groves to watch.

Check it out -- schools brought their classes out to watch!

It was quite the spectacle. By the end though I think the kids were getting a bit squirmy! Okay, so here are the pictures...in order....time elapsed approximately 40ish minutes. The first shows what the building looked like before, the second during the deflation and the third - gone with Lucas Oil Stadium now visible!

Ta Da!! Amazing huh?! One of these days (I'm not sure when) they are going to demolish the rest so I'll be sure to get pictures of that when it happens!

In other news though... Homecoming kickoff was last night. OH BOYYYYYYYY!! Seriously, I love Homecoming! We like to call it Christmas for college students! We found out who my sorority is paired with, which will be a blast. It's a little weird though... Since I am a Recruitment Counselor for Formal Recruitment this year I'm not allowed to be associated in public with my sorority this fall, just so I'll be able to be fair and help all the girls go through Recruitment as needed. So...come January watch for pictures of my big reveal!! For now though, I'll just give you a look at Homecoming from all angles.

Whoops, time for another meeting though... Stay turned for more to come! Lata all

is it really my third travel season?!

BUMegan — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:11:00 GMT

So, I really can't believe this is my third travel season...I'm sitting in my hotel room, thinking about how just how much has changed from my first travel season to my third. I'm currently in Chicago, and have done about a week of travel. I love it here (well, minus the traffic and construction...but what are you going to do?!) and have been really pleased with how my college fairs and visits to high schools have been going.

I spent two weeks in St. Louis, and had a GREAT time. I got to stay with my parents, who are now empty nesters! It was a good two weeks, but it went by VERY quickly. The fairs, visits and everything was awesome. I already know the area, but I feel like I have a better handle on everything than I did last year!

My first week in Chicago also went well. I had three fairs and was able to see all the people I travel with/hang out with-it was SO, SO, SO good to see everyone! Its funny how close you get to people you only see three months out of the year, but yet I love all these people like we all went to school together or something. Chicago is such an interesting territory to have because everyone is up here so long, you can't help but become good friends with other college reps. I'm just lucky I've met some AMAZING reps. I love travel, and love spending time up here. Chicago is definitely one of my favorite cities. It also helps that one of my best friends lives up here, and I get to see her this week!!!!!! (Can you tell I've had an overabundance of coffee?? That's what happens when you travel a lot...at least for me;)

This week is a little quieter than last, but I'm actually up here for two weeks straight. I have a fair on Saturday, so I'll just stay here over the weekend. Any suggestions as to what I could do?? Please feel free to leave me a message:)

Its good to see our new bloggers up and running-I'm very impressed with the group that Brad put together. I've been reading some of their stuff, and it's exciting to see, especially as an alumna of Butler. Keep up the good work! (It's also good to get to read Jerry's blog. I miss him AND ALL of the other counselors:)

I know I said this last fall, but if any current applicants have questions-PLEASE don't hesitate to let me know. I'd be more than happy to answer your questions!

Finally-since it's surprisingly colder up here than when I left, a quote about my favorite season:

I've never known anyone yet who doesn't suffer a certain restlessness when autumn rolls around... We're all eight years old again and anything is possible.
-- Sue Grafton

Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter.
-- Carol Bishop Hipps

Mission Accomplished!

AshlenC — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:42:00 GMT

Mission Accomplished: Cluster Set #1 Complete! I always have a great sense of satisfaction after finishing my final test. Clusters are always so stressful, and it feels like a weight has literally been lifted off your shoulders when it's all over. Now I sit and wait for all the grades to be posted. Overall, I don't think I did terrible on any of my tests, which is always a big bonus. However, I don't think I did stellar on anything either. I always feel great when I get an A on a test, but I think that's going to have to wait until next month. On a more positive note, I ACED a project that I had to hand in for my liberal arts elective (International Politics). I put it together in a bit of a hurry, and it was about the 1904 Olympics, so research wasn't easy. I was glad to see that it turned out well.

Enough about school for now! Right now I'm sitting outside, because the temperature is still pretty warm. I'm still on campus, waiting for my fiance to finish taking a test in his liberal arts class on Tibet. I'm having a lot of fun watching the world go by. Butler's so small that I see someone I know every couple of minutes. I also just got to see Blue II walking home after a long, hard day....I mean, he's still busy looking for our mascot costume, right? Life's tough being a bulldog!

So what's next on my plate? These next few days are the best time during the school year because we get to take a deep breath and have some fun! Tonight I'm thinking about some rest and relaxation. I just got 101 Dalmatians and 102 Dalmatians on DVD (they came out about a week or two ago).....can anyone say Disney marathon!? I don't know any college girl who doesn't love a night full of Disney classics. I've also been thinking about baking some cookies over the next few days. The leaves are kind of starting to change, which is making me crave some pumpkin cookies. My friend Sarah's mom made them for us when I was playing on the golf team, and they are absolutely delicious. Tomorrow I have to come to campus for two classes, but then I'm going downtown to look for reception locations for the wedding! I'll try to take some pictures of all the cool things downtown to post in my blog next time. After that, I've promised to get my cornhole boards out and have a good time with them....should be fun!

Until later,

Ashlen

Everything is ok now, Grey's Anatomy and The Office are back!!!!

StephF — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 02:34:00 GMT

Once again, I have lost track of time. This seems to be a common theme of mine. The past week has been pretty intense with classes, and my first few tests, and most importantly, the return of all of my favorite primetime shows! :) The Office and Greys Anatomy started on Thursday, and I'm currently watching Brothers and Sisters, but I missed the beginning of Desperate Housewives, so don't tell me about what happened until I get the chance to see it online tomorrow!

This weekend I was busy with things for my Freshman Business Experience class... on Friday we went to a Forum with recent Butler grads, and they told us about what they do now, about their internships, and about their experiences here at Butler. That was really cool, especially to hear what advice they had for us...for instance, what they wished that they had done while they were here and things of that sort. Then on Saturday we finished our Get Real Weekend that we started two weeks ago, so we got to go out to the high and low ropes courses all day. :) It was an awesome day...and a great opportunity for our groups to form a bond and learn more about each other. My personal favorite activity was the "Mine Field" where we had to guide a blindfolded person through a "Mine Field" (which was an area with a bunch of random toys scattered everywhere....my favorite was a stuffed penguin, closely followed by the rubber pig) it was challenging, yet still fun because watching a blindfolded person tiptoe and shuffle through a mass of toys is always pretty funny. :) Then later that day we went on the high ropes course, which I wasn't looking forward to because I am a HUGE wimp when it comes to heights, and after standing there with the harness and the helmet on for like thirty minutes, I decided that it just wasn't going to happen. I had tried something similar to it before, and it wasn't the best experience.....mainly because of how much of a wimp I am. But, all in all, it was an awesome day....and we learned so much. :) I have a video of the high ropes course that my friend Josh helped me out with (since I was a wimp) that will be up sometime....:) I might fill you in on more things that we did this weekend sometime....because there were so many activities that we did that I loved...it was basically a fun-filled day/weekend!

So this past week I realized that I am back to my usual "too-busy" self. I interviewed for Alpha Kappa Psi (a business fraternity), and I am now a pledge, which is really exciting!! But now that adds yet another activity to my list. I love it being that way though. :) Having downtime makes me nervous....so I just make sure that I don't have any. lol.....for instance, on Wednesday night I didn't have any meetings or anything, and I felt a massive cold/sinus thing coming on so I didn't think I should go to the HRC, so I sat in my room and watched TV for the first time all year. It was crazy. So I pulled out a book and did some homework while I was watching TV. That made me feel a little bit better....lol.

Last night my boyfriend Scott came to visit, and we went with some of my friends to the Old Spaghetti Factory....which I highly recommend. It was pretty delicious. :) Except that they gave me a chinese food box to put my leftovers in?? I don't understand what that was all about. I kept thinking that the waiter would bring out the real box....but he didnt....so I just put my lasanga in that. haha....

Well thats all I've got for now....now it's back to homework....whoohoo! Hopefully this week won't go as fast as this past one did...........

Why are College Students ALWAYS Sick!?

AshlenC — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:42:00 GMT

I have flu-like symptoms. Flu-like symptoms are never fun, and usually when I get sick I like to wallow in my misery on my couch at home with my two dogs laying beside me keeping me warm while watching a good movie on TV. That kind of thing works well when you're a little kid. You can even get away with it in high school, or on Christmas / summer break from college as long as you're not scheduled to work. But when you're at university, it's a whole different story. Life keeps going at breakneck speed, and you have to keep up with it. Which is why I ended up studying for yesterday's Principles of Drug Action in bed.

I started feeling a little queezy after my first cluster exam on Thursday. I attributed it to nerves, and not eating enough for breakfast. So, I left Irwin library and headed over to C-Club in Atherton Union to pick up lunch. Last year C-Club started carrying sushi (which I love) so I decided to buy some California Rolls. I headed back to the library to eat and continue studying with some of my friends. The food made me feel better....for a while. Right before we left for the test, WHAM! It hit me like a brick. I felt awful.

I made it through that second test on Thursday, but I wasn't very productive studying on Thursday night....not that I didn't try. I e-mailed my professor to see if I could reschedule my exam, but he e-mailed be back Friday morning to tell me that if I had a medical exemption from taking the test, I just wouldn't take the test at all and my other test scores would be averaged in my final grade. I hated the idea that all the work I've put into that class would be worth nothing. So, I decided to try and write the exam. In retrospect, I'll probably kick myself for making that decision. I had only eaten about a dozen crackers and a smoothing in the 24 hours before taking the test, and I was definitely not in the best mental state. But, I really felt like I deserved the chance to take the test, so I did it. I tried, and to me that's what matters (at least until I get my grade back!)

The thing is, I'm not the only one sick! My friend Kate sent me a Facebook message yesterday saying that she too was sick, on the couch, and watching the presidential debate. I would say that the most common AOL away message for my college friends has to do with their poor state of health. I think part of it has to do with living in large groups. Dorms and Greek houses are known for their cold epidemics. One person gets sick, their unit gets sick, then the next thing you know, everyone is sick! I've heard of entire sorority houses coming down sick at the same time, so I promise I'm not exaggerating that much! Of course, I'm not living in the dorms anymore, but I think another problem is that as college students, we're stressed, not getting enough sleep, we don't have the best diets, and are immune system are shot as a result.

So come to college prepared....Kleenex, tea bags, whatever makes you feel better....except your two dogs! College students everywhere get sick all the time! It's a sad fact of life. This week is definitely making me think about getting a flu shot at the Health Center this year!

homecomming is comming/presidential race/

BrentB — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:25:00 GMT

Hey ALL!!

How are you today? Im just fine! thanks for asking!

Anywho, this has been quite the exciting week. It went by very quickly too. Its funny that this week seemed to be so exciting to me but not much happened...wow, sometimes i dont even understand my own logic... i digress, so understand homecomming is NEXT WEEk! That's pretty cool to me. I was planning on going back to my old school for homecomming this year to hang out with my kentucky state friends. That probably wont happen, at least not this year. I think going back to k state for their homecomming would bring me a step backwards as far as adjusting to a new school. Well that and i cant afford the gas money. I miss my peeps though. Oh well, i guess thats what facebook is for,

So tonight (9/26/08), was the first presidential debate. That was very interesting. I did not realize before how much of the world this election actually affected. Most of the questions asked had more to do with other countries than our own, Apperantly, Russia is rampaging around is the country of Georgia or so somthing causing all kinds of hoop lah. So the debate guy asked both McCain and Obama what he would do about this situation. This question opened my eyes to how much of a world police we really are. Apparently if a country does something that is not nice, we can just say "HEY STOP ThAT ." And who decides which country is alowed to make nuclear weapons? Thats crazy to me. That also makes me wonder how countries that are/were apart of the axsis of evil feel about being called "evil."

Its strange how it seems that a select few contries pretty much run the world. thats kind of a scary thought.

An even scarier thought is the word ECONOMY!!! According to Obama, we are in a resession so bad that it can only be compared to the great depressions. That freaks me out somethin firece! I hope i don't lose my home and be forced to live in a shanty town. that would definitely suck...

well it was nice talking to you, but i've gotta go now! bye bye til next time [waves goodbye]

Birds of a Feather, Draw Together

JoeW — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 03:44:00 GMT

There are two types of people in this world; the ones who will think this blog is gross and the ones who like it- read with caution.

At Butler we have sky walks that connect all of the academic buildings in the “Academic U” (a grouping of buildings that makes horseshoe shape.) These become very convenient on rainy or fowl weathered days because students can walk from class to class, building to building without having to go outside. However these useful glass walkways have a dark side. They kill birds. Lots of birds. We are up to around 100 a semester.

The gentle, loving, unsuspecting songbirds are simply flying through campus trying to do little birdy things like look for twigs and berries, serenade young maidens, or help people put on their towels Cinderella style- I don’t really know. Tthe point is, before they can get a song out of their finely feathered throats they slam into a (Surprise!) glass wall. Butler is of course making efforts to fix this problem. Large stickers have been applied to the walkways to say “Hey birds, this might not be air”; and even larger stickers are being sought after. But the problem is still not completely solved, leaving Butler students to ask, “When will the stickers be big enough!”

A small task force of Butler professors and students has been assembled to help with the problem. A reachable phone number was put in the Butler Digest so individuals on campus could report dead birds they came across. These birds are then located and studied to determine if in fact a it was a window that killed them. After inspection they are sttored in a large freezer in Gallahue Hall.

Even odder, however, is the fact that these birds made a final migration in my drawing class. The professor made sure that it was fine with everyone involved before the class period started, but on Tuesday our drawing studio was adorned with about 25 dead birds. You see, animals (birds especially) are both complex and beautiful. So, we would all become better artists for drawing them. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a little creepy.

In fact, because the birds were frozen; while they sat through my three hour drawing class some began to slightly unthaw and form sad little dead bird tears in their eyes. It is difficult to draw a bird. It is even more difficult to draw a dead crying bird.

It was a great experience and I in no way want to suggest that I or Butler University finds the death of playful woodland creatures as humorous. I’m glad my art class could make the best of a bad situation and my final drawing is posted in my Photos section. In the mean time, maybe we should all take a day off from cleaning our windows.

-Joe

An Evening of Isay (and Joe!)

JoeW — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 02:49:00 GMT

Dave Isay came to Butler! This is significant for many reasons. The most well known and respected reason is that Dave Isay is the author of Butler’s Freshman reading book, Listening is an Act of Love. More vainly, however, this visit was significant because I got to introduce him in Clowes Memorial Hall. That’s right readers, I have only been a Creative Writing major for two years and I am already in cahoots with notable modern authors. False. I humbly believe that I got to introduce Dave Isay (Author of Listening is an Act of Love in Clowes Memorial Hall) because when an e-mail was sent out about the event I was the first to respond.

However, this was my second time working (in Clowes Memorial Hall) on L is an A of L. Part of Welcome Week at Butler is that the Freshmen attend a Academic Convocation about their summer reading book. This year the English Department put on the convocation, so I go to be a part of it! I only spoke for about 4 minutes (in Clowes Memorial Hall) but it was in front of all the freshmen and a lot of fun. No to mention, because I am on the Butler Speech Team speaking in front of people is more blessing than stressing.

Listening is an Act of Love is a book compiled by the Storycorps project. Storycorps’ staffs and maintains booths that travel the nation collecting true stories from everyday people. Individuals make an appointment in advance and go into a booth with someone they believe has a unique/significant/interesting story to tell. The interviews last 40 minutes and are recorded. The participants get one CD and another copy is sent to the Library of Congress to be preserved for future generations. Needless to say; because excellently everyday people are interviewed instead of the siliconed celebrities we are used to hearing from, amazing stories surface from every spectrum of American life.

Personally, I can say that Dave Isay is a great guy. Our dinner was splendid and we were joined by Butler staff and a few other readers from the Academic Convocation. Dave truly loves what he does and plans on doing it for the rest of his life. It’s great to meet people who are living their dreams (especially in Clowes Memorial Hall).

As for advice, I would have to tell everyone that the Visiting Writer’s Series is more than worth while and all Butler Students should try their best to attend any of it’s sessions. I would also implore individuals to check their email, thoroughly and often. I would not be nearly as involved if it were not for reading the Butler Digest. Other than that I would just urge everyone to eat more dark green vegetables (Spinach, Broccoli, romaine lettuce, Clowes Memorial Hall, etc.) They are the most nutrient rich of all vegetables and you should have a half-cup serving each day to gain their disease fighting powers.

Thank you for reading!

-Joe

-If you are interested in learning more about Listening is an Act of Love or the Storycorps project in general, please check out http://www.storycorps.net/

-Clowes Memorial Hall is the largest venue in Indianapolis and seats 2,220 people. It is made of Indiana Limestone and resides comfortably on Butler’s Campus- it’s kind of a big deal.

-For more information about Dark Green Vegetables or nearly any other dietary facts please refer to http://www.mypyramid.gov/index.html. It’s very helpful.

Our Spanish Butler Family

ChristinaL — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 22:55:00 GMT

So I currently live across the Atlantic Ocean from all of my family, most of my friends, and both my homes (Chicago and Butler), in a country that does NOT speak English, in a tiny apartment with strangers...

This could be very intimidating... but not with my Butler family here! There are seventeen of us here, along with our professor, Dr. Willem, and her husband, and they really make me feel at home.

We're always pretty tight, but I definitely felt the Butler love most earlier this month, when I turned twenty! This was very exciting, but also bittersweet because it was the first birthday I have not gotten to celebrate with my parents and sister. It was totally okay though, because I have a family of 18 people here to celebrate with.

We had our monthly reunion at Dr. Willem’s apartment on the night of my birthday. The Willems had cake and ice cream for us (which is even tastier in Spain) and they taught everyone how to sing Happy Birthday to me in Spanish! Dr. Willem even got me a small present. It definitely made me feel at home even though I’m across the Atlantic Ocean. Later that night, the Butler kids went out dancing to celebrate.

All in all, a great birthday. I feel so lucky to have all of them here as a support system but also a resource – they are great friends but I also learn so much from the other BU students. We’re always teaching each other new words and phrases in Spanish and planning adventures together.

I really realized how lucky we are to have each other last week when one of my friends was going through some tough times. First of all, she got sick in Spain! No fun. Thankfully Dr. Willem was able to go to the doctor with her and help her communicate. Then, to make a long story short, she decided that she would get along better with another host family, so she decided to switch.

This isn’t a big deal… lots of people have issues with their hosts at some point. For example, the first week I was here, my mama wouldn’t let me leave the house after dinner! However, I talked to Dr. Willem, and she had the housing director talk to my mama and let her know that I would be smart and safe and it was okay for me to go out. Usually, it’s just a communication issue since we don’t speak Spanish as well as the natives! However, sometimes it’s just better to switch to another family that fits your personality better.

This was the case with my friend. However, she was understandably a little upset about the change. The night before she was moving to her new family, she called me and asked if I could hang out with her that night to make her feel better. I was about an hour away from Alcala, so I called our friend Rebecca, who immediately picked her up and kept her company. When Nate and I got back to Alcala, we met up with them, too. We were all sitting in the plaza eating ice cream, when Dr. Willem’s husband Steve found us. He had heard that she was moving out the next day, and wanted to drop by and make sure she was okay! That night I realized that no matter what we’re going through here, our Butler group is a really strong support network, and we’re never alone!

I think that’s what I love so much about Butler. I always feel like someone’s got my back and will help me out if I need it. I’ve always loved that about our community in Indianapolis, and I’m glad that it’s even stronger here. It’s kind of cool that the seventeen of us didn’t choose each other, but we’re a family nonetheless.

We’re talking about building a tent on Schwitzer lawn so we can all live together when we get home J

To the Alcala Butler fam, I love you guys! Nos quiero mucho siempre!