Butler University

Nutcracker Spirit Weekend

BUOlivia — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:37:00 GMT

Why am I up this late on a Friday night? It's Nutcracker Spirit Weekend, of course!

Sigma Rho Delta, the honorary dance fraternity, helps the department a lot during Nutcracker season. When we kept scheduling things for this one weekend that were Nutcracker-related, we decided to informally christen it "Nutcracker Spirit Weekend." For instance, Nutcracker t-shirt designs for the t-shirt design contest were due today.

We also did the annual Indianapolis poster hanging earlier tonight. Sigma Rho Delta members and pledges meet to help put up posters advertising Butler Ballet's production of The Nutcracker around campus and around Indianapolis. It's really fun, and we all regroup afterwards to eat dinner together.

Here are a few of us, ready to hang posters.

Tomorrow, we are decorating pointe shoes for the Nutcracker boutique, which I love. Anything that involved sparkly things... I'm all for it.

But the reason I'm still awake? Tomorrow we are having a pointe shoe sale/bake sale as a fundraiser for a summer dance trip--to China! I might be able to go... I'm not sure yet... More details will follow... But I'm helping with fundraising, and my friend and I spent our Friday night making these:

Cupcakes. Yum. Don't they look delicious? You can see my roommate reaching for one at the bottom of the picture.

And that was my Friday in a nutshell. Haha. Nutshell-- Nutcracker-- Haha?

Digging it

BUKevin — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:46:00 GMT

Tonight I finally made it to Hinkle to watch our Butler ladies play some volleyball. I had never been to a volleyball game, so it was fun and interesting to go cheer on the Bulldogs to another win over Loyola. Freshman Gina Vera is a friend of mine and in one of my classes, so I had been wanting to go watch her in action. You can keep up with Gina and the volleyball team through her blog for the team. The volleyball team is 19-11, is third in the Horizon League standings, and having a great season!

As a student I get into all home games for free, football has been great, and the the team is still undefeated! Everyone is looking forward to Basketball season, the Dawgs are ranked 10th in the preseason coaches' poll, and have a lot of hype surrounding this season! I'm sure as the basketball season gets started I'll keep you up to date!

Until next time.

Take back the city tonight

BUKevin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:18:00 GMT

Last weekend I decided to forgo the customary Halloween activities, and instead spend a bit of time with my cousin and his wife who came up from Missouri. My older brother decided to take us on a tour of downtown, and out to eat at St. Elmo Steakhouse. Even though I've visited my brother in Indianapolis several times, and have lived here the last few months, I haven't spent much time downtown. Spending Saturday evening on a walking tour of the city gave me a new love and appreciation for the city. We drove and walked by everything from Circle Center Mall to Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the 7-0 Indianapolis Colts! While not everything is perfect, there is poverty and hurting people in the city and we saw a few homeless people sleeping under an overpass right next to Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis is beautiful, and is one of the best city for reaching out to its needy population. Our evening culminated in dinner at St. Elmo's, a great steakhouse famous for their shrimp cocktail that is so hot it will make you cry. And although Indianapolis is no Chicago or New York City, it is a great city in the heart of the nation, and home to the best football team and University! And even though I didn't dress up and participate in typical college student Halloween activities, the evening was great, and more than I could have asked for!

The large Circle Center Mall right in downtown is always a great place to stop and walk around for awhile.

Monument Circle, in the center of downtown Indy is especially neat at night and you can take carriage rides through the streets or walk around to small shops and stores.

The brand new (and perhaps unnecessary?) Lucas Oil Stadium is an imposing structure gracing the downtown scene.

St. Elmo's. A good place to eat once,unless you like to spend a lot of money.

Until next time.

The White Coat Ceremony

BUCathryn — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:15:00 GMT

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Some of my own scattered thoughts just hours before this year's White Coat Ceremony for the Physician's Assistant 2012 class and Pharmacy 2013 class!

(It went well. I didn't have a fight on stage with my coat.)

I have pictures that my dad took, but he brought the camera home to Cincinnati with him. I will post those later. I thought the video would lose its magic if I posted it any later. :)

Butler Cribs

BUJonathan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:00:00 GMT

Good Thursday All!

I really hope you are enjoying my blog thus far, and I can't believe that I am already more than half way into my first semester Senior year!

I work for the University, and I actually was at work yesterday when a friend of mine told me about Butler Cribs. Ok, at first I was a little unsure of what to expect, but they are hilarious! My boss allowed all the people in the workroom that day to sit down and watch all five of the contestants. I was literally laughing at every single on of them! When the first video was done, the one with the two guys, someone told me that the people who are talking actually made the films. At first I thought the people who are competing were picked, and then the University was filming them. So, from my bewilderment I really impressed with some of them because of the time and effort dedicated to ensuring an entertaining video for all to enjoy.

My bets are on the first two guys, or Hannah! I think my favorite part of it all is how close each of them get to the real Cribs show!

AND, since I am tour guide here - it is an awesome way for you all to see what the rooms look like in each of the residence halls. This will make it much easier when I give tours in the upcoming months - now that I can direct people to the website! So... now go ahead and watch those videos already! They will make you laugh!

And, let me know what you think of them! I would love to hear about it.

To change how teachers are licensed in Indiana...or not to....

StephF — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:02:00 GMT

One of my favorite things is getting ready in the morning. I like it because it is a great time to chat it up with the other girls who live on the 3rd floor of Alpha Phi (we have a community bathroom up there), and I get caught up with what kinds of cool things that they are doing during the day. The other day I was talking to one of the girls...Abby....and she told me about this public hearing that she was going to. Abby is an education major here, and that day she was excused from all of her classes to attend this hearing downtown. Basically, educators from the area all gathered to give their opinions on a piece of new legislation that the Superintendent of Public Instruction is trying to pass. They want to make it possible to be a teacher for a certain subject if you have a degree in that subject (Ex: if you have a degree in Chemistry, and you take the test all teachers have to pass, you can have a license in Chem.) And they want to basically do the same thing for administration, except you don't have to have a degree in any certain subject. So if you have a certain level of schooling, and you take the administrator's exam, you could be a superintendent or a principal. (I'm pretty sure that is what is going down....but here is the Department of Education's page with all of the correct information, so check it out for yourself...and see what you make of it!!!) Of course, teachers aren't too fond of this, because then people do not have to have as much training in education, they are simply focusing on the subject matter, and there are tons of other changes that I myself don't fully understand because I haven't looked that in depth at it yet. Check out this site for a video and more information on this situation....

Now of course I have my own opinion of this subject, and it is probably biased because I grew up in a family of teachers, and my mom has always been very active in the teacher's union, ISTA. And something that I was always taught it to stand up for what you believe in, and what you feel is right. So right now I am SO proud of our education majors and for their professors for taking action with this situation, and doing all that they can to be proactive. If you watched the video I linked you to earlier, you will see how much of an impact that they had on everyone at the hearing, which is great! In the article that goes along with the video it says that they meant for the hearing to last from 10-12, but so many people showed up and wanted to voice their opinions that they were there until 4 pm. So good job getting your voices heard everyone!!! Butler definitely has an amazing College of Education, and it is obvious that so many students care about the future of education in the state of Indiana. That is really exciting to see because it shows that they will definitely be fabulous and excellent teachers one day!

Soo speaking of schools and teachers and students and all....here I am, reading to kids in my 1st grade teacher's class!

Sorry Butler, I want to go to Hogwarts now.

StephF — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:19:00 GMT

So some of you might have already heard of this......but....Universal Studios is going to be putting in a Harry Potter theme park!!!!!!!! Yeah. I know. HOW EXCITING IS THAT???!!! Now you must go to this site that it won't let me link to....so use this URL! http://www.universalorlandoresort.com/harrypotter/first_look_uo.html

Are you ecstatic yet??!!! I know that I am! I can't wait to go and to get to see their version of Hogwarts.....actually in real life!!! For some reason in the past week.....Harry Potter has just been a big theme in my life. It all started last week, when we had a sisterhood social where we watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Of course, our sisterhood social chair, Shefali, sorted us into houses.....and I was in Gryffindor,,,,as I should be. haha. So we had that, and then I heard about the theme park and I watched the video religiously....and then some other girls in my house decided that we should start a Quidditch Club on campus.....so that is in the works currently...and I basically can't wait until it happens! Now of course, it could just be Alpha Phis who do it, but thats fine.....we would still have a great time! Now you might be wondering how we could play Quidditch, since we can't fly......but this might answer your questions.....so check out this YouTube video that will hopefully answer that question....haha.

So in the past two weeks....as I have been completely bogged down by Accounting and Microeconomics and other stuff.....I have thought numerous times that I would love to just go to school at Hogwarts, where I could study charms, and care of magical creatures, and transformation instead. Harry, Ron, and Hermione always complain about their classes....but sometimes I wonder how they would handle normal classes that we take. So wouldn't it be awesome if Butler had an exchange program with Hogwarts?? (If it actually existed of course...haha) That would be such a popular exchange program.....and it would be pretty awesome too I think!!! :) Just imagine....going to school here...

That's a photo of the Harry Potter Theme Park.....which I will be saving my money up for from now until it opens! haha....even though I do love Butler....I think I would like to change it up and study at Hogwarts if I could. :)

A collection of random ideas and pictures

BUOlivia — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:34:00 GMT

I have not blogged in half a week! *gasp* That's a looong time in the world of electronic stuff. Want one reason why I've been absent?

Sunday was lovely, as you already heard. After I posted that day's blog entry, I met Cathryn in the campus Starbucks to work on NaNoWriMo. We looked a bit like this:

Snazzy, huh? Then I did homework. Then Cathryn was nice enough to drive my friend and me to the store to buy food. She looked a bit like this:

Monday came, as it usually does, and it was back to classes. We've started our unit on Islam in Global and Historical Studies, and Nutcracker rehearsals are intensifying. I'm trying to decide what to do this summer. I have several options, but I'm not sure what will happen yet. Sorry to be so mysterious, but you'll just have to keep reading to find out! (That sounds like some lame ending to a book report: "If you want to find out what happens, you'll have to read the book!")

In the meantime, you can read the newly active (re-activated? reactive? radioactive?) dance thread in the Butler Blogger forums. The ballet audition classes have been happening--so exciting! The prospective students take a technique with Level 4 and then with Level 2; I love taking class with new people. Good luck to everyone searching and auditioning and whatnot.

I've got to get back to my novel now. 7364 words and counting. :)

Scholarship Breakfast

BUCathryn — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:44:00 GMT

It's Wednesday! Time to post about the weekend!

I was notified about a month ago that I was awarded the Loren and Sue Woerner Pharmacy Scholarship. I was aghast. I didn't know you could win a scholarship without actually applying for one. In fact, I didn't believe it at first, and neither did my parents (look at their faith in me!), but after some phone calls, we found out it was true!

Upon arrival, I discovered that the Reilly Room had never looked fancier. Not even during perspective student events. I mean, we're talking silky table clothes and napkins folded into flower shapes and stuffed into mugs with centerpieces and adorable fliers with Blue II's wrinkled face on them. Short digression: please look through Blue II's Flickr page. It's the most adorable thing on the Internet.

Unfortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Woerner could not make it, but I totally understand since they live on the other side of the country. I spoke with a CVS Pharmacist whose scholarship recipient couldn't be there because she was on rotations, and Dr. Andritz, the Dean of COPHS. There were some great speakers and a wonderful piano performance by one of Butler's very own piano majors.

And the food? I had to be Sherlock Holmes to determine what it all was. Now that's fancy.

It was such a great experience! I feel so lucky to be a scholarship recipient this year.

Thanks for taking this picture, Dr. Andritz!

How to Double Your Group of Friends in One Day

ChristinaL — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:24:00 GMT

Many things are keeping me busy this semester, but seventeen of them are especially close to my heart!

Meet Gamma Sigma, the newest class of the Alpha Beta chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi, my band fraternity.

With the loss of our graduated seniors, our chapter felt especially small when we came back to school this year - we only have about 15 veteran members. However, we worked really hard to put on a great recruitment and show the newest Butler band members what we're all about. We are a really values- and purpose-based organization, and so this year we did a better job of conveying that to people. We were pleasantly surprised that mini-golf is still a hit for recruitment events, but hearing about how our brotherhood makes us better people was what really attracted applicants.

We had an amazing bunch of people interview with us, and we chose seventeen of them to be candidates for membership in our organization... Yes, seventeen! We have doubled our chapter with new members!

I am on the Membership Committee, so I've had a lot to do for this whole process. We have Membership Education classes once a week, and so my committee makes the lesson plans and the quizzes for that program. We also plan educational activities for the new members and the whole chapter, and organize all the ceremonies. One of my favorite tasks, though, was helping to pick a Big Brother to mentor each of our candidates through the process. We tried to pair people so that they could complement each other's strengths and weaknesses and help each new member feel comfortable transitioning into our chapter.

I am so lucky to have two AMAZING Little Brothers! Their names are Katelyn and A.J and they are actually eerily similar... they are both from the same county in Western Indiana and members of the Butler drumline. They actually met once in high school but didn't remember that until a couple of weeks ago! In any case, I am totally amazed by how talented and smart and enthusiastic they are, and I am really excited about getting to know them both better! I think that both having good mentors and learning to be a good mentor are some of the most important aspects of college, and I'm glad I've gotten to have so many opportunities for that.

Here we all are. Since they are both my Little Brothers, Katelyn and A.J. like to call themselves twins! What a happy family : )

Q&A With A Butler University Parent

BUGuestBlogger — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:38:00 GMT

1. What was the college application process like for a parent?

Searching for the right university for your son or daughter can be a bit overwhelming. Lots of people and lots of websites are telling you what you should and shouldn't do. In the end, I think you have to listen to your student and listen to your instincts about who your son or daughter is and what they need to succeed as they move from high school to college. Make a "to do" list and just take each step as it comes.

2. What was the best part about the application process?

I have two daughters - one is a junior and one is a freshman - and they both independently handled their college applications. The best part of that process was standing back and watching them take control of the situation. They filled out the applications, worked with their high school guidance counselor to be sure transcripts were sent, wrote and submitted the necessary essays, and followed up with the admission offices to be sure their applications were complete. I also enjoyed seeing them compose the resume that's included with the application. I was so proud to see a comprehensive list of all of their accomplishments and I think they felt good sharing it with the university.

3. What was the most difficult part?

My oldest daughter did experience a slight glitch in the application process when some of her paperwork became separated from her application. She was in a bit of a panic and I offered her some advice - contact your high school counselor, contact your admission counselor, etc. It was tempting to jump in and do those things for her but I put the ball in her court and let her find a solution to the problem - which she did! Sometimes it's difficult not to take over and do those things for them but our kids are smart, capable people!

4. How many other schools did you look at?

Each of my daughters considered three schools. The oldest always had Butler at the top of her list and didn't really visit any other campuses. The youngest did visit all three schools but Butler also became her number one choice.

5. What made Butler stand out?

Of course, Butler has an outstanding academic reputation but several other things stand out to me. The people (faculty, staff, and students) are warm, friendly, helpful, and pleasant. When you visit campus, you see students smiling and laughing as they walk from class to class. You see professors waiving and chatting with their students in Starbucks, the dining hall, or in the courtyard. Also, Butler students have so many options and opportunities including 60 different majors and 135 clubs and organizations. Finally, I think the city of Indianapolis is a huge selling point for Butler. Whether students are looking for internships or job opportunities, entertainment or sporting events, museums or parks, healthcare or shopping, it's all at their fingertips in Indianapolis. It's a great place to live while pursuing a college degree.

6. What do you wish you would have known before you started the process that you know now?

I wasn't sure how the admission process and the financial aid process came together. I thought it would all happen at once but they are two separate things. First the admission letter is sent and then - six or eight weeks later - the financial aid package is sent. I think it's important to take your time and not rush the student to decide until you have all of the information. You don't really have to commit to the university until May 1^st and your enrollment deposit is fully refundable until then.

7. Is there anything you wish was different/easier?

I have to say that the FAFSA form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is rather long and tedious but it's definitely worth completing. Your student may be eligible for aid you weren't aware of and it's also important to complete the form if you intend to apply for a student loan so you should set aside time to do that.

8. Any other advice that you have.

I guess I have two bits of advice...try to let your son or daughter be involved/in control of the college search and application process as much as possible. This is their future and they should have a hand in it. Offer advice but understand that they need to learn to manage their time and efforts because they'll be doing it on their own when they get to college. The second bit of advice is to enjoy this time with them and be excited and upbeat about what lies ahead. Try not to burden them with your anxiety or fears - it's perfectly natural to have them but you wouldn't want that to dampen your son or daughter's mood during this special time.

Parents Weekend!

BUJonathan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:57:00 GMT

The time of year is upon us once again, and it only means one thing: PARENTS WEEKEND! The only downfall of this time means my parents usually are unable to travel to Butler, but the fun thing about this weekend is seeing all my friend's parents. Each year it is always interesting to see who my friend's parents are, and it actually explains a lot about their personality. I actually have been fortunate to have my parents here for the weekend, but this year was not that time. My mother actually has knee surgary in September, so traveling and walking around is not an option. In addition to that, my parents realized that this year they will be having to attend two graduations! Mine is in the second week of May, and my twin brother's graduation is in the third weekend of May. This my Mom, Dad, Brother, and Sister will have to fly from different parts of the country to attend my graduation. Then, after my graduation we all will fly back with Justin to San Francisco to attend his graduation. It is going to be crazy and hectic, but I am sure we will manage.

Going back to this year's parents weekend, it started off a little hectic! On Friday evening I planned on finishing up some work for the upcoming week. Instead I got a call from Jackie seeing what I was doing, and I decided to head on over to the Apartment Village. I got there and remembered that I have been wanting to update the software on my Blackberry since I got an e-mail that morning letting me know I could update. Jackie let me have her computer, and I started to download away! Literally halfway through the download Jackie's computer died on me. I started to freak out! I read earlier that if the phone was disconnected for any reason the phone may become unuseable! I started to freak out a little more and finally Jackie's computer restarted. Jackie took over and finished the installation. FINALLY, it started to work. When it restarted though, I found out that all my contacts were deleted from my phone. Great! Besides that little mishap, Jackie's Parents arrived at her apartment. I helped them bring in food they were planning to make, and you would have honestly thought they were planning to feed an army! tray after tray, and container after container - we had finally reached our goal of getting everything they had brought in to the apartment. That night we ate dinner at one of Jackie and My favorite Chinese food restruants, and then we headed back to campus. It was around 11:30 when I finally got back from haning out with Jackie and her Parents, and then I decided it was about time to go to bed!

On Saturday I ran in the morning, and then headed over to Jackie's. It was my initial plan to study all day, but of course I knew this was not going to happen. When I got to her apartment her parents had just arrived, and were having the time of their lives in the kitchen. We watched the football game from Jackie and Josie's apartment, then had lunch. EVERYTHING Jackie's parents made was so delicious. They had several kinds of meat, potatoes, cabbage rolls, and spinich. It was so tasty that I literally ate myself into acoma. I decided this was the time I needed to start studying, since it was almost 3PM. But, before I did that I needed some caffine. Coffee in hand I walked back from out Starbucks on campus, and decided it was time to hit the books. The night headed on, and my friend Meredith joined me for some studying. We were happy to see that Halloween was starting to be in full swing. At my off-campus home the little kids in my neighborhood were starting to knock at my door for trick-or-treating. Meredith and I started to hand out candy, but we were sad because it only lasted for little over an hour. Once the festivities were over, Meredith and I got food and watched Slumdog Millionair on HBO, and then she left.

Sunday Morning I made it my mission to get all my homework done. There was once thing that stoped me though. My sister called me to let me know that she was engaged! I was so happy for her, and we honesly talked for a good amount of time. I am so happy for her, and it just added to the amazing weekend I had that was dedicated to family!

BEST WISHES KRISTEN and KEAN!

If you don't know when you should visit Butler....come now!

StephF — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:28:00 GMT

So basically the best way to sum up what Butler looks like right now is to quote my cousin...."Oh my gosh, Beautiful Campus!" She and her husband have a professional photography business back home, and they came up this weekend to do an engagement shoot on campus, and loved it! Basically Butler looks amazing when the leaves change....it is basically the epitome of a college campus. Right now we are past the peak time for beautiful leaves....because the past few weeks of storms have cleared a lot of the trees off already, but there are still a few trees on campus that are absolutely gorgeous! One of them is right in front of my house....and I absolutely love walking underneath it to the front door as the sun is setting. The combination of the beautiful sky behind the yellowish-orange leaves just makes you never want to look away. So of course, I had to take a photo of this tree, since it is my absolute favorite!!!! :) I took it around 4 p.m. today, so the sky wasn't at it's prime, but its still pretty! :)

Something that is very difficult about living in a sorority house is keeping plants alive. I learned this right when I first became an Alpha Phi, because apparently no one knew that the plants in our foyer are real, so over Christmas Break, no one watered them. This might not sound like a huge deal, but it kinda was, since they came back for recruitment and they were all dead. haha. So they got new plants....don't worry....but this year we have really struggled with keeping the plants in front of our house alive. We have two HUGE flower pot stand things....and they started off holding mums, and then those died. Then we got ferns....and those died. So before the 2nd round of sorority house tours on Sunday, one of my sisters (Hannah) and I basically scoured 38th street for some sort of plant. We went from Meijer to WalMart, and then to Garden Ridge....and found nothing basically. Meijer had some mums, but they were all dead, then WalMart only had poinsettas, and apparently Garden Ridge does not sell plants. They have fake plants and such, but no real ones. So, we improvised....and bought fake flowers. We cut them apart and made some awesome arrangements......and now they are sitting in front of our house....and they look pretty fabulous I think! If you are wondering what they look like....here they are.....lookin fab of course..... :)

So if reading my blog makes you want to come to Butler to visit while it is still colorful and beautiful.....check out this website....and it will give you more info!!!!!

this has been the most interesting travel season to date.

BUMegan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:44:00 GMT

I'm officially a slacker. I can't believe I posted almost two months ago.

I'm not sure where the time went, but I know it went there FAST. Between school visits in the day, and college fairs at night, the past two months have been booked solid 12 hour days. (at least!) I still have a few days of visits left, but nothing like September and October. I want to say that it's been the best travel season, but to be honest, it hasn't. I've struggled a bit in my new role as a regional representative, and have had some unlucky circumstances cloud these past couple of months.

HOWEVER, its a new month, and I'm blogging and I am hoping everything turns out for the best! I'm ready to get back into the rhythm of a regular schedule which includes eating at normal times, working somewhat normal hours and working out! I'll keep you all posted as to how this goes. ;)

We've had a few visit days and a lot of students visiting campus. Please continue! I maintain that campus is at it's best in the fall. Trust me, you won't want to miss the trees changing. ABSOLUTELY beautiful. And with the football team at 8-0, you can't ask for a more perfect way to spend a weekend! GO DAWGS!

My focus after travel is reading files. I've been pleasantly surprised this year with how good some of the essays are. Its time consuming to read an application, but one of my favorite parts of my job. Seniors-please don't forget! Our application deadline is November 15th! Get your applications in so you'll hear in December what your admission decision is!!!

Again, as always, please let me know if you need anything!

Pumpkins are for Parties

ChristinaL — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:16:00 GMT

Dressing up in costumes is the most renowned college Halloween festivity, but I am here to make a case for an under-appreciated seasonal favorite: carving pumpkins, an activity beloved by social chairs of college clubs everywhere.

It seems that every organization I am in decides to host a pumpkin carving party at some point, so I thought this noble activity deserved its very own post.

Just a few reasons of the many reasons to love pumpkin carving:

1. You can adapt pumpkin carving to any theme. This year, my band fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi, had a pumpkin carving brotherhood event, and almost all the pumpkins featured our letters or our motto. When I was a sophomore and we carved pumpkins for the literary magazine, of course my pumpkin masterpiece was the Bard himself, Shakespeare!

2. Pumpkins bring people together. When I was a freshman, my friend Nancy and I brought home a pumpkin we had carved at BUSF Fall Retreat. It was the birthday of this girl we both knew named Betsy, so Nancy and I decided to give Betsy our pumpkin. It turns out that Betsy LOVES pumpkins and considered that to be the perfect birthday present. This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, and four years later Betsy is one of my closest Butler friends. This year to celebrate her last Butler birthday, I decided to throw back to freshman year and carve her a pumpkin - this time with a 22nd birthday theme. The best part about comparing the two pictures (then and now, respectively)? Betsy is wearing the exact same sweatshirt in both! ha.

3. You get to make a mess and play with the gooey pumpkin guts. College often seems to be about reconnecting with your inner child before heading out into the big bad real world.

4. Pumpkin seed snacks for later!

5. Holiday hype makes everything more fun, and after being in Spain last year, I can tell you that the American Halloween is a very unique experience. Embrace our cultural traditions, even if it does sound a little weird to explain carving large orange produce into works of art.

Happy Halloween!

The Tigers get Tamed

BUSeitu — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:48:00 GMT

So the Butler bulldogs started off the season today at 7 pm with an exhibition game against the DePauw Tigers at Hinkle field house. On a side note DePauw is a small university which is roughly about the size of Butler. It really was an exhibition game because our boys just ran all over them. You might be wondering , just like I was, what's the purpose of one of these games, so before the game one of my friends explained to me what an exhibition game was. It's a game where a highly ranked team such as Butler plays against a relatively weak team (such as DePauw) and as a result all of our players get to gain experience playing as a cohesive unit before the league actually starts. The bulldogs started today's game with their foot on the gas, knocking down point after point without a response from DePauw. Skipping all the juicy details we were never down and after the second half we had twice the number of points of the DePauw Tigers. The game ended 77 to 45 and so now I guess I see why we're ranked at number 10 in the nation. Its been a long time coming and maybe this year we jut might make it all the way. Compared to last year the guys are faster, their passing game has improved and good luck getting a lay up to the basket because our defense is killer (for lack of a better word). The schedule for this season games can be found on the Butlersports.com website. This is set up to be an exciting season and if we continue playing anything like we did tonight, we'll have a relatively easy ride to NCAA championships.

GO DAWGS!

My whirlwind weekend: rehearsal, writing, and Boy Scouts... I should write about Boy Scouts

BUOlivia — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:33:00 GMT

Writing the words "writing" and "Boy Scouts" next to one another made me realize I should somehow include Boy Scouts in my NaNoWriMo novel.

I'm wearing my beautiful new NaNoWriMo 2009 shirt. (Thanks, Dad!)

That's right. It's November 1, and it's a mark of how much I enjoy blogging that I'm writing here instead of in the little, five-page fledging word document (known now simply as "NaNo 09") that is my newest literary adventure. For those of you who missed the last time I talked about NaNoWriMo, here are the basics:

Write 50,000 words in the month of November.
It's quantity, not quality, that counts.
You win if you write the required number of words: I've participated for the past four years and won the last two.
This a worldwide event, with participants everywhere from Austria to China to Indianapolis.
My NaNo novel is shaping up to be a series of vignettes using a connected cast of characters to tell a larger story about an intergalatic crisis involving migraines, gravity, and wasting time.
I'm going to meet Cathryn in thirty minutes in Starbucks to write some more.
I already have 2523 words! (You need 1667 a day.)

Oh, and the whole Boy Scouts thing? I was a Boy Scout for Halloween last night. I wore my Dad's neckerchief and neckerchief holder-thing and my grandfather's Boy Scout jacket. I even learned the Boy Scout salut, handshake, and sign. I carried a penknife. I had a backpack. It was pretty much awesome. My friends were characters was varied as a cowgirl, Little Red Riding Hood, Regina from Mean Girls, and an adorable babushka.

We went to one of the fraternity's haunted houses--it was really intense. I basically dragged everyone through (because I didn't really want to linger, not because I'm brave), pretending I wasn't freaked out so they wouldn't target me and, well, I wouldn't be freaked out. Lots of fun!

Then this morning I helped out with the Butler Catholic Community's Family Weekend mass.

Now it's back to my fledging pages of poorly written prose!

Go Laguna Lodge! (That's what's on my neckerchief.)

[View:http://go.butler.edu/cs/themes/hawaii/utility/:550:0]

How long is 150 miles?

BUSeitu — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:57:00 GMT

Two Northwest Airlines pilots missed their destination by by not one or two but 150 miles. They obviously weren't paying attention to their instruments or air traffic controllers. They were supposed to have landed at Minneapolis They claimed that they got into heated debate about airline policies but others sources speculate that they might have fallen asleep or that they engaged in prohibited activity in the cockpit i.e. using laptop computers. Although this might seem like a trivial matter, it isn't. Procedures are mean to be followed and they are put in place for a reason. According to CNN Charlie Bray, who retired in 2004 after 25 years of flying planes for Delta Air Lines, said that "You can't read a novel, but you could read a manual about procedures or about the airplane.You can't read a newspaper. You can't use a laptop. That's strictly prohibited". The air bus was flying from San Diego to Minneapolis, what if they had run out of fuel or because they weren't communicating with air traffic control, what if they had collided with another plan? According to the Associated Press they ended up in Wisconsin and only when they realized where they were did they contact Air traffic control. They finally turned the plane around and as a result of their careless mistake the flight was over an hour late.

I don't know about you but as if having to pay a ton of money to get on a flight wasn't enough, I have to put up with horrible service, overly zealous security procedures, missing a connecting flight completely and I must now worry about landing in a different airport. So how long is 150 miles? Apparently it's a long enough distance for the two pilots you lose their licenses.

The Legality of the Drinking Limit (Part deux)

BUSeitu — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:36:00 GMT

A drinking age of 18 is not equivalent to or rather doesn't equal alcoholism. There is however a correlation actually some bit of psychology behind putting an age limit to drinking. People desire the unattainable that is to say they tend to want what they are told they cannot. Ironically the only thing that stands in the way young-in (person under 21) trying to purchase liquor would be a piece of paper says that they are too young. Picture a dam; behind it lies vast bodies of water, which by the way is a lot of water. It's only natural that some of it escapes into the atmosphere as vapor while others just may happen to get past the dam, but the vast majority gets left behind. With all this built up pressure when the dam is removed or opened, all those water molecules want to do is exactly what they were prevented from doing for so long, that is flow without interruption. Have I lost you? ... Good now what if said that one of those water molecules actually represented one of you and the dam was actually THAT drinking age limit. So my argument stands that lowering the age limit might reduce alcoholism and binge drinking in college campuses like ours.

Well with all of this being said nothing is ever going to change, that drinking limit will remain at 21 forever and of course 'young-ins' will always argue for the limit to be lowered to 18. But you know what I've come to an epiphany ... I doesn't matter what the age limit is anymore because I'm already 21

The Swine Attacks

ChristinaL — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:47:00 GMT

I'm going to start off this entry with a giant virtual karma cap in hopes that by broadcasting that I have not had the Swine Flu, I am not cursing myself to get it tomorrow.

Maybe I'm just oblivious, but I haven't really noticed the effects of this feared flu. Two of my professors had to cancel some classes because they were sick, and I've noticed some empty seats in class occasionally, but the people immediately surrounding me all appear to be fine. Yet, on Facebook and in conversation, I always hear about the dreadful effects of the Swine! At my job at NUVO Newsweekly last week, one of the editors remarked that his wife(who teaches movement at Butler) had literally half of her class missing.

I just find it so funny since everyone else portrays the flu as this devastating thing, and even though Butler is not that big of a place, I seem to live in some weird bubble where I only hear about it but never actually witness it! (repeat karma cap.)

In order to keep up the healthiness, though, it is essential to wash your hands... with proper technique! In case your technique is a little rusty, you can check out this special video that our university president, our VP of Student Affairs and our Student Government president made for us. Bofo singing sure beats an email memo!

Stay healthy, friends. It's Parents' Weekend here and my mom has me all stocked up with disinfectant wipes, so hopefully I will make it out of Swine Season alive!

The Great Pumpkin Slaughter of '09

BUCathryn — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:48:00 GMT

Because we pharmacy kids get no social time whatsoever (HA! just look at all of the Facebook browsing in class!), Lindsey and Kelsey invited me over for pumpkin carving.

Thankfully, Meijer labels things, otherwise I would have thought I was purchasing an orange. (Note the ridiculous battlescar. My pumpkin is a warrior!)

Let me just say that we all purchased massive pumpkins. And we were a little unsure of how to get started.

What's that, Lindsey? Should we find a BIGGER KNIFE?

I'm not having any luck either. Random note: all of those papers up the hall are an extensive layout of metabolic pathways for biochem. Oh Kelsey, you are a beast.

With a variety of kitchen utensils and those seemingly worthless carving knives, we got into the guts of our pumpkins and went to town. Kelsey chose an ambitious Edward and Bella portrait to carve and Lindsey had a super-secret design that Kelsey caught a glimpse of while washing her hands at the sink. Lindsey's super-secret design: a mortar and pestle! She'll be a great pharmacist one day. :D

Two (count 'em) TWO hours later, my Pokeball was almost complete.

Gotta catch 'em all.

Those little carving knifes are the best, but for some reason the carving pack it came with didn't include one of those pokey sticks that helps score the skin of the pumpkin. By the time I was done with my Pokeball, my thumb was numb from the vibrations of sawing through that giant pumpkin. Ouch.

To top off the night, we made some delicious pumpkin seeds. All in all, a successful Halloween activity! Go team pharmacy!

Music I listen to -- because you care!

BUCathryn — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:41:00 GMT

Right now, I need to finish cleaning my room and putting away dishes and drinking the rest of my coffee so I can have energy to do so. Instead, I've decided to describe, at length, my musical tastes because I need to remember there is music outside of the Harry Potter musical. Prepare to be dazzled.

First and foremost, I love classical music. Ever since 5th grade when I started playing in symphonic bands, I've grown to appreciate the finer points of music. I played tuba from 7th grade and all through high school. I played in Butler's Symphonic Band last semester and it was a lot of fun! Unfortunately, I don't have time for band anymore, but I still listen to classical music when I'm studying or if I'm just in the mood. A few favorite songs:

J.S. Bach's Prelude in C Major (With the soundtrack cover from one of my favorite movies, Master and Commander--convenient!)

Salieri describes this Mozart song way better than I can

Gustav Holst's Mars, the Bringer of War

Classy, right?

By association with a bunch of my guy friends at home, I'm also keen to metal. I'll spare you any links to songs. It's good driving music if a lot of people are cutting you off on the highway. :)

As far as more pop/rock music goes, I've had a long-running love for The Killers, especially from their new album Day & Age. Spaceman is just magical. Their lyrics don't always make a lot of sense, and Brandon Flowers has a sort of strange voice, but their music is always really interesting to listen to. And Brandon Flowers wears a lot of feathers in his music videos for Day & Age, whereas in Hot Fuss he wore makeup and pretended to be a cowboy. I am okay with all of these things.

Vampire Weekend. Talk about some complex music, not to mention lyrics that don't make any sense. But any band that (skillfully) includes orchestral strings in it gets an A in my book. I really enjoy M79. There's definitely a "yeah these guys were all music majors" feel when you listen to some of the ridiculous beats they have going on in a few of their songs. They're upbeat and they make me think of spring! (I'm such a nerd.)

The Ting Tings. They are just sassy and adorable. If you hate their That's Not My Name single, then here's Keep Your Head. I've got respect for a band of two people having to do all of the tracks for their albums in a basement!

The Gorillaz. Did you people know that they're a virtual band? I knew all of their music videos were animated with characters, but I didn't realize just how far the creators of the band took it. The website, for instance, has cartoon shorts with updates for fans about upcoming new singles and albums featuring the characters in the music videos. It's crazy. And awesome. Great dance music and also walking to class!

Last but not least, my other half has gotten me addicted to Bruce Springsteen. Between his raspy voice and southern twang from nowhere (seriously, Bruce, you're from New Jersey), I can see why some people wouldn't warm up to the Boss right away. While most of the bands I listen to lack substance, Bruce Springsteen has some of the most down-to-earth lyrics I've ever heard. The Boss sings about REAL LIFE, people. The car payments and girlfriend leaving you because you work in the lumber yard and you can't have her because she's too high class! So touching! So listen to Thunder Road. "You ain't a beauty but, hey, you're all right." Thanks Bruce. :D

By the way... did you all know I'm in London right now?!

Why I love marshmallows

BUOlivia — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:39:00 GMT

The weather = gorgeous. Despite the rain, I've been enjoying the great outdoors because it's been warm enough to venture out in jeans and short sleeves. And since the rain held off last night, it was just about perfect for roasting marshmallows!

S'mores? In a residence hall? Sort of. I've told you about the FIRs for my wing in ResCo. If you're confused, go here. If you're intrigued, go here.

Anyway, Deb and Mike were kind enough to host a s'more-making/hot-dog-eating gathering on their patio outside their apartment in my residence hall. It was a lot of fun--I love marshmallows. In fact, I adore marshmallows.

Marshmallows are like childhood. We always used to camp up in Pennsylvania, and we also had a chiminea on our porch, so my family well versed in marshmallow roasting. Besides trying all the fun tricks like catching it on fire, seeing how many layers you can make, and putting chocolate or peanut butter on them, marshmallows are symbolic of a carefree courage, the type of courage that lets you see how close you can get your marshmallow to the coals without it catching on fire, but if it does catch, it doesn't really matter, because, hey, you're a child and carefree and the marshmallows still taste awesome.

My friend likes marshmallows too.

I stayed for quite a while last night. It was nice to see all the different people I live with outside their little study-holes. We joke that we live in the dancer wing of ResCo because there are a lot of dance majors. And sure enough, some more showed up to join in the chocolate-marshmallow goodness.

Chocolate marshmallows? Oh, yes. To make, insert a piece of chocolate inside the marshmallow. Roast. The chocolate melts in the marshmallow and is pretty much the best thing since anything was ever invented.

Since, I'm not making sense anymore, I'm going to stop typing soon. Basically, I went and roasted marshmallows on a lovely late-October day with the lovely FIRs with my lovely friends. And it was all lovely.

Clusters for Business students? Basically.

StephF — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:48:00 GMT

Ok so this week has been absolutely outrageous. Or let me rephrase that....the past two weeks have been absolutely outrageous. I started to realize this whenever everyone kept saying that they needed a break, and we had all just gotten back from Fall Break. Basically, its intense, and my roommate Nicole has begun referring to it as "Clusters for Business Students". Last week I had a midterm when I got back, and once that was over, I really cracked down on a presentation that I gave yesterday about Ethics & Leadership for my Leadership & Communication class. Then over the weekend, I made some notecards for my Microeconomics test, and my Accounting test, and I worked more on my presentation. Then this week I basically haven't done anything but study. I only slept for about 2-3 hours the past two nights...(not together....2-3 each night)...and I am SOOO looking forward to getting about 5-6 hours tonight! I would have been in bed about 4 hours ago, but I have an Information Technology test tomorrow...so I have been studying for that. So if I never have to read again, that is totally fine with me. The really sad part is though, that I don't get to stop tomorrow at 12. On Monday I have a test in Leadership & Communication, and a week later I have a paper due in that class. So this next week isn't lookin to grand either....

You might be wondering how well I did with everything, especially considering the lack of sleep and thorough studying that I have been doing. I did relatively well on my midterm last week, and other than that, the only grade I've gotten back has been for my presentation....that I got an A on!!! I was so excited about that....because I worked really hard on it to make sure that I had everything covered....and that it was relatively engaging. :) Maybe I will write a blog about it sometime....because it is a pretty cool topic to think about...I think!!! So hopefully I will get back my Microecon test tomorrow to find that I totally rocked it out.....and then I will hopefully do awesome at my other stuff next week too!!! Let's keep our fingers crossed.... :)

Soo.....if you have seen LOLCats before....you will enjoy it....but if you haven't....then you should check them out....they're great!! And for more...just google it! So this is how I have felt probably 3/4 of the time in the past week....

Miller's Killerz

BUKevin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:07:00 GMT

One of the great things about college is intramural sports. Or so I've been told. A group of friends from my orientation group, which is also my intro to pharmacy class, organized a team and have played ultimate frisbee and volleyball so far. I started the year with the aspirations of being a productive member of the team, but have turned out to be merely an apathetic fan. The great thing about intramurals, though is that people with no athletic ability at all, like me, have the opportunity to participate in organized sports with friends. And while Adam and Matt Miller (for whom the team is named) are a bit more intense than most captains, (they bought team tshirts, got cleats, and head/wristbands), intramurals are a great way to participate in sports you love. Their intensity has paid off in ultimate frisbee however, since they are in the final game and play in the Butler Bowl (the football/soccer field) this Sunday! So this was mostly a shameless plug at one of the greatest intramural teams to make up for my previous lack of support and participation!

Miller's Killerz in action!

Adam's kind of proud of that photo.

Until next time.