Senior sems are upon us

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Annie Brown

It’s that time of the semester: while all of us are frantically trying to get work done for this week and next week, which is finals week, many of our seniors on campus are finishing up and presenting their senior seminars and capstones.

All McDaniel seniors are required to do a culminating project in their major(s). Some departments call these projects senior seminars (commonly known as senior sem(s) or sem) and some call them capstones. Whatever they’re called, all of these projects require a tremendous amount of work, writing, and research.

I know a lot of seniors who presented their senior sems yesterday, and since they’re generally open for anyone on campus to attend, I had the chance to attend my friend Hanna’s presentation.

Hanna, who is an English major, talked about the rhetoric of Allies (McDaniel’s Gay-Straight Alliance) in her presentation. She discussed how Allies uses rhetorical strategies when communicating with their club members that are different from those they use to communicate with the campus community at large. Learning about this binary was fascinating, and Hanna did a fantastic job researching and presenting her project.

I’m very glad I got to attend Hanna’s sem presentation. Since she’s my friend, I was happy that I was able to go support her. And since I’m an English major who also has a strong interest in rhetoric, it was great for me to see what a senior sem presentation that focuses on rhetoric can be like. The thing that I love about rhetoric is that it can take practically any topic involving communication and analyze it in incredibly interesting ways. While senior sem is a long, daunting, and intense process, I’m finding myself looking forward to my own at the moment. My senior sem will give me the opportunity to research something I am (hopefully) fascinated by and share that fascination with others.

Sociology Posters

Posted on May 7, 2013 by cwb003

This week we are presenting our Sociology final presentations for our capstone class. I am incredibly nervous, but also excited. The Sociology department works very hard to produce good research. In fact, last semester, we had to walk around randomly surveying the entire school. The process took several weeks, but it was worthwhile because Sociology posters have some of the most representative information on campus.

The posters are set up in the main campus building, and there is a formal presentation for an hour later today. Everyone’s research is about there interest, and varies from drinking, to studying, to marriage. My specific topic is about the relationship between ethnocentrism and homophobia.

The presentations are usually a lot of fun. People come and ask questions while eating delicious crab dip. It is incredible to think that I am finally wrapping up my entire experience for my major. I worked on this project for the entire semester, and I am proud to present my work this afternoon. The Sociology projects are hard work, but it is worthwhile. Now I have a great thing to show my potential employers, and also a final product from my time as a Sociology major.

Last Week of Classes

Posted on May 7, 2013 by cwb003

This week is the last week of classes. It is hard coming to terms with the fact that it is my last week as an undergraduate. Yesterday I had my last Monday! This is partially exciting, because Mondays are always difficult, but it still feels crazy to imagine that in a few short weeks I will no longer be a student. I’ve been a student for my entire life! At least as far back as I can remember.

People here are getting ready to take off for home or summer jobs, but it definitely feels different knowing I will be saying goodbye forever. Westminster is a nice college town but I doubt I will ever be back in the area again. This makes conversations with friends sort of sad, knowing that it may be the last time I ever see them.

It reminds me of when I was in high school. I went to a boarding school and formed strong connections with my peers through living with them. Despite these connections, we did not really keep in touch once I graduated. I know that as soon as I establish a new life and a new home that the memories and relationships I have from college will disappear. Mostly I am okay with that, I still look back fondly on my high school experience and think that I will feel the same way about college. It’s a scary time here at school, but I am ready to say my last goodbyes to this week of class and move on to the next chapter of my life.

To all you AP test-takers out there

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Annie Brown

If you’re a prospective or an enrolled McDaniel student who is taking AP tests this week and/or next, I want to take a moment to wish you the very best of luck on your exams!

I took a total of six AP tests throughout high school, so I know that you’ve put a lot of work into studying for these tests and that you are likely very tired and very stressed out about them at this point. I want you to know that because you’ve worked hard both in and out of class, you will do fine.

At McDaniel, each score of 4 or 5 you get on an AP test will give you four college credits. Certain AP tests will even help you place out of requirements. For example a 4 or 5 on AP Language and Composition or a 5 on AP Lit will allow you to test out of the first year composition requirement and allow you to dive into what you’re really interested in sooner. I also know a lot of students who have placed out of math and science requirements for getting 4s or 5s on math and science AP tests.

Additionally, the extra college credits will give you what I like to call a “buffer.” If you ever find yourself needing to drop a class for whatever reason, having AP credits will prevent you from getting behind as a result of dropping that class.

If you’re applying to college in the fall (or even the fall after that), remember that even if you don’t get a qualifying score of a 4 or 5 on your test, the fact that you’ve taken an AP class (or several) will demonstrate that you’ve challenged yourself in high school and will help your high school transcript stand out just a little bit more. (But you don’t need to take any AP classes to be admitted to McDaniel; I know plenty of people who haven’t.) In fact, you don’t even need to submit your scores to McDaniel as part of the admissions process.

If you are an enrolled student, I strongly encourage you to take advantage of the free AP score report the College Board will send to any college of your choosing and make sure you send it here! This will show the college all of your AP test scores (unless you canceled any) and will save you some trouble and some money in the future. I have some friends who took AP tests and never bothered to send their scores here, and I have no clue why they wouldn’t.

Again, best of luck these next couple of weeks! You’ve heard this before, but eat well, get plenty of sleep, and don’t study or cram too much. (Trust me–these things help!) Stay calm, and remember that college is nothing like AP tests–and that’s something to look forward to!

Late Night Denny’s Runs

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Kat

With final papers, projects, and tests to contend with; we all need a chance to unwind, eat, and relax. Last night, I went to Denny’s with a bunch of friends for a late dinner at 10pm after most of us finished wrapping up our homework for the night. First of all, let me say how nice it is that there are food places near campus that are open 24-7. Since it isn’t uncommon for late dinner’s to occur, it is nice to have options when campus food just is not what you are in the mood for. I personally love going to Denny’s because it is really the only time that I eat breakfast food since my usual habit is sleeping as long as possible and ignoring that breakfast is a thing.

So anyway, we arrived at Denny’s around 10:30. All of us ordered our drinks and then conversations began. We talked about everything under the sun from majors to future plans to Probie’s recent date to everyday stuff. It was absolutely wonderful to just relax and talk with Phil, Lyssa, Probie, Dan, and Mehar as we ate and just tried to think about anything other than our homework for a while.

After getting back to campus, we all camped out in Blanche and watched some television before going to sleep. The relaxation time was greatly needed and it definitely helped me to get right back into work today.

Tradition on the Hill

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Whitney Walker

The end of every school year is filled with tradition. Each club or organization has their way of sending off the seniors and transferring power to the juniors. In my sorority at our last meeting, we do “pass downs.” This is a time when all the seniors come with as much Gamma Sig stuff as they want to give away to the rest of our chapter. There are a lot of memories and stories shared during this meeting. Many things are passed down to specific people. Some things are passed down through a family line. One of my favorite pass downs that I received that night was a banner with our letters on it and it says ‘WMC’ in the corner. This banner is from the Western Maryland College days and must be at least 10 or 11 years old. It has been passed down through my family and I will be happy to continue the tradition.

We also put together little gifts for the seniors to take with them into the real world. This year the executive board decided to put together individualized picture frames and a Gamma Sig shirt. Once a senior has given out all their pass downs, they say a few words about their time in Gamma Sig and then they receive their gift. Many of the little speeches made me tear up. Thinking about not having this class on campus anymore is something I’ve tried not to do. But I guess I have to come out of denial at some point, right?

So now I’m preparing to start my senior year and getting ready to be asked all of those ‘what are you doing after college?’ questions. I have a year to come up with answers and I’m hopeful that I’ll find a few. It is now time to buckle down in my classes and begin studying for finals. Wish me luck!

Last two weeks in the Spanish house

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Amber Slater

As the year comes to an end, so does my time in McDaniel’s Spanish house. For the past few days, my housemates and I have been celebrating the awesome year that we’ve shared together. On Friday we had a picnic with a few of the professors in the department and tonight was a surprise going away party for our house director, who is from Argentina.

The picnic was fun because, like all of our other parties, it involved food from all over South and Central America. I live with seven native Spanish speakers, so throughout the year I have learned a lot of new recipes from various countries. At the picnic we had dishes like horchata, which is a creamy drink, and platanos, or fried plantains.

After eating we played some games and made a big pyramid that lasted for about a second before we all fell on the ground.

Tonight, two of my housemates planned Karina’s surprise party and invited several McDaniel professors and students. There was a ton of food and Karina got to hang out with the friends she has made and the students she has taught.

Living in the Spanish house has not only improved my spoken Spanish skills, but also given me the chance to learn about the Spanish speaking world and make some great friends. I’m always sad to leave McDaniel for the year, but I think this year will be particularly hard because I’ve had such a great living situation for the past year.

Contrast Lit Mag next year

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Amber Slater

After posting about my plans for Palabras to Words next year in a recent entry, I figured that I would do the same for Contrast, our literary magazine. I recently met with this year’s editing team to learn about what putting a magazine together entails, and we discussed some awesome initiatives for next year, including:

Doing a reading with a guest author. Public readings are a great chance for authors to share work, practice flow and rhythm, and gain feedback from others. We were thinking that next year we might invite a spoken word poet to come and read some work along with inviting students to read what they’ve been working on.

Implementing themed workshops. During the fall, Contrast club members will meet on a bi-monthly basis to participate in structured writing sessions, which could be on topics such as character development, setting, conclusions, etc. Workshops might also involve writing activities such as “found objects” writing in which club members would draft solely based on objects (quotes, pieces of art) that we’d bring in.

Having a fall writing contest. This has been an element of Contrast in the past, and I’m looking to bring it back. Students would enter toward the end of the semester, the top three would win cash prizes, and those winners would be published in our magazine in the spring.

If you’re interested in becoming involved with the creative writing community at McDaniel next semester, be sure to stay tuned for meeting dates and sign up for our mailing list at the fall Involvement Fair!

Surprise parties are the best parties

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Annie Brown

Today, I had the opportunity to throw a surprise party for one of my best friends on campus, and things turned out great!

Earlier in the week, my friend’s mom, who lives in Boston, called me to ask me if I could pick up a birthday cake from Starry Night Bakery in Westminster and surprise my friend with it. I knew with the help of some friends that we could totally pull off a surprise party, but we definitely had to plan it as we went along.

Before going to get the cake, another friend and I drove to the dollar store by the Food Lion to pick up some decorations. For under $5, we got plenty of decorations to spruce up the Forlines common room where we held the party. If you’re trying to hold a party on a budget, the dollar store is the first place to go for great deals.

Then we went to the bakery to get the cake. I didn’t realize this until we got there, but Starry Night Bakery won Food Network’s Cupcake Wars in 2011. This was no surprise; as soon as I saw the cupcakes, I nearly cried tears of joy because they looked so delicious. The cupcakes we picked up were chocolate with a coffee flavor and espresso frosting, and they were absolutely delicious.

After picking up the cupcakes and a yellow cake with butter cream icing, my friend and I had to rush to decorate the common room and get our friend assembled before the cake got too warm. (Neither the cake nor the cupcakes would fit into our microfridges.)

Eventually, we got everyone rounded up and we texted one of my friends to bring the birthday girl to us.

My friend was totally surprised to see us waiting for her and even more surprised to see the cake! We pulled off a low-key but very fun party with some great music to boot. Planning and celebrating a surprise party for one of my besties was an awesome way to spend my Saturday!

One Last Concert

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Mara Seibert

I’m a violinist. I’ve been playing violin since the third grade- and I pity my parents during those early years… There was elementary, middle, and high school orchestra and private lessons. At McDaniel I had the option of taking orchestra, but there are also private music lessons!

Starting freshman year, I began taking half hour lessons with one of the violin instructors, Mr. Currie- and haven’t been able to stop! I have absolutely loved them. I can honestly say that I have never before grown so much as a musician, nor had so much fun in lessons. I’ve learned so much, and also heard the most spectacular allusions, similes, and metaphors eve. “You’ve got to be gangster when playing this piece!” What one always expects to hear when working on a classical violin piece (it actually made total sense in context).

Last night, Friday was my final violin concert, and I was able to perform a solo piece I’ve been working on all semester: Praeludium and Allegro by Kreisler. It’s incredibly intense, really challenging and I was determined to learn it throughout this semester. Finally, on Friday I was able to perform the piece for my family and a few friends and show off all the hard work I’ve been putting into the piece! Despite being nervous, I was able to play it well and was really happy with both my performance, and the fact that it was over!

Several other students and the String Ensemble performed as well, a group that I have been in several times. A wonderful accompanist and a great teacher, I could have asked for more for my final concert. I’ll definitely miss taking lessons here, and hope I have enough self-discipline to keep practicing and learning new pieces after graduation. In the meantime, I still have one last music jury for my violin lessons to show that I’ve actually been learning things and improving. So still some more practicing ahead!

Like learning to play an instrument, or want to get better? Take some music lessons here! I just happen to know an excellent violin teacher…