Tag Archives: Carroll Arts Center

Movies on the Hill

Posted on by
Reply

Over the weekend, I had the chance to curl up and watch The Intouchables, a French film about the friendship formed between a wealthy quadriplegic man, Philippe,  and his Senegalese caretaker, Driss. I loved the film; it was fun, upbeat, and at times, poignant, and the characters were phenomenal.

Seeing this French film made me excited for a class I’m taking this fall, German Cinema. For one night a week for a whole semester, I’ll spend three hours discussing and watching German films, some in German, some in English. This course will be offered by the foreign languages department, though McDaniel offers many more film classes through the communication department. The communication department offers these film analysis classes as part of their cinema major, but students of any major are also welcome to take such classes as electives.

Of course, you don’t have to be enrolled in a film class to watch movies on the Hill; there’s plenty of other ways to get your movie fix. The Office of Student Engagement shows movies a couple of times a month, and various academic departments and student groups will also show films. For example, Astronomy Club played Star Wars episodes I through VI every Sunday night for the last six weeks of this past semester.

Most notably though, Film Club, a student organization started by first year students during my first year on the Hill, screens movies twice a week. The movies they show tend to be classics and other high-quality films, and the club president, Nick, likes to pick different themes of movies for each month. To learn more about Film Club, check out their Facebook page and this tumblr my friend Charles made for his New Media Writing class last fall.

Your movies options aren’t limited to what’s shown on McDaniel’s campus. You can also watch new releases at the Regal Cinema in Westminster or you can see some indie, foreign, and other films at the Carroll Arts Center–in walking distance from campus on Main Street. (My favorite is when they show Rocky Horror Picture Show every year in the fall.)

And last but not least, there’s nothing like gathering up some friends, popping some popcorn, and watching movies from the comfort of your own dorm. (McDaniel’s Hoover Library can help you find an awesome DVD at no cost to you.)

Share

Easter on and off the Hill

Posted on by
Reply

My Easter weekend is quickly coming to a close.(McDaniel does not give students off on Easter Monday.) In just hours, I’ll wake up from what little sleep I end up getting tonight and make the two-and-a-half hour drive back to campus with my mom, who well then drive two-and-a-half hours back to Pennsylvania. All of the time spent commuting will be worth it though, since I had a lovely weekend with my family!

When I go home for the weekend, I usually have one of my parents pick me up on Friday afternoon. However, we did things a little differently this weekend: On Saturday afternoon, my whole family–both my parents and both of my siblings–trekked down to Westminster to see not only me but also Carroll Arts Center’s annual PEEPshow.

The PEEPshow, most fortunately, is not what its name might first imply; Westminster’s PEEPshow is a relatively new tradition in Carroll County where people create sculptures, movies, and other artwork made with Marshmallow Peeps, which are then displayed for about two weeks. I went last year with my uncle and cousin when they came to visit me, and I was so impressed with it that I went a second time that week. This year, I wanted to share the creativity and sheer awesomeness of the Peeps with my immediate family, and they were equally or more impressed by all of the great entries as I was.

The PEEPshow will be at Carroll Arts Center daily through April 7 from 10-7. If you live anywhere near Westminster, I highly suggest that you check it out, particularly if you already happen to be visiting McDaniel. But if you can’t go, fear not! There’s plenty of pictures from this year and years past here!

My fun this weekend did not stop with the PEEPshow, however. I got to go home for Easter, which was exciting since I did not get to go home for it last year (my family dared to take a vacation to California without me since my siblings were on spring break). I love Easter at home because it combines family and food with the added dimension of chocolate. This year’s Easter was extra great too. Some of my cousins, whom I don’t normally see on Easter, came because my oldest cousin, also home for Easter, had to drive back to college and my house is on the way. My extended family and I sat down to a delicious dinner home-cooked by my mother, and my dad even hid eggs around the house for my siblings, cousins, and I to find. (I’ll never be too old for an Easter egg hunt!)

My weekend was fabulous, and it’s kind of crazy that I’m still home. But the extra hours spent home instead of speeding back to campus on the night of Easter Sunday will be worth it because I truly got to enjoy my Easter weekend.

Share

Strange Days Indeed

Posted on by
Reply

The last four days have not been entirely typical of my experience at McDaniel College, but they’ll certainly be memorable.

After an evening of fun that involved watching McDaniel’s improv troupe Danger Sauce put on their annual Halloween show and going to Westminster Station for coffee late Friday night to support Advocacy Team’s “Music for Micro” event, I woke up bright and early Saturday morning to attend the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire with my friends Zach and Walter. The Office of Student Engagement sponsored the trip as one of their Weekend Blitz Trips, which was awesome since it only cost $10 to attend–much less than the typical cost of admission to the Ren Faire. The guys and I had a great time eating the food and watching the shows and we were fortunate that the weather held out on us, as it was quite cloudy throughout the day.

But my Saturday wasn’t over yet! When I got back to campus in the evening, I got busy preparing for my annual trip to the Rocky Horror Picture Show held at the Carroll Arts Center in Westminster. This involved making sure my prop bag (which I ended up forgetting) was in order, putting on my costume (I decided to go dressed as Janet), and finding other people to go with. In the end, I managed to go with a pretty large sized crowd who also went in costume, and we had a really fun time! I can’t wait until next year!

I guess I had too much fun on Saturday though, for on Sunday, I woke up with a garden variety cold which I’ve been dealing with for the past three days now. (I’ll spare you the details.) Conveniently for me though, Hurricane Sandy rolled into town beginning Sunday night and class was canceled yesterday and today as a result. Thus, while other people have been spending all their time getting stuff done and having fun, I’ve been spending a lot of that time trying to sleep my sickness away.

I do want to say though that I’m extremely impressed with how the College and our Department of Campus Safety have handled the situation with the weather over the past several days. As early as Friday, the student body received emails letting everyone know that the College was monitoring the storm and preparing for the worst. As the storm made its way to Westminster and McDaniel, Campus Safety sent out countless emails, Facebook posts, and tweets letting everyone know the status of the storm and how it would be affecting us here on campus. The Office of Residence Life also sent out detailed daily emails about the storm and possible situations that could have come from it.

Even though I still have some homework to tackle (thanks, cold), I’ll be glad to get back to reality tomorrow (provided my cold goes away). Two days with canceled classes and the College being closed are quite enough, and I know that people are starting to get cabin fever. Special thanks to Campus Safety, Res Life, and those who worked in the dining hall over the past few days for helping all of us here at McDaniel weather the storm!

Share