Joining new clubs

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Annie Brown

This semester, I’m trying to get involved with organizations that I haven’t been a part of before, since I’ve become less involved with organizations that I’ve been heavily involved in in the past.

Last night, I went to the first meeting of More Love Letters of the semester. It’s a brand new club on campus that started up late last semester, and I’m looking forward to being as involved with it as possible. More Love Letters is an organization that promotes writing love letters to people and identifies people who are in need of letters so that people can write letters to send to them. College campuses across the country have More Love Letters clubs, and I’m glad that we now have one at McDaniel. Last night, we wrote letters to some of the people that the More Love Letters website has listed as needing letters. We also wrote letters to hide around campus on Valentine’s Day for people to find, though we hope to distribute these sorts of letters throughout the school year. It’s going to be a fun semester with this club!

Tonight, I went to the first meeting of Active Minds of the semester. This club strives to promote good mental health on campus, which I think is an incredibly important cause. The club is relaunching itself after being inactive for a few years, so not a lot of people showed up to the first meeting. Hopefully, more people will come to next week’s meeting and the club will be able to flourish.

College is a great time and place to get involved in new clubs, particularly clubs that aren’t like the ones you were a part of in high school. A lot of the clubs I joined last year were very similar to the clubs I was very active in during high school, but I’m hoping to branch out this semester.

Fraternity Travels

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Robert

This past weekend I did something that many fraternity members will never do, I attended a leadership conference sponsored by the Alpha Sigma Phi national headquarters. Let me start by saying that if you ever get a chance to attend a leadership conference of any type, you should do it. I learned so much about myself and got so many ideas about what I can brink to my fraternity and to McDaniel. A lot of times we lose focus, getting caught up in our social lives, putting importance on things that truthfully just won’t matter once we graduate, but this conference helped me realize that we can leave a legacy for ourselves if we live everyday being the best men and women that we can be.

Three of my brothers and I flew out to Indianapolis last Friday. It was an early flight. I arrived at BWI at 6am so I would be sure not to miss my flight. The Alpha Sig national headquarters paid for the flight and for the hotel and dinners for three nights. It was a great deal, plus I love flying. We arrived at the hotel, the luxurious Crowne Plaza, only 40 minutes or so before we were supposed to meet down in the lobby so my brothers and I had to quickly get up to our room and change (most of us had traveled in sweats in the name of comfort). Once in the lobby we were quickly filled into a large room with almost 250 brothers from colleges and universities across the country.

There was something cool about being in a room with so many guys who had committed themselves to similar values to your own and been through similar experiences all to find themselves in Indianapolis on this particular weekend. It was nice in making conversation since you already had one major thing in common with every guy in the room. Over the course of the next few days, I met all kinds of guys of different backgrounds and from different states, and together we helped define and strengthen each other’s commitments to our core values as brothers and men.

I know that you’re probably thinking about how cheesy all of this sounds, but it really did make a difference in how I view the world. I’m not saying that if you’re a guy you should come to McDaniel and pledge Alpha Sig, I mean you should come check us out cause we’re awesome, but what I am saying is that you should take advantage of opportunities like these as they arise in college, and they will. Lessons learned: you never stop growing, you never stop learning, there’s always something you can change to make yourself, and the brothers from Murray State know how to have a good time.

End of the Semester…Fun?

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Robert

Last day of classes was surprisingly easy for me, even enjoyable. In my Spanish class I took a quick quiz on the final chapter of our textbook and then we ended up just hanging out and laughing with our teacher for another 30 mins before she let us out early. This was a nice end to the course I thought. It’s nice to hang out with a cool professor and learn more about them, especially one that is enjoyable to be around like Dr. McNichols. Getting out 30 minutes early isn’t too bad either!

In my second and final class of the day, my teacher surprised us with a game of jeopardy to help us study for finals. I’ve always thought jeopardy was a great way for teachers to help students study. It’s fun, it’s easy, and really helps you figure out what areas you need to focus on for study. We were put in teams based on which rows in which we were sitting in one of the lecture halls on the first floor of Hill Hall. I, however, was late and ended up in a two person team with one of my brothers which proved comical since neither of us were truly prepared for a game of jeopardy and we finished out the game at -2100 points. It was still a fun way to spend the class and for the students who were prepared, a good way to solidify key course concepts.

After I finished classes, I resigned myself to the library and forced myself to crank out the rest of my 8 page paper which I had only completed about half of at this time. There was some work to be done to say the least. Mind you, with my mind in it’s present state, working on a paper means a max of 20 mins of productivity and then ample break time in between these moments of pure focus. Sometimes this is the way it happens though and honestly it is important to allow yourself this break time. In my case, if I do not take this little break time, I will end up becoming too unfocused to accomplish anything and will not get any work done. It’s better to get a little bit of work over a long period of time then none done over a longer period of time. After three hours of this effort, I had a completed, full cited and edited paper and could finally take a break.

Tonight, I’m celebrating my accomplishment by going to a Christmas date party my fraternity, Alpha Sigma Phi, is hosting at our apartment. Even though the end of the semester is really stressful and half the time I feel like I’m about to explode, it’s manageable with good study habits and knowing your limits. But having good professors helps too!

To Be a Part of Something Big!

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Robert

This past Friday I was initiated into the fraternity I have been pledging for most of this past semester, Alpha Sigma Phi. As anyone might indicate, becoming a part of a fraternity is no easy undertaking and consumes a good portion of your time. This is true. Finding a balance between my various responsibilities to class, friends, and school work was quite difficult. It was worth it though to join arguably one of the best fraternities on the Hill.

Alpha Sig is a social fraternity with a purpose: To better the man through an understanding of the core concepts of silence, honor, charity, purity, and patriotism. By publicly promoting this goal, which most fraternities only share with initiated brothers and pledges, the fraternity is held accountable by both itself and the community at large. This makes the fraternity a body of men, of whom are some of the best guys to know on campus, and of which it is an honor to be a part. Not to mention they’re some of the most enjoyable people to hang with.

Brotherhoods have two major stigmas: that they change perfectly nice guys into jerks, by robbing them of their beliefs and brainwashing them with new, conformist beliefs; the other is that it is essentially a way for losers to buy friends. It’s not one and it’s not the other, it might be called a mixture of both but I feel that neither statement can be taken in their fullest senses.This is me saying that this is not an accurate representation of Greek life at McDaniel in general, and is certainly not applicable to Alpha Sigma Phi.

I was not brainwashed in the process of pledging. However my mind was opened up to many new ideas about what it means to be a citizen of my community, this country, and in many ways the world as I was encouraged to question my goals and values. This with the intent of making me a gentleman, not to take away everything that is good in me. I did not buy friends, but I did gain 27 brothers who I have come to enjoy and love through the sharing of common values. They are friends, but they are so much more that. Though the true bond we share is revealed only through the secrecy of the initiation process, the result is the same: a band of brothers all committed to improving each other as gentlemen and humans.

Though I may look back on this experience as one of the more challenging of my lifetime, it was certainly one of the most valuable and I treasure this experience as it has put me in a place where I feel confident in the forward direction my life is heading, and in my peers as good influences in my life. I highly recommend Greek life, like most things it sounds scarier than it is, and when it’s over you get to wear letters!

An Evening of Belly Dancing

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Annie Brown

With so much work on my plate right now, I almost didn’t go to tonight’s “Dances for Dogs” belly dancing performance, but I’m glad I did! I truly enjoyed watching tonight’s performances and learning just how talented McDaniel women are! (I also wish I had brought my camera!)

Tonight’s performance was put on to benefit Canine Companions for Independence, better known around campus as the Puppy Club. Part of the proceeds are also going toward Hurricane Sandy relief.

The show featured both group and individual performances by members past and present of McDaniel’s Belly Dancing Club. Some of the solo performances were even improvised, which I thought was super neat! In between performances, the audience got to learn some neat facts about belly dancing from the emcee. There was even a participatory element to the show: audience members were told to “yip” at any point during the performances to show their satisfaction, a belly dancing custom. People were also invited onto the stage after the show to learn some belly dancing moves from the dancers.

Tonight’s dances were outstanding. I’m curious to see what a typical meeting of Belly Dancing Club is like, and when I’m not so busy next semester, I might go to see what I can learn!

…And When It Comes To GLAR

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Robert

Englar Dining Hall (GLAR) can be an intimidating place on campus for someone who is going in for the first time. Since it is the only dining hall on campus, almost every student that does not have an apartment with a kitchen finds themselves in GLAR at one point or another during the day. During Fall semester freshman year, this can be tough the first few times you go. Generally your First Year Seminar (FYS) sits together the first few times you go, but for me I was on my own after that. Luckily I made a friend, Andrew, who lived one floor above me in Rouzer Hall. We bonded over a mutual appreciation for Xbox and conveniently had classes at similar times so we were able to eat most meals together, which was nice.

Friendships tend to change during the beginning of freshman year and Andrew and I grew apart, but I made a new group of friends that came to include my best friends Jon, Sean, Jenn, Kelli, and Barnabas. We try to eat meals together when we can, which can be difficult. The best we do is a lunchtime somewhere in the range of 11am and dinner at about 5pm. We can usually manage to have at least a few of us together for meals if not all, which is really nice to have.

Seating is the next big thing you should know about GLAR. Many sports teams and organizations like to sit together. For example, Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity tends to sit right by the entrance in the first two or three round tables to the right. Next are the soccer teams, and occasionally field hockey (field hockey eats later than other teams). In the upper back of the first seating section, Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity and Lacrosse like to settle in. The center section usually has some randoms along the semi-circle table arrangement while baseball likes to take over the round tables.

Then we reach the far-side of GLAR where the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and some members of the swim team usually sit. Not excluded is the Football team who usually sits in the upper-back of the far-side. This where my friends and I find a free table. The far-side and the back portico are generally free from organizations, though the Phi Alpha Mu Sorority has been known to commandeer a few tables every now and the. Anyways this is where the independents of the McDaniel campus usually find a place to sit.

The seating habits that I have laid out here, granted, are intimidating. They might make a freshman feel as though the only way to fit in is to align yourself with some kind of organization or sports team. Honestly, this isn’t false. A large portion of the McDaniel community is aligned in some form of organization or sports team. However, I believe my friends and I (who together represent Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity, Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Phi Sigma Sigma Fraternity, the soccer team, the baseball team, and plenty of other on-campus organizations) embody the idea that while there may be exclusive groups on campus, the members of these groups do not need to be exclusively devoted to their respective groups all the time. Transversality is common and good friends will trump organizations every time…definitely when it comes to GLAR.

Labor Day Weekend

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Annie Brown

I guess you could say I had the best of both worlds this Labor Day weekend; I spent Friday evening and Saturday on campus while returning home for Sunday and Monday.

After class wrapped up on Friday afternoon, I went to hang out with my friends in Forlines house, where my one of my friends graciously let me paint my nails with a bottle of polish from her very extensive nail polish collection. Soon after, I went to the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship cookout on the quad between DMC and ANW, another residence hall. The cookout was open to all students and I had a great time catching up with people I know.

If you’re interested in religious life on campus, InterVarsity may be for you. IV is a campus ministry found on over 550 campuses nationwide. McDaniel InterVarsity meets once a week for worship in Little Baker Chapel and holds student-led bible studies throughout the semester. They also host campus-wide events (like the cookout) and go on retreats. I’m not a member of IV, but I really admire what a tight-knit and fun group they are.

After going to the cookout, I returned to my dorm to rest up before the outdoor screening of The Avengers, sponsored by the Office of Student Engagement. The first movie of the year is always screened outdoors (weather permitting), and it’s a lot of fun to grab some blankets and towels and sit out in Red Square with old and new. And did I mention there’s free pizza?

Saturday for me was mostly a homework day, though one of my suitemates went whitewater river tubing with the Outdoor Club. (I’m a little jealous, but I needed to get things done!) I still had some fun though, because in the evening, some of my friends and I drove to the nearby IHOP. IHOP is one of my favorite places off campus to eat and socialize, and it’s easily within walking distance, making it very accessible.

I spent the rest of the weekend at home because my poor little fan was no match for this weekend’s heat! I hadn’t planned on going home this weekend, but I was glad to get to see my puppy, Lily, who my family got last month. It’s tough to be away from pets at college, but there are dogs to be found on campus. For example, Canine Companions for Independence, more commonly known as Puppy Club is in the process of training a service dog, a black lab named Hudson, who can be seen at various campus and Puppy Club-sponsored events.

I’d have to say that my Labor Day went pretty quickly, and fortunately, so did my day. This evening, I’m off to the first Free Press meeting of the semester, and if I’m up for it, I’ll go see comedian Adam Ace in the Forum afterwards. This week is going to get busier as it progresses, so I’m glad it’s a short one!

Stories from the Hill

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