The end of the semester is approaching, yet it still seems far away. Between now and December, I will be hosting a movie night with ADA and OSAPE, turning in my Senior Research Proposal, my Health Communication project, and my French project, and working on my internship. Yesterday, my Senior Research professor talked to us about our research proposals, and it would be an understatement to say that we're stressed about it. I took some time to destress last night and watch the Country Music Awards. As a huge Taylor Swift fan, I was excited to see her win all four awards for which she was nominated, including Entertainer of the Year. I'm currently in the library listening to Bon Jovi on my iPod and getting ready to work on some assignments before going to a cultural credit event tonight about the website, PostSecret. That's one of the best things about Stetson- we have all kinds of unique events on campus ranging from speeches to movies to discussions, and it's always great to meet the people who have influenced us in some way.

The Importance of Being Earnest

Opening night tonight for The Importance of Being Earnest!

We've been working really hard for the last month and a half to put on Oscar Wilde's witty comedy, and it's coming together really well. I've had a great time working with the cast, and Jack has been a really fun role to get into. There are lots of memorable Wilde quotes to throw around, and even though it may seem like a "serious comedy" at first, it really is about "trivial people." The set too, has been a monumental undertaking--we have hundreds of tissue paper flowers adoring some greenery in the second and third acts. I know I probably won't want to ever fold a paper flower again, and by the time the weekend is over, I may be disgusted by just the sight of an English muffin! Be sure to make time to come see it, Thursday through Saturday at 8:00, and Sunday at 3:00 in Stover Theatre, across Woodland from Chaudoin where the old tennis courts are.

Hey everyone,
This has been quite a busy week on campus. This weekend, the music fraternity on campus, Phi Mu Alpha, sponsored Bandtoberfest, an event featuring student and faculty bands. I had no idea that some of my professors were in bands! It was a nice break from studying and the free popcorn, snow cones, and cotton candy were really good too. Who can argue with free entertainment and free snacks?
Aside from Bandtoberfest, I've been organizing events for ADA and working on assignments for my classes. The work is starting to pile up, but I'm not in over my head yet. If there's one thing I've learned in college, it's time management. That's something that most people have problems with during their first year of college because it's a whole different experience than high school. My advice would be to talk to your professors. They want to help you and they want you to succeed. On that note, I'm going to go get something to eat.

Hey everyone,
We are well into the semester and things have been really hectic at Stetson. Next week, we're signing up for classes for the Spring. It's hard to believe the semester is more than half over.
I'm currently working on several different projects for my internship such as feature stories, news stories faculty interviews, student interviews, and press releases.
In my Health Communication class, we are working on a group project where we have to come up with an original program to present to the Health and Wellness Center on campus. Throughout the semester we've been learning about patient-doctor interaction and reading health narratives written by people who have had an illness, and the project is the capstone of the class, where we can combine everything that we've learned to come up with our own health program.
The theme for my Senior Seminar class is "Sports Communication", so we are reading different studies that have been done on that subject, as well as working on a concept paper. As a Communications major, you get a choice of doing either a Rhetorical or Qualitative research project, then in Senior Seminar you have to research a concept or theory about your chosen research method (if you're confused, don't worry because I was too!)
Finally, in my French Cinema class we are watching movies on World War II and writing research papers every other week.
It sounds like a lot, and it is, but by the time you become a senior you've become used to the hectic college life and you will actually miss it during the summer.

As the sun went down on Yom Kippur last evening, I was reminded of the lecture that took place last Thursday in Lee Chapel. The speaker was Art Spiegelman, the famous, Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the graphic novel Maus. Part of his lecture, Comix 101.1, dealt with the aforementioned novel specifically and what inspired him to publish the piece. Sadly, most of the story behind Maus isn't a happy one, but talks mainly about the oppression his parents survived before leaving Auschwitz.
Of course, Spiegelman isn't a one note kind of guy, his focus for the lecture had been more to the tune of comics through the ages - from "Katzenjammer Kids" by Rudolph Dirks, to Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, to Edu-Manga (http://www.amazon.com/Edu-Manga-Anne-Frank-Edu-Manga/dp/1569709742). Thank god he talked about Edu-Manga, because I don't know how I'd ever have learned about Anne Frank otherwise.
He also discussed imagery and context as according to the comic form. Artists like Lichtenstein and Warhol were mentioned as not having done anything for comic form and Campbell's Soup, respectively. Rather, these two artists exploited the capitalistic idea of reproduction and marketing to sell their "genius." (Cough)
What can I say? I love Art Spiegelman. If you missed the lecture, that's okay, but please read some of Spiegelman's work, and reread them because "rereading is funnnndamental!"- Art Spiegelman, September 23, 2009

-C Hann

Roger Crawford Cultural Credit Event

Hey everyone!
Tonight, my organization, Association of Disability Advocates hosted motivational speaker, Roger Crawford, in honor of Disability Awareness Week. He has given more than 3,000 speeches all over the world, had a story published in Chicken Soup for the Soul, and been featured on Good Morning America and Inside Edition. Being a relatively new organization on campus, we weren't sure how many people would show up. Needless to say, the event was a much bigger success than we had anticipated. Roger was one of the most charismatic speakers I’ve ever heard and he was just as friendly when I met him before his speech. People seemed genuinely interested in hearing what he had to say, which is not always the case at these events. Stetson requires you to go to 24 "Cultural Credit" events before you graduate, so sometimes the students at these events end up being seniors who are trying to do all 24 Cultural Credits in their final semester.
I've seen quite a few changes on campus over the last few years that were mainly due to student involvement. Plus, studies have proven that the most successful students are the ones who participate in extra-curricular activities, and it's a nice break from going to class or studying in the library. Trust me, after spending a few hours freezing in the library, you'll want an excuse to take a break. On that note, I'm going to get something to eat. I'll talk to you all later!

Organization Fair

Hey everyone, my name is Julie and I'm a new intern at the Office of Public Relations & Communications this semester. As I write this, I'm taking a study break in my dorm room and watching Step Up.

Here are some facts about me:
-I'm a senior Communications major and Journalism minor
-I'm co-president of Association of Disability Advocates
-I'm also a member of OSAPE (Organization for Students Actively Pursuing Equality)
-My favorite shows are American Idol, Friends, and The Big Bang Theory (I think Sheldon is hilarious).

I just finished e-mailing everyone who signed up to be in Association of Disability Advocates last night at our annual organization fair. The organization fair is a chance for all new students to learn about the organizations on campus and sign up for the ones that interest them. Members of every organization display a colorful poster board filled with pictures and descriptions of the exciting events they put on each year. Some of the clubs even play music and give away candy. One of the fraternities was blasting NSYNC and Backstreet Boys songs - it was like a flashback to the 1990s.

Stetson has a wide variety of clubs ranging from religious groups to advocacy groups to service groups to Greek life. I strongly recommend going to the organization fair to find out about everything that Stetson has to offer. But don't expect to have time to be active in eight different organizations. While it would be fun to be involved in everything, realistically, most people commit their time to two or three organizations because classes are still the No. 1 priority at Stetson. Well, my study break is over. Bye for now!

And the chaos begins...

With not even two full weeks of the semester yet complete, the busy-ness and chaos have began! I must admit that I have, for one, have been SO scatter-brained! I even cancelled a meeting for a class, when I didn't even have class at that time.

I must admit though, that despite all of the confusion, seeing the first year students fully adapting to their new surroundings and feeling right at home on campus is absolutely incredible! Seeing my foci playing card games and ping pong in the Hollis Center after class, or enjoying dinner in the Commons together makes it all worth it.

To top it all off, the Org Fair was a HUGE success! I think almost all of my FOCI were there and tons of current students were as well. To see all the first years signing up for Greek life, SGA, Night Cap, etc. and getting so excited about getting involved on campus was amazing! Being the president of SAA, I was completely awe-struck with a list of 25 potentially interested first year students! I have high hopes for our association this year, and even higher hopes for this new class - they seem like they are so excited to be at Stetson and to be getting to know one another & that is really what makes the difference!

Snapshots from FOCUS 2009

Credit and thanks to Ali Aldrich, FOCUS AC, for the photos.

FOCUS in Review

It is undeniable fact that the beginning of the Stetson school year is the most exciting few weeks of every students lives. But to experience it as part of the FOCUS staff brings so much enjoyment to all of our normally mundane lives. There are many organizations on campus that give students an opportunity to get involved and contribute to this awesome Stetson community. Very few organizations are as rewarding.

Over the last five days I have had the opportunity to talk to many new students and I heard one common theme. "The poeple here are so nice!" One student even told me we were so nice it was creepy. I could not ask for a better compliment. It made me wonder if we were faking it or if t is actually how we are here at Stetson. I realized that through my four years as a student here that we actually are "nice" and that is the one characteristics that makes Stetson so great!

As we wrapped up FOCUS last night all staff members shared their feelings about their experience. I looked around the room and recognized the diversity of the staff. I heard what they were saying and realized that somehow we were able to make an unbelievable connection with eachother. It is because of organizations like this one and people like Rosalie Carpenter, the director of the FOCUS staff, that students like me love being a Stetson student.

Why is this post so positive and why is it praising Stetson so much? It's not because I am faking it and want to give Stetson good PR. These feelings are real. The Stetson experience is real.

I will wrap up this post like we did our metting last night with a cheer.

"F" to the "O" to the "C",
"U" to the "S" to the "S",
"T" to the "A",
"F" to the "F"
FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS STAFF!!!