Josh's Blog

April 21, 2010 Passing of the Gavel

Normally everyone sinks into some organization or club to busy themselves outside the classroom. For me, that has been Student Senate for the past four years. This year, I have had the immense honor of presiding as the 53^rd President of the Malone Student Body. We have focused ourselves on increased communication to the Student Body through designing a new website for the organization that can be seen here. We also reorganized the way that ideas are brought to Senate which allowed us to pass 3 times the number of actions that they have passed in any recent year.

Since becoming Student Body President, I have delivered countless speeches, presided over more than 20 official meetings, met with the university President, the Board of Trustees, and many faculty members. It has been an incredibly busy year, but I wouldn’t have traded this experience for anything.

My advice to anyone starting college is to find a place for yourself. Locate a club or a group that fits with your interest. Find friends that will be supportive. These experiences outside the classroom are incredibly valuable.

This past Wednesday was the annual Student Senate Passing of the Gavel Ceremony. At that ceremony, the outgoing Student Body President delivers a farewell address to the student body. After I delivered that speech and passed the gavel, the incoming President, Bob Book, and the Vice President, Samson Toe, both addressed the students. It’s a great tradition to mark the passing of time for the organization. We spend some time looking back at what has happened and then take a moment to recognize things that are yet to come.

You can also view the slideshow of photos from the year here: 2011 POG Video

Today, we are exactly one week from graduation. It’s been a crazy four years, but they have been rich in experiences, friendships and lessons. Look forward to next week’s blog for graduation photos!

As you can see, I have really good form...

As a way to wrap up my very successful career as a participant in Intramural Sports, I joined an Intramural Bowling Team. We named our team, the Incredi-Bowls… we’re not quite living up to it. We bowl just down the street from Malone at Eastbury Bowling Lanes.

As it turns out, I am not a good bowler. The first couple times, I broke 100, but since then, I’ve been working in the 70-100 range. My teammates, Matt, Jess, and Lori, all took an elective class in bowling this semester, so all of them had some level of professional training and some practice time before the league started. I did not… However, it should be noted that I frequently bowl better than Lori, who did take the class. Our friends, Deb and Nate have also both contributed to our team by filling in on occasion.

Team Photo!

So far, we have won one match and a couple miscellaneous games which has left us with the prestigious position of last place, but we still have two more matches left, so maybe we’ll have a comeback. However, since our bowling skills seem to actually be declining since our first matches, I’m not holding my breath. However, it has been a nice outlet from the end-of-the-semester rush of school assignments.

This week was the Annual Mystery Road Trip with the Student Activities Council (SAC). I’ve long said that my favorite SAC events are those that involve free food and this is one of them.

Rachel and Kristin at Buca di Beppo's

When you sign up for this trip, all you know is that you are leaving at 5pm and won’t be back to campus until somewhere between midnight and 2am. Last year, we went to the Melting Pot and then Played Whirly Ball (kind of a mix between bumper cars, lacrosse, and basketball). The year before that, we went to a Japanese Steakhouse and then took swing dancing lessons.

This year, we drove to Westlake, Ohio (which is near my old stomping ground) and went to Buca di Beppo’s Italian Restaurant. All of the food is served homestyle and is crazy good (although after 8 months of eating in the same cafeteria, any break from the norm is crazy good). The restaurant looks like it was assembled by a thrift shop because each light fixture is different and there are thousands of pictures all over the wall. You could spend all night looking at all the stuff they have on the walls.

Erik & Dan playing Mariocart

After we finished eating and having dessert, we piled back into the Malone vans (which I affectionately refer to as the “Christ Kingdom FirstMobiles” since the Malone logo and motto are painted across the front) and headed to our second stop, Dave & Busters! Everyone got a $10 gamecard and was released into the Chuck-e-Cheese for big people. After some time of beating everyone at racing, being slaughtered in table hockey by Deb, and getting mauled to death in Jurassic Park, we headed out for our third and final destination.

Our last stop was Willoughby Hills Evangelical Friends Church where we at snacks and played basketball (well, I didn’t play basketball for fear of losing all my dignity in one place, but SOME people played basketball). We also played a huge game of Sardines, which was crazy hard because the church was huge, dark… and none of us had been there before, but it was really fun.

As promised, we returned to campus around 1am, which concluded our very fun, and very FREE evening. You can read Megan’s Blog to hear about her experience!

Last weekend was Nike Airband at Malone. This is one of the most popular events on campus each year. The event is hosted by the Residence Life Staff of DeVol Hall.

Michael Jackson Tribute Act

Nike Airband is a huge lip-syncing competition. It started out as just a fun thing to do, but over the years, it’s morphed into a massive event on campus. The staff members of the different residence halls normally get together to do acts in the contest, but also various groups around campus like the sports teams will put together teams. Everyone is pretty tight-lipped about what performance they are doing until the night of, so it’s a surprise for everyone, even the participants.

I remember my freshman year, one of the residence halls, PGB (Penn, Gurney, and Barclay), covered themselves in glow sticks and choreographed a dance. It was really sweet. This year, there were 12 different performances.

My two favorite performances were the Michael Jackson Tribute and the Sound of Music. The Michael Jackson Tribute was a team made up of the MU Basketball Team and the Cheerleaders. They progressed through the different stages of Michael Jackson’s life by performing different MJ songs and dances. The Sound of Music was done by the Malone Women’s Cross Country Team.

Dr. Chris Abrams, the Vice President for Student Development, starred in Heritage Hall’s act, which won first place. Chris was also part of the very first Nike Airband back when he was a student at Malone.

If you’re interested in watching some of the videos from Nike Airband, click HERE, or if you want to view some of the photos taken during the event, you can check them out HERE!

From Right to Left: Me, Nate, Erik & Brent

Well kids, I was doing just fine at keeping myself motivated for this last semester of college until Spring Break hit two weeks ago… now, SENIORITIS is in full swing. This is quite a problem because I still have two research papers and numerous other miscellaneous assignments left before graduation. So… this could be rough.

On a more positive note, this week was the first game of the season for Malone’s Club Lacrosse Team. The club was started last year, and this year, two of my roommates are part of the team. They aren’t an official sport at Malone, but they are part of a league with clubs at other schools, so they get to play some pretty big schools.

Nate, Erik, Brent, and I hopped in the old Honda on Saturday afternoon and drove out to Ashland University to support our roommates. Brent offered to navigate since he said he lived nearby and knew the place like the back of his hand, but when we got there, Brent’s stellar navigation abilities began to fail us once we realized that the game wasn’t being held in the place he thought it was. Thankfully, I spotted another athletic complex from afar and navigated us to the right place. Turns out Brent’s problem-solving skills could use some work.

This eagle was outside the stadium. Nate's always wanted to ride on an Eagle.

Unfortunately, we lost, but it was a pretty good showing. I also got to meet some of my roommates families! I’m still waiting for Joey’s mom to tag me in those pictures she took…

I’ve also begun the task of applying for jobs. It’s weird to be applying for a job that I intend to have for a while… for the past four years, I’ve applied for temp positions and summer jobs, but now I need like… a real job. So, I’ll keep you posted on my vocational status.

There are a couple of SAC (Student Activities Council) Events each year that I have never failed to attend in my four years of college. Oddly enough, each of them involves food in some capacity. The first is the One-Big Table Potluck Dinner, which I attended last semester. This semester, it is the Annual Progressive Dinner. The Progressive Dinner is where everyone loads into Malone vans with three destinations (the homes of Malone faculty and staff). There are three courses to dinner, each served at a different house. This year, my group went to the homes of Morgan Wagner (Malone Admission’s Counselor), Shelley Doerschuk (Instructor, School of Education), and Dr. Chris Abrams (Vice President for Student Development).

Erik, attempting to coax Morgan's cat to come out from under the couch

At Morgan’s house, we started the evening off with Brochette and chips with dip. It was so good that one of my roommates, Erik, at 4 plates of it. As a veteran Progressive Diner, I knew to pace myself better than that. Erik also found a reluctant friend in Morgan’s cat. The cat spent the majority of the time under the couch trying to get her toy back from Erik so she wouldn’t have to play with him anymore.

At the Doerschuk’s home, we had ham, cheesy potatoes, vegetable casserole, and rolls. We were also served coffee after dinner which I went on to spill on the table. Luckily, the Doerschuk’s had a table cloth made of miracle, liquid-repelling fabric, so somehow didn’t leave a mark! Before we left, we played Picture-Telephone which is played the same way you played telephone as a child, except with drawings. We were having such a good time that Shelley had to tell us it was time to move on or we would be late for dessert.

Side Note: Shelley’s last name, Doerschuk, is pronounced “door-shek”, which, oddly enough is my roommate’s last name and my last name put together… further instilling the understanding that we were destined to go on this trip together.

The whole group at the Abrams' House for dessert

At the Abrams’ house, we finished the evening with Monkey Bread (or sticky bread) and coffee and hot chocolate. We had a good time playing with Hope and Faith, Chris and Melissa’s daughters (until bedtime, that is). The girls are celebrities in the Malone community, so much so that when I posted a photo of us together at the Progressive Dinner on my facebook, past Malone students started commenting on how big Hope and Faith are getting.

There are benefits to cafeteria eating… for instance, you never have to decide what to have for dinner and you never have to shop. The downside is that your options become limited and sometimes you get bored. Until you go to college, you’ll never know how valuable a home-cooked meal really is. So, thank you to Morgan Wagner, Shelley Doerschuk (and her husband), and the Abrams’ family for providing dinner this Thursday. We are forever grateful.

Hey Everybody! Sorry I haven’t written in a little while. It would seem that there is an inverse relationship between the frequency of my blogs and the number of assignments that I am working on. One goes up = the other goes down…

Today marks week #7 of the semester. For those of you who aren’t counting, that is only one week away from the halfway point! While this may sound like cause for celebration, it is actually a blaring warning siren that signals the beginning of the midterm rush of assignments. You see, not only will every class most likely have a comprehensive midterm, we will also have a period where we will have a plethora of papers due. Not to mention the fact that professors are now wanting us to prove that we’ve made some progress on all those pesky, semester-long projects. For me, this means a meeting last Friday with my advisor for my Independent Study to discuss my research paper and a meeting this coming Tuesday with my Senior Seminar Professor to discuss the 30-page project he will be expecting from me in April.

In other news, as if things weren’t busy enough, two weeks ago, I culminated the week by taking my Senior Comprehensive Exam. Yes, folks, not only do you have to remember everything you learned until finals, you also have to remember it until the end of college when they will see whether or not your level of comprehension is worthy of a diploma or not…

[Side note] completely unrelated to this blog. Literally, it has nothing to do with what I’m talking about: I’m watching television while I write this blog and I just saw an ad for an online dating site that said that “1 in 5 relationships start on the internet” today. This seems like a shockingly high number to me…

[Back on track] meaning, I’m going to resume talking about my busy schedule. This week, although full of assignments is going to be pretty exciting for me because on Tuesday, I will be going to the Canton Chamber of Commerce Meeting with Malone President Dr. Will Friesen and his wife, Glenna. The keynote speaker at the meeting will be Ohio Governor John Kasich. I heard that there will be a lot of protesters in the streets because of some controversial legislation in Columbus, so if I don’t blog for a few weeks, you can assume me dead. Should this be the case, I would like to give my sharpie marker to my suitemate, Erik since he uses it more than I do and I would like to give all of my Malone hoodies to Joey since he doesn’t have any. The rest of my stuff in the dorm can be given to my roommate, Dan.

Also, this week will be the annual Student Body Presidential Election for Student Senate (good thing since I’m going into the realm of dangerous protesters on Tuesday), so students who are looking to attend Malone next year can check my blog next week for a profile on the President-Elect.

I can remember when I was little, waking up to a fresh snowfall and rushing to the television to watch the marquee at the bottom of the screen and PRAYING that my school would be listed. Sometimes I would turn it on just in time to see the “D’s” start scrolling and I would have to wait the whole alphabet to see if my school, beginning with a “C” was there. That was the worst. However, it was always worth it when the C’s finally came around again and I saw my school scroll across the screen. I would be so excited that I couldn’t even think of going back to bed. It was like having a surprise holiday.

Malone University Library Parking Lot during the 2/1/2011 Ice Storm

Well, when I came to college, I read in a Malone policy manual that school is cancelled for severe weather, but “very infrequently.” They weren’t kidding. In my [nearly] four years at Malone, we have had 3 snow days. On days when everyone was “positive” there would be a snow day, they were met with disappointment. So, in light of this experience, I made a personal policy to never expect a snow day because there is nothing more depressing than expecting a snow day only to have to go about life as though there was never a possibility of having a day off.

I enacted this policy last night when I started noticing my friends post their snow day-hopes on their Facebook statuses. I decided to offer a public service by announcing via my status that there would be no snow day and that everyone should proceed as normal. The status got rave reviews from veteran Malone students like myself who knew that the likelihood of having the day off was slim. However, much to my surprise, I woke this morning at 6:36am when my blackberry notified me that I had a new email. The email was from our Provost, Dr. Donald Tucker, notifying us that due to the treacherous driving conditions caused by last night’s ice storm, all classes would be cancelled for the day. I then was bombarded with Facebook comments and text messages mocking my Facebook status from the night before. In a showing of true humility, I released the following statement as my Facebook status this morning:

“I would like to submit my humblest of apologies to the Facebook Community for spreading the false word last night regarding snow days. Enjoy your day off, Malone.”

It’s funny how I react today as opposed to how I reacted as an elementary school student once word is received that a Snow Day has been declared. Instead of excitement that causes me to put on snow pants and run out into the winter wonderland, now, I react by silencing my alarm and turning my cell phone off so that the next few hours of sleep will be uninterrupted.

However, now it is nearly 9pm and preparations are now underway to resume normal life in the morning. The campus that began the day with thousands of people not knowing what to do with themselves has changed its tone and now, the lobby of my dorm is full of studiers. So, farewell Snow Day… I’ll miss you when I graduate.

Wait… we’re supposed to get a half inch of freezing rain tonight!?!? I bet classes will be cancelled tomorrow too.

Eck/Squire for SBP & SBVP campaign poster from last year.

This past Tuesday, I and a few of my friends attended the History & Social Science Department’s annual State of the Union party. This year, Dr. Jacci Welling hosted the event at her house. For me, the highlight of the event was the fruit salad dish that Dr. Welling prepared for us. This event brings Malone students, Republicans and Democrats alike, together for a night of stimulating conversation, political analysis, and sarcastic remarks. Mostly sarcastic remarks. It’s a fun time for nerdy politically-minded students to get together and analyze American society… and eat fruit salad, which, as I already mentioned, was my favorite part of the event.

In addition to being one of the most-watched national political events of the year, this week also highlights a milestone for Malone’s Student Government: This past Wednesday was the official kick-off date for the 2011 Presidential Election for Student Senate. This is both an exciting time and a reflective time for me as this marks the first of several steps that will end my term as Student Body President. It is fun to watch the campaigning kick up from the sidelines as this time last year, I was knee-deep in the campaign schedule. I’ve met with some people who are interested in becoming candidates and I must say, it is a lot less stressful to be an advisor to a Presidential Candidate than it is to be a Presidential Candidate.

At that time last year, Joey and I promised the student body that, if elected, two of the most tangible things we would accomplish for the school were 1.) A more efficient process for starting and funding student organizations and 2.) A brand new, helpful website for Student Senate. As the campaign to select our successors begins, I am proud to say we have accomplished those two things and a lot more. It’s nice to look back on goals that you once had and be able to say you made a difference. I think that we are leaving Malone a better place than we found it.

This is week 4 of classes, so the traditional slack-off period that comes with the beginning of the semester is now over. After submitting this blog, I will attempt to refocus myself on the one exam, two assignments, and two papers that I have due this week. Based upon the excitement of that last sentence, you can expect a sweet blog entry from me next week. Till then…

August 27, 2007. That was my first day of college. I remember that I woke up at 6:30am so I could shower and eat breakfast before my first class at 8:00am. I didn’t sleep well because I was paranoid that my alarm wouldn’t work and I would sleep through my first class of college. I was really a nervous wreck that day. I assumed all the worst about everything. I figured that by the end of the day I would have zero friends, miss my classes, get lost, and most likely fall in front of a large group of people. Thankfully, none of that came true, but it’s interesting to think back to that day.

Two weeks ago, we returned to school for the start of the new semester. This beginning, however, seemed a little different than previous semesters for me. The realization has finally struck that this is the last time I’ll have a first day of classes at Malone.

I remember this time four years ago when I was knee-deep in college choices. I was pretty lost in all of the decisions that needed to be and more so, I was deathly afraid of making the wrong decisions. What if I chose the wrong school and hated it? What if I didn’t fit in? Was I picking a good major? Most importantly, how in the WORLD was I going to pay for it?

I vividly remember walking in to the Malone Admissions Office for the first time with my mom. There was a big television on the wall that said “Welcome Class of 2011!” and had the names of all of the students (myself included) that were visiting the school that day. When I saw the year 2011 on the screen next to my name, I literally thought that 4 years of college would probably be the longest four years of my life. I thought about that moment in the spring of 2007 this New Years Eve while I was playing cards with some Malone friends and realized that 2011, the year I thought would never come, was here and it had arrived long before I was ready for it.

So far, this semester has already been a little different. For one, I’ve had to add appointments with Malone’s Career Development Office to my schedule so that I can get my resume in shape. It’s weird to be looking for a job that will last past the summer (at least I certainly hope so…). You get into this groove with college where your entire life revolves around a semester calendar. Now, our lives will have to start revolving around the actual calendar… very weird.

So, this semester’s thoughts will probably be a mix of reflecting on the past four years and trying to figure out what path to take next. This will be a departure from the traditional “in the moment” mindset of college students, but hopefully whether you’re a perspective student or a current student, I hope you’ll enjoy following along as the Class of 2011 prepares for life after Malone.