I thought I'd take a short walk-a-bout through the craziness of the THON floor to pick out some of the finer details that are difficult to see from up here in the press box. Here's some of what I saw:
Characters Sighted:
A jester, The Cat in the Hat, The Geico Gecko, Men in Black (AKA THON child Eli Sibler and his father), a clown, and Lady Gaga.
Items found/stumbled upon:
Foam sword, squirt pistol, smiley-face balloon, butterfly head-band, Iron Man bouncy ball.
Read on for some more notable events.
We caught up with ATΩ Secretary CJ Koluch (the American speedo "Single Ladies" guy!) and ZTA President Kim Sargent for a conversation about THON, their families, and ways to get every eye in the BJC on you. Read on for the full interview.
Check out this highly energetic Q and A session with Moraler, Carly Mallenbaum! She talks about her Dancer and what THON means to her.
Here is the first of many interviews that we will be conducting with members of the various committees. Check out this Q and A with OPP committee members Kaitlin Scicchitano and Zach Fleagle.
OS: What has your committee done so far this weekend?
Zach: We got here at 5:30, and set up the floor. We bring all the physical parts downstairs ... and set it up.
Read on to find out more...
It's cold. While great for skiers and snowmen, the weather blows for most of us. It is about this time of year that I start looking at sweet study-abroad locales. Here are a few PSU summer abroad programs that got me thinking about blue, sunny skies.
It might seem somewhat like a no-brainer, but Spain is kick-ass place to consider studying. European, warm, ridiculous nightlife, beautiful women (and well-dressed men). Ok, I guess it is not a great place for studying, but let's count that as a plus. Also, as Barcelona is rather far north, so it is an excellent staging ground for a Euro-tour. (If staying in Spain is more your game, check out Madrid or Granada)
Moving further east into the Mediterranean, the boot-country Italy is similar to Spain in the good-for-you-bad-for-your-GPA department. Stick to a place like Siena: you'll avoid the touristy mobs and still be able to see major sights on day-trips. Though the Siena program is more suitable for people who are peaking now (read: liberal arts majors), science and engineering majors should not despair.
It could be that Singapore is more your game. With courses available in engineering and the sciences, Singapore is a better fit for those with less wiggle room in their schedules. Also, a trip to Asia is way more adventurous than a stint in Europe, though the level of culture shock is surely a great deal higher. That aside, Singapore has tons of English-speakers which makes it a great place both to study and 'not-study' abroad.
Just to round things out, I often find that South America gets left out in many study abroad conversations, and I have no clue why. Who wouldn't want to spend a semester in Sao Paulo, for instance? A vibrant city with warm weather and sandy beaches is a rarity, throw in the fact that Brazil is fast-becoming an economic superpower, and it is safe to say that there are many things to see and do in Sao Paulo. Dust off that high school..uh.. Portuguese and get going next spring.
THON weekend is quickly approaching, and as such the final list of 2010 dancers has been compiled. It is pretty interesting to take a look at the entire list. It definitely gives you a little perspective on where all these dancers are coming from.
As one could expect, the list is largely comprised of the Greek community, but the significant presence of independent dancers and independent organizations caught my eye as well. As to not offend the commonwealth campuses, there is quite a sizable non-UP representation as well, though that has been true of past years. Looks like a really good bunch! I'm looking forward to THON.
Check out the list, and give me your impressions.