RA Post Week: [Untitled, original poetry]

Words By Dylan, Marion Second Floor RA

Intrinsically placed out of date
We rate our lives on pages of slate.
Our history’s grip presently today
Reflects the suffering in tomorrow’s days.
Out of the haze mazes thick and deep
We cut our lives with the attachments we keep.
Soul gripping tight the body of minds
We neglect the joy of childhood wandering times
Where thought was boundless
And associations were far and few
The rays of laughter spilling on grass
Passing time so effortlessly
In when simplicity of now was all we knew.
Lessons incessantly thereafter learned
Constantly shaping us again a new.
day after day we changed and grew, but
Today we fail to recognize the steps walked through.
Talking of what’s to be is now what many of us see.
What happened to the moments forgotten
Where elements were intriguingly placed
and dreaming was acceptable
and all those thoughts were made believe
They’d be within reach of our senses of taste?

(If this is up your alley, stay tuned for the end of the year senior showcases for VPA and also for the release of the SU literary magazine Verbal Seduction later this semester)

RA Post Week: Landscape life before Ernie Davis Hall

Words By Cait, Booth Seventh Floor RA

Mid-February marked a month since the grand opening of the Ernie Davis Dining Hall and Fitness Center. Now I know the new residence hall complex marks a significant architectural advancement for our campus, but with this construction we also lost a very dear and green friend of the university: The Dellplain Lawn.

There are probably very few people left on campus who actually remember the Dellplain Lawn. You might be thinking, “What?! There was a lawn there, not a gaping hole turned construction sight, turned residence hall with multicolored lounges?” Yes, at one time there was a grassy knoll leading up to the doorstep of good ol’ Dellplain. I remember it well. On my first visit to SU, my chipper tour guide took me all over campus, pointing out buildings and giving me the heads up about the Carnegie stairs. When it came to the conversations about living arrangements, she was proud to boast about future plans for a new residence hall in front of Dellplain. Sure the students would have to relinquish a sweet spot for games of Frisbee and sun bathing, but that’s what Throndon Park is for. After the tour, my mom and I decided to go survey the area. Honestly, I thought there was a mistake. They were going to building a whole new facility on this patch of grass? No way. I was sure it was some other lawn.

Sure enough, in the following years that lucious patch of grass became a mudding construction pit.  While it’s sad to see a recreational field go the way of the dinosaurs, look what we have gained. A snazzy new residence hall for happy SU students to live; a dining hall so big you need a map to navigate the food line; and a fresh new gym with fancy treadmills that have TVs!

RA Post Week: Is it time to close your eyes and pick a spot on the map?

Words By Kate, Marion First Floor RA

A few weeks ago, I walked into Shine and nearly had a heart attack.  I was simply swinging by to get an iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts (despite the fact it was snowing outside) and was overwhelmed by the number of tables set up in the atrium.  Each table was covered with pictures of places all over the world: London, Madrid, Australia, China, France- there was a table for almost every country.

I immediately got a pit in my stomach as I remembered I had to do the inevitable: decide where to go abroad.  My dad has been hounding me to decide since the beginning of the year (what type of parent is so set on shipping their daughter off to a foreign country?!).  The problem is, there are too many choices!  I just can’t decide where to go.  Studying abroad is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I want to make sure I do it in the right place.

Panicked by all the choices, I tried to escape to the study longue only to find an SU Abroad photo contest.  All the photos where taken by Syracuse University students on their trips abroad.  The amazing photos made my thought process even more difficult.  I came to a conclusion right then -  I was going to hit up every SU Abroad meeting that week in order to help me decide where to go.  I urge everyone to find future meetings so you aren’t left to decide where to spend a semester of your life at the last minute.  Even if you are a freshman, it’s never to early to start preparing.

The website for SU Abroad is http://studyabroad.syr.edu/concrete/ and don’t forget to check out the photo contest upstairs in Schine and vote for your favorite online here.

RA Post Week: New Year’s Resolutions Can Be Flexible

Words By Satoia, Booth Fourth Floor RA

So, as of late February I have yet to make it to the gym. Being that I made my New Year’s Resolution more than a month ago, you would think I would be disappointed with myself.

However I feel quite contrary.

See the point of the matter is that I hate going to the gym. I feel that I am just entering another competition, everyone is trying to show off and, no matter what speed you go, the person next to you is going to try and outrun you on the treadmill. So I have decided to try Yoga in the comfort of my room using my favorite website… YOUTUBE!! I’m much more committed and I actually enjoy what I do.

So no matter what your New Year’s Resolution is, don’t feel bad about not sticking directly to your plan (which was probably something you hated anyway). Discover something you actually enjoy doing and a little positive reinforcement always helps the motivation

RA Post Week: Bored or Procrastinating? Some sites to feed your appetite!

Words By Sarah Rollins, Booth First Floor RA

The world wide web is an amazing resource in today’s day and age… but not just to do that final research paper.

The Web has opened up a whole new generation of web surfing procrastinators! Just keep in mind that after that fifth hour looking at your entire friend’s recent photos on Facebook, googling your name or even surfing between YouTube and Texts from Last Night; there are better ways to waste your time. Think of all the possibilities out there on the Web!

Here a just a few because we all know that when it’s 4am, no one is up and, yes, even this visit to the BKM Blog was a move toward procrastination.

(In no particular order…)

Google Earth – find your house, town, friends abroad, and even explore Mars!

Addicting Games –free games, enough said!

Flickr –you know you need a new picture for your computer background!

The Onion –semi-educational, and totally addicting!

Earthcam.com –watch in real-time what is going on in the streets of major cities across the world

IMDB –a great way to fuel that obsession with Sean Feris, now that you know all the movies he is in you can put them on you’re Netflix Queue.

Failblog.org –hilarious failed moment captured by video or picture

Sporcle.com –the ultimate time waster … because no one cares that you can name all the Disney movies ever released or that you know all the jelly belly flavors

Enjoy your procrastination! And feel free to add to the list…

Want to get involved this semester? Try International Young Scholars!

Words by Sundus, Booth Third Floor RA

Want to share the gift of knowledge?

VOLUNTEER MENTORS NEEDED!

International Young Scholars (IYS) is a program under the Office of Engagement Programs in Hendricks Chapel.

We’re now looking for new volunteer mentors to join this upcoming Spring semester in our Somali-Bantu mentoring program!

INFORMATIONAL MEETING NEXT SEMESTER:

TUESDAY JANUARY 26, 5-6:30pm

What is IYS?

Committed volunteers meet weekly to mentor their assigned teenage immigrant/refugee.  We have a weekly planned curriculum to guide mentors, but you can bring in your own resources (newspapers, magazines…) as well or play our fun literacy games with your kid, read books, go to cultural events (ex: dance performances, ice skating), etc.  You end up developing an older sibling bond with you mentee, and he/she looks up to you!

The program runs on two days…mentors choose one to commit to.

Saturdays, 8:30-11am, at Dr. King Elementary School, 416 E. Raynor Avenue

Mondays, 5:30-7:30, Centro Village Community Center, 212 Van Buren Street

Transportation is provided for SU students upon completion of a simple form.

What is IYS’s goal?

To promote literacy and academic success in a historically deprived community

Also, to connect them to the Syracuse community and to foster mentor-mentee bonds.

Who are the mentors?

Dedicated SU students, undergrad or grad! This past semester, we had about 50 awesome mentors!

Who are the mentees?

They are Somali-Bantu refugee teens, 7^th -9^th grade, ages ranging from 13-16.  They just jumped into the US education system and many struggle, because in their home country, they were denied formal education.

Whom do I contact for more info?

Email iys@syr.edu (I, Sundus, the Booth Floor 3 RA, will get back to you asap!)