Classic Bev

Hooray for low key birthdays! I went out to dinner with my twin sister Amanda and my mom, spoke with friends and family on the phone, and that was it. It was a much needed break from campus and it was only a day and a half long! Now I’m just finishing up some work, continuing to revise my IS, and watching The Office (one of my many TV obsessions) and random foreign films. Seniors are starting to come back in full force, which I think will do nothing but help me focus on finishing IS (or so I like to tell myself).

PS, I sent out my first resume on Friday as well…real world, here I come!!

So the past few weeks have been so crazy, I feel the need to update. IS kind of consumed my life for about a week until my full draft was due but then I got to sit around and relax. Well, maybe not relax, but certainly focus on a bit that wasn’t class-related. Last Friday President Bill Clinton was speaking here in Wooster along with John Glenn and so I went to see him with some of my coworkers. I asked my advisor to go as well (and to bring her cute kids, because there’s nothing like using kids to get a good photo op with someone, haha) so that she could see if my argument in my IS about his rhetoric is correct. And it is! I was so excited, it was definitely a relief, especially after working so hard to get my draft in. That night, I went to the Jazz Ensemble concert to watch my friend Karl rock the sax and I have to say that it is the most fun I have had in a long time. I made my friend Gump go with me and we were dancing in our seats, it was ridiculous. The theme was “A Night in Havana: Three Generations of Afro-Cuban Jaxx” and the featured performer was a Cuban musician named Chuchito Valdes, who is possibly the funniest man I’ve ever seen. Not only was he amazingly talented, but he found a way to connect to the audience despite his poor English. I used to go to all of the band concerts in high school because my friends were in band, but I haven’t been to one since I graduated and I’m so glad I did.

Now it’s Spring Break and I’m still in Wooster, as are a lot of seniors. Spring Break is two weeks long, specifically so that seniors have time to finish IS without classes distracting them. The sports teams travel, as do the band and the chorus. I’ve been working during the day and spending some quality time with my friends (and my IS) at night. It’s been very surreal, because I got my graduation announcements this morning and it’s my future in a bag! Or at least, that’s what I’ve been yelling at people at work.

So last night, I decided to attend the play “The Good Woman of Setzuan” at Freedlander Theater on campus. I went in support of my friend Stefanie Genda, a senior theatre major whom I have known since my first day on campus. Stef and I were in the same First Year Seminar, Utopian and Dystopian Visions, and our class met on the first day of orientation in McGaw, where Stef and I realized we had equally consuming addictions to the Gap. I didn’t get the chance to see her senior IS project (a part of which were the costumes for our fall performance of Caberet, because it sold out so quickly!!) so I wanted to make it a point to go to “The Good Woman of Setzuan.” I went by myself but ended up (by total coincidence, which I love) sitting next to one of the Peanuts, Erica (you can see her in the Cavs picture below).

The play was fantastic, I was really blown away. Now to be fair, it was two and a half hours long (Stef, I love you, but a heads up wouldn’t have hurt, if only so I could have had dinner beforehand. I almost ate my program. ) but “The Good Woman of Setzuan” was well worth it. A play that looks to define self-interest and altruism concurrently and how they can somehow both exist in one person, “The Good Woman of Setzuan” was honestly the best two and a half hours I’ve spent in a long time.

So there’s my rave review. Our theatre department never fails to impress me, no matter how high they continue to raise their own standards. Last year, Wooster’s production of Nocturne was chosen as one of four collegiate plays in the country to be performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. I’m watching the Oscars right now, which may be helping my writing, if only because I am an absolute film nerd and LOVE intelligent and thought-provoking film, television, and theatre. It’s also nice to have a hobby that doesn’t necessarily require me to change out of my pajamas some days…

As promised, tales of the Cavs game from Wednesday (the pic is myself, Jackie, Gump, Marguerite, and Erica–all Peanuts–at the game in Cleveland): A group of about 30 Wooster students headed up to Cleveland Wednesday afternoon for the Cavs-Spurs game. We were all pumped because we knew it was going to be a good game plus WAC had chosen one of the games where they give away t-shirts. And there is nothing I like more than free things. So we ran around the Q (Quicken Loans Arena, or the Gund, which is what most Ohioans still call it) filling out surveys about what type of car we would purchase (apparently I’m interested in leasing a GMC…) in order to get more free t-shirts. Good times.

The game was way too close for comfort, SO intense. I sat with a bunch of the girls from my club, the Peanuts, and really enjoyed just spending a little time off campus. Probably would have enjoyed it more if we had won, but what can you do? I also ran into a few people from high school, which was random but nice. It’s funny how much I forget that I go to school an hour away from home. That distance really is what you make it. Wooster could easily be a suitcase school for me, but I would miss so much of what is going on around campus. I think that’s the mentality for most of the students here at Wooster. WAC arranges so many events both on and off campus, in addition to all of the sporting events, lectures, movies, comedians, etc that are constantly happening around campus.

Speaking of sporting events, the Woo-Witt game on Saturday? AHHHHHHH!! That’s all I have to say about that one…nice to watch an intense basketball game that went in our favor. For those of you unfamiliar with the fanaticism behind Wooster and Wittenberg: the Tigers are our big rival, but it never manifests itself more than in basketball season. Saturday was a completely packed house, which means over 3000 fans there to support. And we had a white out, so all of the fans wore white. The best part of that (besides a few of the football players painting themselves white, which was entertaining) was how all of the community (aka the town of Wooster) came dressed in white too. There’s such solidarity between the College and the town that doesn’t really exist where I live. It makes the games that much better.

I’m off to do a focus group for one of the professors (I’m always willing to help, plus remember what I said about liking free stuff? Try a $50 gift certificate to Amazon…all over it) and then it’s more IS time…wish me luck!

This past weekend was Winter Gala and it was a blast! Free cheesecake (pictured below, that’s me on the left and my friend Meghan on the right), great band, getting the chance to dress up? I’m all over it. The band was this cool Caribbean-type group, plus there was a DJ, so lots of dancing and desserts ensued.

Winter Gala is such a funny event because you can usually label what year the students are based on what they’re wearing. My first year, my friends and I dressed to the nines and headed over to Lowry, only to find half of the people there in jeans and sweats. That’s when I realized that first years dress up because they’re used to high school dances; sophomores and juniors dress down because they know they can get away with it (having seen the sophomores and juniors the year before dressed like that); seniors dress up because it’s their last Winter Gala. Last year, for example, I definitely went in my pajamas, enjoyed the free dessert, danced around like an idiot for a few minutes, and hung out for the rest of the night in my dorm.

Winter Gala is a great event put on by the ever-present Wooster Activities Crew. I went on a WAC trip this past Wednesday to a Cavs game, which I’ll tell you about tomorrow…ps, speaking of WAC, can I venture that my procrastination is wholly due to Woo mooVs (it’s really not, but I’m not accepting responsibility right now for my delaying my drafts, haha)? Yes, that looks like gibberish if you don’t know what it is, but we have a movie channel here at Wooster and the school gets the rights to about 10 films a month. This month, I have probably watched Dreamgirls with some of the football team at least three times (sorry to call you out, guys…). It’s also Jamie Foxx month apparently, because in addition to Dreamgirls, they’re also showing The Kingdom and Collateral (which is possibly one of the scariest movies to wake up to EVER. It’s very loud and Tom Cruise is very scary). Anyhoosiers, it’s crunch time on some homework since I had class cancelled this morning…

So my sincerest apologies for not having written recently, my schedule has been loaded with activities. With new classes (which I love), IS (which I’m pulling an all nighter for as I type…don’t you love procrastination?), new member education, and this plague that I’ve recently acquired which left me in the Wellness Center for four days, I just haven’t found the time to sit down and fill everyone in on my goings on. Speaking of the Wellness Center, I believe I will use this space as a shout out to the wonderful staff over there. I don’t think I could have been helped by more sweet and wonderful people than if my mom happened to work there or something. The opportunity to stay in a private room, sleep when I needed to (which was frequently), have food brought to me from Lowry, and watch more America’s Next Top Model than you can shake a stick at was really what I needed to recuperate and replenish my energy.

I have an exciting couple of days coming up too. Winter Gala is this weekend, which always promises the requisite silly outfits (do they really still sell ruffle shirts?) and TASTY desserts. I’ll also be going to the Cavs-Spurs game on Wednesday with the Wooster Activities Crew and will recount all of the goodness from there as well, since I’ve lived in Ohio for 18 years and have never been to a Cavs game. Now, I’ll be missing Project Runway, but I think I’ll survive. Hopefully…

Wish me luck on this IS thing, my third chapter is due in about 10 hours…AHHH!!

It’s been a nice break, but how great to be back in Wooster! The weather is doing that weird Ohio thing where last week there was snow everywhere and yesterday it was 65 degrees. Ohio, what are we going to do with you? There are a ton of people coming back onto campus today and tomorrow for athletics and IS (a lot of the seniors like to come back and keep working on IS without having to worry about classes). I’ve eaten in Mom’s (the “truck stop” on campus, it’s like tasty diner food) for lunch every day this week, a habit that will stop once Lowry opens back up. I know college food gets a bad reputation, but I love Lowry food. Especially after studying abroad and eating plain pasta and potatoes and bread twice a day every day for four months, Lowry seems to have every option in the world to me. I’m a big fan of the deli station, especially since (SPOILER ALERT!) you can get a panino (yes, panino, not panini) every day. You just have to ask nicely.

I’m excited about classes starting for this spring. It’s a sad feeling though, I can’t believe it’s my last semester. I’m taking some great classes though, including Roman Archaeology and Art with Dr. Lucey, who is apparently one of the funniest professors on campus. The course will be difficult to say the least, but it’ll be worth it, I can feel it. I’m also taking a Comparative Literature class and, of course, INDEPENDENT STUDY.

I was just looking at my calendar and my IS is due in 37 DAYS. Oh man. I may have just had a coronary. Now, if you do the math, IS Monday is WAY later than 37 days from now, but my advisor and I set up a plan so that I have almost a month for her to read and for me to edit before it’s really due. Also, it means I have a safety net in case I get hit by a horrible case of procrastination-itis. Which is a serious possibility. Because I’m me. Luckily, not only do I have an advisor who keeps me motivated and on track, but I have friends that do as well. My hallmates literally harass me if they see me slacking. They are probably why I have so much written, actually. So I guess I’ll go thank them for yelling at me…

(I’ve included a pic of my baby Geo Prizm, he was a very good first car to me and hopefully he can go be someone else’s first car…a lot of memories with that one, like accidentally leaving my friend Hilary hanging out of the back and driving away—this was after a four night all-nighter stretch—told you I procrastinate…)

As I relax in my friend’s overly spacious dorm room across campus, here are the antics referenced earlier, as promised:

So every year for I don’t even know how long, Eta Sigma Phi (the Classics honorary) has gone Latin caroling to the homes of professors and administrators. It is my favorite event of the year (besides Classics Day) and it always involves a lot of dessert, which automatically makes it better. This year was no different; about 10-15 of us (Classics majors, Psychology majors, English majors, majors galore!) went to six different houses singing such favorites as “Adeste Fideles” and “Rudolphe Naso Rubro” (a crowd favorite). We also got funding from the College to have a banquet dinner beforehand, so we made spaghetti, breadsticks, salad (okay, we didn’t make the salad so much as open bags…), and had a hearty meal before we braved the cold.

This event is incredibly near and dear to my heart. My first year, I went caroling and ended up meeting students who are now some of my closest friends. There’s something about singing in Latin in the freezing cold huddled around each other and then consuming homemade cookies that makes a group bond. Caroling for me is so inclusive and friendly, it’s something I truly enjoy, as do all of the other students that participate. The event is open to all students, so please feel free to join us next year! I’ll be there in spirit…

With exams over, it’s nice to take a few days to relax. I’ll head home for the holidays late next week and then come back to Wooster about a week earlier than most other students. What’ll be nice, besides getting the chance to work on IS without having to worry about classes, is that many of my senior friends will be coming back early for the same reason. It’s always good to have people to visit during my library sessions. My “IS fairies” are at it again as well—two incredibly sweet girls from my department who leave cute notes and gifts on our carrels. Having a “celebrity word find” book has been more helpful than they know when I need to take a break (or procrastinate)…

So the last week of class seemed to fly by and all of a sudden, here I am with one exam left, wondering ‘where did all the time go?!’. I’ve had a crazy couple of weeks, starting with a huge service project we did for World AIDS Day. A group of Peanuts (my social club) and I went over to the Quad and helped set up and light luminarias in the shape of a huge red ribbon for AIDS awareness. Now, if I can impart some advice about Ohio in early December–just because it’s not snowing does not mean you don’t need gloves. I’m pretty sure my fingers are going to fall off any day now. I actually had a really great time, though, except we kept accidentally lighting bags on fire. Luckily, one of the football players was armed with a fire extinguisher (and at times, his shoe), so nothing got too out of control.

I finished up IS for this semester, which I could not be more relieved about. I’ve completed my intro, lit review (which has been a sore spot for me; just ask my advisor after she read my SIXTH draft, haha), and my first two chapters. Over break is going to be my BIG hermeneutic analysis for both Cicero’s Pro Caelio and Clinton’s four public addresses. It’s going to be really intensive, but I’m actually really excited about it. That’s what is funny about IS, ask any senior—we get stressed every now and again, but we all love our topics–my friends light up when they talk about theirs. We wouldn’t have come up with them if we didn’t. I love getting the opportunity to talk about mine, and I find that I get asked about it a lot, so it’s good practice for me and it helps me figure out where I’m going with it.

I’m off to lunch with the professors in the department, which reminds me that I need to tell everyone about my department and our crazy activities! Soon…

So sooner or later, I knew I would end up writing about Independent Study (IS). It’s such an integral part of my education here and something that I really love to do, so it only seems natural to write about it. Plus, this is the perfect lull in my timeline, because I just turned in my first chapter yesterday and my IS presentation (kind of like preliminary orals) is tomorrow.

I may be a Classical Studies major, but my IS is pretty interdepartmental: I’m looking at a speech of Cicero’s called Pro Caelio and how he uses rhetorical devices and gendered language to literally tear apart the woman involved in the case. Then I’m comparing and contrasting those devices with the rhetoric and language that Bill Clinton used when addressing Monica Lewinsky in the press, since both Cicero’s Clodia and Clinton’s Lewinsky are constantly referred to as “that woman.” I love working on it, especially since I get to look so far outside of my field of study because I am not at all familiar with contemporary politics: my brain is pretty much set 2000 years ago!

IS is actually one of the reasons that I came here to Wooster–I did three independent studies in high school with my Latin teacher, Rob Susel. One focused on a teaching lesson plan for a mythology unit, one was a look at the success of Diocletian and his tetrarchy, and one was an extra credit journal that I designed for the high school students for the Latin Club’s trip to Italy my freshman year of college. When I was looking at schools, Wooster’s IS program really stood out to me. Essentially, it’s an undergraduate thesis project, but it’s definitely something you work towards while you’re here. There are the obvious stepping stones, like First-Year Seminar (FYS) and your writing intensive class and Junior Independent Study, but I never realized how much information I would take from all of my other classes too. The critical thinking and independent development that the professors foster in all of your other classes certainly has an impact as well.

Now as a senior, I may be familiar with the accolades from places like US News and World Report and the New York Times—but I think the most support and praise comes straight from Wooster. I must have five or six notes in my carrel (my desk in the library, each senior gets one) saying things like “You can do it!” and “Take a break and dance! Dancing is integral to the IS process…” and it’s the little gestures that make me feel like part of something great. I feel so prepared for my presentation tomorrow because I get asked about my IS constantly by other students.

I don’t think someone can see the support on campus for IS and for the seniors personified more than on IS Monday. Independent Study is due on the Monday after Spring Break and at 5:00 on that day, all of the seniors are led around campus (it’s called the IS March) by the bagpipers and the Dean of Faculty. The best part of the March, however, is everyone who lines the walkways: the rest of the student body (so about 1300 students), all of the professors, many of the coaches, and a lot of the members of the town of Wooster as well. The College constantly feels like such a community to me, but I don’t know if there is anything more emotional than a senior’s IS March. I’m really looking forward to it, especially since IS Monday comes faster than you know…

Off to put the final touches on my presentation…