- Greek Life 101: More Than the Stereotypes!
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Hello!
The end is in sight, I am nearly finished. I’m not quite sure how I feel. On one hand, my responsibilities will be over; this burden will finally be lifted off my shoulders. No longer will I feel pressure to make the perfect decisions, to please the masses, to ensure the continuity and track record of excellence of the organization. On the other hand, how can I be too anxious to leave something that has taught me so much? Should I feel excited about giving up something that means so much to me? How should I feel about my term as President being over in my fraternity?
Last night, my fraternity held elections for chapter officers for the upcoming calendar year. A new president was elected, and my term will officially, forever, end in a few weeks. As I sit and reflect on my tenure over the past year, I can’t help but think how lucky I am to have had this opportunity.
Let’s face it, fraternities have a terrible reputation. Don’t disagree with me - I understand that most of you see fraternities as organizations that party and that make horrendous, stupid, ridiculously absurd decisions. Well….I won’t argue with you. Members of my chapter have partied, have done things they probably aren’t proud of, and have reaffirmed, in some cases, the very stereotypes that the general public holds. BUT, here’s the catch - negative notions about greek life is a miniscule percentage of what greek life is truly about (not to mention that just about every other major organization in existence runs into the very same problems that we do, it just isn’t as publicized). As a member of a greek organization, I am part of an organization that consistently holds above-average all-campus GPAs, that completes hundreds of community service hours per semester, that forms positive relationships with the community and university faculty and staff, that provides unlimited leadership and networking opportunities, and that develops the lives of men on a daily basis. What other kind of organization on campus provides these opportunities? As the president of my chapter, I have had the opportunity to lead a group of 74 college-aged men. I cannot think of any greater experience, trial, or test that would compare to what I have just been through; and for that, I am thankful. This is why greek life is more than the stereotypes.
My goal is not to persuade anyone to join a greek organization. It is simply to make the greek community more transparent with the general public so that you can at least understand what we are about. This is an incredibly brief overview, and doesn’t, now that I read what I have just written, cover any specifics whatsoever about how the greek system works or what experiences I have encountered. Which is why this will not be the only blog on greek life this year! Stay tuned for more about greek life and feel free to shoot any questions you have my way.
- Campus Construction - Sweet Action
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I am currently sitting in studio, on the fourth floor of the architecture building, mulling over the tasks that I need to accomplish for the rest of the day. I just finished my first pot of coffee for the morning, have about three bites left to go on my pop tart, and really really do not want to get started on being productive. So, I thought I'd blog for a bit and see where that took me...
I'm looking outside and see the new addition to Irving Gym being constructed accross the street. It looks AWESOME. I mean, really really awesome. Construction on this thing has been going on since summer and it has been a blessing to be able to sit four stories up every day and watch this get built. I'm not going to lie, I'm impressed. I don't know who designed this addition or even what the end product is going to look like, but it looks pretty amazing right now. This is just another example of campus construction that is taking place. The student center is under major renovation, Kinghorn Residence Hall is being built just down the street, and Dehority Residence Hall just got completed this summer. It really seems as if there is always an improvement being made somewhere - which I think is pretty cool. It creates a sense of excitement and progressive change on campus. This has been happening since I was a freshman. I remember coming here and being impressed by the changes that were going on then - those don't even come close to the changes that are occurring NOW. It is absolutely incredible the amount of transformation this campus has seen over the past four years. And the neat thing is, it is only going to continue to improve.
I just thought I'd touch on that while I was thinking about it. Not really too much else for now. I have to give a presentation on Karumba and Normanton in Australia later this afternoon, so I'm really getting geared up for that....kind of. Stay classy, readers, and I'll talk to you later.
- SWINE FLU OUTBREAK!!!
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Good Afternoon!
It’s a dreary day today in Muncie, but at least it is relatively warm outside. The last 48 hours have been filled with contemplation about the much talked about H1N1 Virus, also known as…THE SWINE FLU. Whooooaaaaaa, the Swine Flu has officially, for a good while now, settled at Ball State. This summer I heard stories about this mystery flu and pictured mass pandemonium, people jumping out of windows, hordes of students running through the streets, and cars running off the road. Instead, what I see on campus is nothing but a completely normal October day. People still walk the streets, professors still give out the same amount of homework, and I for one still spend large chunks of time playing minesweeper on my computer when I need a tiny break in the day. I believe we’ve had several confirmed cases of the Virus on campus, and most recently, a fraternity brother of mine, who lives down the hall, in a house with 27 other college aged men, has been confirmed. (We refer to his room as the Swine Flu Epicenter).
Now, I need you to understand that I am NOT trying to dissuade you from coming to Ball State. My point is, through all the hubbub about this crazy Virus, that our Health Center on campus is one of the best there is. There is no other place, that I know of, better equipped to manage and care for sick students than the Ball State University Health Center. And believe me, I’ve been there plenty of times. As a freshman and sophomore, I had to visit the Health Center once a month to receive allergy shots. Since then, I have visited for cases of strep throat, the flu, and most recently, a series of rabies shots that I don’t really care to talk about in more depth. I’ve heard from friends at Purdue and IU and other Universities about their health centers, and I can say without a doubt that Ball State is the best there is. Although the wait during these times of year tend to get a little long (it all depends on when you go during the day), the staff and help that they are able to offer are excellent. Especially during a time filled with turmoil and swine-anxiety, knowing that I have the Health Center right on campus is comforting.
As far as I have heard, people who have been infected with the Virus have been ok. Depending on when they start taking medication, their symptoms are over in a few days to a week. I keep waiting for the Virus to hit me, especially living in a setting that is home to so many other people at such a close proximity - although, I suppose students all across the country in residence halls are running into the same problems. No use in complaining, bring it on, hit me with your best shot!
- Be an Honors College Peer Mentor? Molding the Brilliant Minds of Young Freshman Since 2008...
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Hi!
I am almost officially finished with being a peer mentor for this semester. You see, I am in the Honors College here at Ball State, and one of the advantages of being in the Honors College is the opportunities provided that you could not receive elsewhere. I applied for and have been, for the last two years, what is referred to as a “peer mentor”. Freshman Honors College Students are required to take a course called Honors 100, an eight week course that is taught by fellow students, or peers, in the Honors College.
Honors 100 aims to help freshman make the transition from high school to college, to help freshman get accustomed to campus, and most importantly, to give freshman students the tools and knowledge needed to excel their next three, four, or five years here at Ball State. Some of the topics that I have covered with my Honors 100 class include the Career Center, Bracken Library, Greek Life, Scholarship Opportunities, Extra-Curricular Activities, Campus Resources, Class Planning, and many others. My class had eight people in it this year, including myself, and was an absolutely great experience.
Being an Honors College Peer Mentor gives me the opportunity and ability to help freshman the best they can, gain leadership experience, and most importantly for me, to get involved in another, different campus organization. Being involved so much in my Fraternity can be overwhelming at times; which makes participating more heavily in the Honors College somewhat of a relief.
This week as a whole has been decent. Late nights and early mornings have been the daily rule, as have been increasingly colder and colder weather. Regardless, the weekend is almost here! Get excited!!!
Regards,
Mike
- Washington and Architecture
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Good afternoon everyone!
Today marks the beginning of a new week. I am back from D.C., Homecoming is over, and school is back in swing. Wow, that’s slightly depressing now that I think about it. I’m not entirely sure I’m ready for the week and what’s to come - do you ever get that feeling that you are completely and absolutely unprepared for the next few days? I know I have projects to finish, and start for that matter, homework to do, meetings to attend, and emails to respond to. But, I guess there really isn’t too much I can do about it…except do it…so I might as well press on and finish what’s in front of me.
As mentioned, I was in D.C. last week for an architecture field study. Ball State’s College of Architecture and Planning (commonly referred to as CAP) takes an ENTIRE week off of school each fall semester. That’s right - the entire college takes a week off and travels the country. Freshman go to Chicago each year, sophomores visit a series of cities in Canada (I believe they went to Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto this year), and juniors and seniors go all over the place, depending on what professor you have (last year I went to San Francisco and this year, obviously, D.C.). It is a stress-free week full of fun, excitement, and awesome architecture. Field Trip week is unlike any other college at Ball State and unlike any other architecture program that I have encountered. In my opinion, field trip week is one of the biggest things that CAP has to offer. It is exciting and even more importantly is a great learning experience for young, aspiring architects yearning for knowledge and experiences.
As seniors, we have a lot more flexibility to ‘make the most’ out of our respective field trip weeks. Washington offers so many opportunities and so many experiences that we could not fit them all in the time we had to spend. The days in D.C. consisted of going on tours, visiting significant buildings, and experiencing the culture and ‘feel’, if you will, of the city. It was tremendous being able to experience so much architecture, at such a monumental scale. The Supreme Court and Capital Building are both exquisite, as are most of the other buildings along the Mall. Now that I think about it, everything about the Mall and the buildings on it was amazing. However, I think my favorite building visited was our visit to Sidwell Middle School, the first LEED-Platinum rated school in the country. LEED is a rating system established by the USGBC (United States Green Building Council) and rates structures on their sustainable features and green initiatives. LEED-Platinum is the highest honor available and was DEFINITELY evident in the design of the school. Green roofs, re-harvested materials, geothermal technology, wetlands, daylighting design, and a number of other issues were absolutely incredible. President Obama’s daughter also goes to this Middle School, which made it that much more interesting.
The transition from Washington to Muncie is certainly not an easy one, as I am battling right now. But I suppose it is good to be back. I think I got spoiled last week not really having to do anything and now I am feeling the harsh and destructive after-effects. This week will be fine, and I hope yours are as well.
Have a great week everyone!
- Seasons Greetings and Salutations!
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Readers, my name is Michael Niezer and I will be taking you through the everyday life…of my life…here at Ball State. I will be blogging about the ins and outs, ups and downs, and overs and unders of life as a Ball State student over the course of this new, exciting, sparkling, dazzling, and hopefully scintillating academic year. I had the great opportunity to blog last year and am motivated to get to it and do it again!
For those of you who don’t know me and are unfamiliar with my ways, my full name is Michael Bernard Niezer Esquire Extraordinaire. You can call me Mike for short. I am a senior this year, majoring in Architecture and minoring in Historic Preservation. I am graduating this MAY!!! I am the current president of my fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta (commonly known as Fiji) and am involved in a number of other organizations on campus including the Honors College and Cardinal Corps. My favorite season of the year is Fall, my favorite color changes on a daily basis, and the most annoying sound in the world is the sound of somebody chewing ice. I try and enjoy life to its fullest and think of myself as an incredibly optimistic person. I have been told that I have a unique ability to make a normal situation incredibly awkward but entirely enjoyable, all at the same time. I'm not sure how to respond to that, but I think I am ok with it.
Ladies and gents, this is how this will work. I will blog about my experiences as a Ball State student, good and bad, for the remainder of this year. I can promise you that what I write will be a real representation of the campus and life as a student. You have questions, are unsure of different things, and want to know what exactly life is like for a Ball State Student. I am here to answer those questions – it is my job, so to speak. I welcome, with open arms and an accepting mind, any and all questions that you have for me – give me your best shot!
I would attach some pictures so that you could start to associate my writing with a face, but am currently in Washington, D.C. for an architecture field study and am unable to load them to the computer. I'm actually on my way out the door to have a dinner party with my boy President Obama as I type. You know, talk a little politics, discuss foreign policies, speak intellectually about the greater things in life, and bounce jokes off of one another. He is such a jokester sometimes. Sigh, if only any of that was true. Please be patient and I will be with you in a few short days! I'll have to tell you all about my trip. I really am very much looking forward to blogging again this year. I am excited to hopefully interact a little bit more with my readers, what with photos and jaw-dropping live video coverage of those exciting and monumental events of my life.
Stay in touch, I’ll be back with you in a few days. Until then, everyone have a great last few days of September!
Signing out,
Mike