Last year I participated in the Hillsdale College ACS Relay for Life and had a blast but there was little to personally connect me to the event. This past January, an elementary school friend died of cancer at the young age of 21. Because of this and others I have decided to renew and intensify my involvement with ACS and Relay for Life. This September 17th from 10:00 am - 10:00 pm we will again be having the Hillsdale College Relay for Life and I will be participating. Online registration and donations have been made available for this year and I want to ask all of you to help me raise money. Last year I did not ask for donations but this year I am. I want to raise as much money as possible to aid the fight against cancer!

My personal Relay page can be found here. You can make donations on that page. E-mail me if you have any questions.

Recently the Collegian and one of its staff writers both had something to say regarding the athletics at Hillsdale College.

The Collegian argues that, unless HC moves down to Division III athletics the majority of the athletic department will remain mediocre at best. Sayers (a college athlete) counters that Hillsdale's athletic program is experiencing and will continue to experience a good deal of success, neglecting the recent "successes" of many of the athletic programs. Neither of the articles propose a solution to the current state of affairs.

The Collegian staff admittedly neglect the amount of success that has been had in Division II and the step backwards Division III would be. Because Division III does not allow for athletic scholarships the entire athletic department would experience a changeover; many of the qualified athletes currently at Hillsdale would have never come here. This is not a negative reflection upon those athletes, it's just a statement of fact; why play the game you love at a school playing Division III without any financial offsetting when you can play Division II at a school that offers scholarships? The Collegian also contends that Hillsdale in Division III "would be able to support a greater range of teams, thus providing more opportunities for students to play sports," citing Albion's 18 programs (1800 student body) as a prime example. Unfortunately the incentive for the school to create more athletic programs is lacking and thus the probability that these programs would be created and developed is questionable. Needless to say, Division III would create a decreasing quality of athletes and athletic competition for what the Collegian seems to see as a financial benefit for the college.

Painted in clear opposition to his fellow staff writers, Tim Sayers' column also does not provide a clear solution. He argues favorably for the Division II athletic department, citing the successes of the cross country and volleyball programs and the moderate successes of the basketball teams. Neglected, of course, are the mediocre "accomplishments" of the football team the past many seasons, the last place finish of last year's baseball squad as well as the below .500 finish of the softball program. Needless to say, none of the programs have been particularly successful (with the exception of the cross country team). Sayers suggests that nothing need be done to the athletic department, that it will continue this moderate-at-best success without any assistance. The problem therein is that the teams have not been particularly consistent. While teams have had bright spots over the past many years, no team has been consistently successful or dominant. Sayers argues that the recruitment at Hillsdale will improve along with the teams successes. Unfortunately that leaves teams such as the baseball, football and softball programs out in the cold.

To solve the current problem, I propose the following solutions to increase the competitiveness and success of the Hillsdale College athletic teams.

1. Improve existing facilities: The facilities that exist are undersized for the teams, the student body and the community to use. While the school hopes to have the intramural building completed within the next year or two, the Roche Sports Complex could still use an upgrade. The room available restricts access and creates some scheduling nightmares; another gymnasium-style room would provide much more indoor practice room for the winter months. A facelift to the existing facilities also helps during the recruiting process as many athletes are drawn to the facilities that will best provide for their needs.

2. Increase program visibility. The game at Ford Field in November gave the football team a helpful publicity boost. The invitational tournaments the basketball teams participate in over Christmas are also great opportunities (the women's program knocked off the #1 team in the country at an invitational). These will also increase revenue and generate a fan base outside of Hillsdale County and a portion of alumni.

Hillsdale needs to commit to its athletic program or close it down. The college has a fifty-percent stance towards athletics: they exist here at Hillsdale without a doubt but the school has yet to come behind them and support them 100%. If this means finances, if this means new facilities, then so be it. But Hillsdale's academic values often leave the athletics on the side of the road; not abandoned but not embraced either. It is time for Hillsdale to back up their programs 100% and give them every opportunity to succeed. Charger teams are good enough to compete in Division II athletics but the school needs to determine whether or not they want them to be a high-quality successful representation of the institution in the same vein of the academic departments.

For those who didn't know, I an in this year's rejuvenation of the Shakespeare in the Arb. Maybe Wazoo and those who did Hamlet those years ago will be proud of me. I hope so. Wish y'all could be out here to see it.

Collegian Article on Shakespeare in the Arb.

Glad the last post and link made so many people laugh. I think I'll hang onto that one for a while just so I can look at it and laugh later on. For those who missed it, the overheard on campus in yesterday's Collegian had a quote from Matt Gaetano saying "If I had breast milk I'd sell it on Ebay." To be honest, that quote was so far out of context and misquoted that...well, it's really not even worth explaining the context. So just laugh at it and move on.

The week is over. Finally. This has been a ridiculously long week. I've been sick on and off. Lame. But that's the way the cookie crumbles. Or something like that.

For those of you at Hillsdale who read the Overheard on Campus in today's issue of the Collegian, this link will make you laugh (or perhaps offend you):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20406&item=4353209401&rd=1

Lauren Hemming ran for Cherry Festival Queen in 2004. She is seen here in front of her house on Old Mission Peninsula this June. Hemming died Thursday at the age of 21 after battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Cherry Queen candidate's journey ends

By BILL O'BRIEN Record-Eagle staff writer

TRAVERSE CITY - Lauren Hemming spent the final months of her short life transforming a terminal illness into an inspirational journey that touched friends, family and strangers alike.

Lauren is also survived by her father Jed and sister Lisa. A celebration of her life will be held Jan. 14 at 1 p.m. at the Hagerty Center at the Great Lakes Campus of Northwestern Michigan College.
__________________________________________________
I write clever words on paper
I sometimes think I don't believe at all
I've never felt so fake
So false I'm such a lie
I couldn't even look her in the eyes
She was 21 like I was
But she was frail and slowly going to die
She made my faith seem worthless
The things I hold were pointless
And she fought to stay but
Always dreamed that she could leave this place

The angels wings will cover you tonight
Hallejuah
Press your head
Against the breast of Christ
Hallejuah

It made me feel so empty
Passing softly behind her bedroom door
And isn't it just like me to mourn her passing breath
When she will never suffer anymore
Beautiful her pictures
Fading black and silver
And I sing of faith but hers was true and fierce
And I will miss her

The angels wings will cover you tonight
Hallejuah
Press your head against the breast of Christ
Hallejuah
The angels wings will cover you tonight
Hallejuah
Press your head against the breast of Christ
Hallejuah

(Not my words. But they apply)
_________________________________________________
Please pray for her family and friends during this difficult time.

Collegian Article from last spring

Record-Eagle Article from June

Collegian Article from this fall

Hillsdale is an interesting town when most of the college students are gone. It is very peaceful and pleasant. The snow is welcome, even though I have to walk everywhere. And I think that, once the construction is done at the school (we're talking, like, 15 years, of course) the campus will be beautiful. Right now it is pleasant or acceptable. But most of the buildings are too dull and void. They all have the drab 1960s feel to them, very Brady Bunch-esque.

One of my projects for I.T.S. right now requires me to evaluate and edit the blueprints for all of the buildings on campus (except for the dorm buildings). I have to take out any text or arrows because they will be used for the website eventually. We hope to create an interactive site that allows people to search for various parts of the buildings (bathrooms, computer labs, network ports, wireless availability, offices, classrooms, etc.) but we have to start with a blank blueprint, which I get to create.

What I meant to say was that I have found dozens of old blueprints, some dating back 50 years. They reveal some of the history of the college; how the student center was truly a student center, with the I.T.S. offices being a large game room and the current bookstore being the bowling alley. How cool would that be? Where a number of buildings used to be before they were torn down. It is very interesting to me to see that history. I wish I knew more about it. I think I will buy the books that Arlan Gilbert (the college historian) wrote so I can figure some more of it out.

Finally, I am finding so much more time to read now that there is no school. I work from 8:00 - 5:00 and I get to read after that. I feel great about it. Hopefully I will actually read some instead of hoping to do it and not actually accomplishing it.

So here is the real Thanksgiving break update.

The drive down to Atlanta was uneventful, yet fun. We arrived at Giles' house around midnight or one (I really don't remember). It was nice to be back there; I absolutely love her family. Wednesday we....relaxed around the house, I guess. Oh yeah, we visited her grandmother and some relatives on one side of the family in the morning, then spent the afternoon and evening relaxing and watching movies. The whole bunch of us went and saw National Treasure Wednesday evening. I am not going to post a lengthy review or such, except to say that I did enjoy it. Bruckheimer seems to be at the top of his game these days (what with his C.S.I. series and Pirates of the Caribbean) and I honestly did not find Nicholas Cage bugging the crap out of me like he has in other movies. Thursday was the traditional Thanksgiving meal with Giles's mother's family (they know how to do a Thanksgiving meal!) and then we went to see The Incredibles. Yeah, yeah, everyone else who reads this has probably seen it so I will just say that I laughed a lot and that I always have thought Craig T. Nelson rocks (voice of Mr. Incredible). Friday we decorated the house for Christmas (yes, it took most of Friday) and then Saturday we went shopping. Yesterday we came home without much of a problem trafficwise; we hit a jam in Indy that slowed us down about an hour but we missed the "Great Ohio Shutdown of 2004" as I think it shall be called. Seriously, it was a big deal since it seemed to affect 1/3 of the student body on their return trips to Hillsdale.

Now it is back to the daily grind for me. A test Wednesday, a test next Monday, two papers due next week and a number of quizzes. Oh yeah, there is the performance of Handel's Messiah this week which will consume ALL of this week, plus the Mu Alpha concert next Tuesday. And did I mention finals? I am highly anticipating December 15th.

One final, final note. I will be in Hillsdale most of Christmas break working. I have a job with I.T.S. that will pay me hefty sums of money and will give me many hours. At this point I will probably be here until the 23rd of December and be back on the 5th of January. That is the plan. I still have to work out travel arrangements. I hate not having a vehicle.

So right now I'm sitting in the computer lab, getting paid to surf the web and even work on homework occasionally. Plus Friday afternoons we get these training sessions (that we get paid to take) and after so many of them we get a raise. It is real nice, I get paid to sit here, get free training while I am at it and I will have a raise after about two more training sessions. Glorious.

Big news this weekend: Miss Giles does not have to be on duty in Mauck at all! I am very happy that she is an R.A. and all but it can be a bit tiresome when she has to sit desk every weekend. I feel bad for her when that happens. This weekend, as I said, she does not have to work. Which will let us hang out with our friends. She has decided to be absolutely amazing this evening and fix me dinner (I suppose it is in return for the dinner I fixed her last Sunday). Then it is off to the school's production of Phaedra and probably to Jordan's house with Jen and Whoooooolia. We'll see. I'll give you a rundown later on this weekend. Oh yeah, my friend Justin is supposed to come down on Saturday or Sunday. *Knocks on wood.* Here's hoping.

Today is a normal Saturday. Except that I have to work. And then we're going to Jackson. And then there is an emo/alternative band from Ohio that will be playing on campus this evening. Which is bizarre because there was a concert Thursday night as well. I think, if you count the concerts and events from the beginning of the year as well, Hillsdale has had four concerts this semester. Which is probably more than my first two years combined. You have to give credit to the Student Activities Board for their hard work. For being a small school in the middle of nowhere Michigan the SAB has been working hard to keep the complaints of the students at a minimum.

So that is what I am doing on this gorgeous autumn Saturday.