Mentee/Mentor Events Au 2012

Though I had little time this past semester to devote to Humanities Scholars, I did take sometime to fulfill my position as a mentor to Samantha, Kristen, and Stephanie. Shelby and I met with our mentees to have dinner at NoCo mid-semester during Mentor week. The five of us spend over an hour sharing advice about freshman year, and getting to know each other. The second time I visited my mentees, I stopped and visited the 3rd floor of Haverfield for old-time sake. I was great to see all the new faces on the 3rd floor, and remember how great it was living there last year!

Election Viewing Party 2012

After waiting patiently in line and casting my first ever vote, I attended the Viewing Party that was held in Woody's Tavern in The Union. I was sadly disappointed to find that very few of my fellow scholars were in attendance, at least during the time that I spent there. Though I did not watch with any of the Humanities Scholars, I did run into my boss, many residences of Morrison Tower, and quite a few PSL Scholars.

Wexner Film Party

The Wexner film party was great.  I got to see lots of great art work I had never seen before.  There was free food, which is always great, and I got to see Gordon Gee.  I didn't get to stay long but the time that I was there was great.

Au 2012 Events

This semester I had the pleasure of having a conversation partner through the ALP Program. I have been partners with Mohammed for a year now and it is nice to see how our friendship has evolved. Sadly he is finished with the ALP program and will be going to Wright State next semester, so I will be getting a new partner. It was great to see how his English improved from our first meeting to our last meeting. Being an English conversation partner has been one of my favorite experiences at Ohio State. I also attended the Dracula ballet. I had only attended dance performances at Ohio State so seeing a professional ballet for the first time was cool although our students are just as talented. The stage for Dracula was really cool and all the props were very artistic. The backdrop was the main part of the scenery and it was cool when the scene in the ballet mirrored the image on the backdrop. I was not familiar with the plot of Dracula beforehand and without words it did get a bit confusing but was still very interesting. I also attended a book discussion for Dr. Lilia Fernandez, a professor in OSU's history department. She talked about her new book that focuses on the immigration of Puerto Ricans and Mexican's in Chicago, her home town. She discussed why she wrote the book in the first place and how it was a very personal experience for her because she loves Chicago so much. She looks at immigration in a whole new way and how there is a major problem with racial discrimination between immigration fluxes. Dr. Fernandez's book seems very interesting and I would love to read it over break. Lastly I went to Cocoa and Cookies. It was very nice to get a sweet treat in the midst of crazy stressful finals week. It was also a good opportunity for old Haverfield people to reunite. There were a lot of great events offered this semester and I hope to go to more next semester!

Humanities 2012

This semester i first went to the mentor ice cream social. It was fun to talk to all our mentees, since we got together for dinner the night before. It was fun to hear how their freshman experience was going and give them advice.
Treat the Hungry was a great event as well.It was fun to basically go trick or treating like a little kid again, only for a great cause. It was fun to get together with people from the Hav last year as well, even though it was cold and rainy. I definitely want to go again next year.
The next event I went to was the Humanities Film Festival. All the videos were so well done and a lot of them were really funny. I was surprised at how great all of them were and was glad I went.
Finally, I stopped by the Cocoa and Cookies event. It was a nice break from a long week of studying for all my finals.

Humanities Flag Football

This past semester our humanities group managed to ban together a team for flag football. Playing on the team was a good experience for everyone. Students from freshmen to juniors played which I believe made the experience a little different than last year. This gave the freshmen a chance to meet older students (other than their mentors) and brought everyone together through a shared interest. Although it was only four games spread over two months, it was enjoyable. Connections through shared interests (athletics, music, etc.) seem to create the most lasting friendships. I had a great time this year, met some great people, and would recommend more people to join next year whether you enjoy sports or not, it's always fun.

Resume Writing Workshop

I attended the Resume Writing Workshop and it definitely got me thinking about making some changes to my own resume.  After the workshop, I worked on my resume and then followed the lecturer's advice and went to walk in office hours in the career services building.  They were so incredibly helpful! In only a short matter of time, and I must admit quite a bit of red ink they completely turned around my resume. Then I went back another time after I made their suggested changes, this time there were only a few changes to be made.  Now because of the workshop, I have a much better resume and my very own internship adviser. I greatly recommend going to visit the career services in the basement of Townsend if you have any questions about internships or resumes or interviews really anything about the "real world"

Lane Avenue Residence Hall Hanted house

This fall I was able to help participate in an awesome fundraiser. The Lane Avenue Residence Hall held a haunted house this year in order to collect caned food.  I got to help set up and decorate the rooms for both my floor and the oa staff at lane.  We spent hours artistically draping spider webs, painting bookshelves and synchronizing strobe lights.  Then on the Wednesday night before Halloween, I got to act in the haunted house as well; dressed in all black with white masks me and some twenty others stood in a single room and led those brave enough to enter the haunted house through a maze of people into the next room.  It was a lot of fun setting up and acting with my friends but the best thing about it was the fact that we gathered hundreds of canned goods for those less fortunate. Next year try to check out the Horror On Lane if you are brave enough.

Scavenger Hunt

I am so glad I signed up to be a Humanities Mentor.  Although I haven’t done as much as I would have liked with my mentees, it has still been a wonderful experience.  The idea that I can help someone and understand what they are going through (the craziness of freshman year) means a lot! One of the first things I got to take part in with my mentees was the Scavenger Hunt.  It was great to do the same thing as last year and to reminisce about just how far we all have come.  To teach the freshman a few things was really neat.  I also learned a lot from them about campus that I didn’t know either.  I think that is the whole point of this experience- to learn from one another and help out no matter what grade level or experience you have! 

Presidential Election Party

For the very first time this year, I voted in a presidential election!  Not normally being a political guru, the election buzz was something new to me.  The fact that I could now voice my opinion through a vote made it a lot more important to me.  Unlike any other election, I made sure to watch the debates, read newspaper articles, and even attend the PSL presidential election watch party at the Union.  Complete with very good cookies and a map coloring page, it was fun to be in the middle of the hype while the race unfolded.  People would cheer, "boo," and participate in trivia games as states were won by the candidates.  Going to watch Obama on the oval and making sure I truly understood my side on each topic made it the most memorable election that I have experienced yet.

Cocoa and Cookies Get Together

After studying in Thompson with my books and notebooks flung around me for the majority of the day, the Humanities Scholars 'Cocoa and Cookies' get together was a great way to unwind and catch up with friends. Now a sophomore, seeing everyone from Haverfield is difficult, but this get together allowed me to see some of my old-floormates from last year!   Not only was it nice to reminisce about old times in Haverfield, but it was also great to drink some hot chocolate, eat cookies, and talk about how finals were going.  After a long 15 weeks, it was exciting to talk about Christmas and everyone's plans for break.  

Lane Avenue Haunted House

Although unable to attend the Humanities Scholar's "Treat the Hungry" on Halloween, some of my friends and I participated in a haunted house that took place in our very own residence hall!  There were clowns, characters from horror movies such as "The Ring" and "Chucky," a room full of masked, white faces, and a multitude of other things that go "bump" in the night.  Not only was this an amazing way to spend my Halloween, but it also collected canned goods for the Mid-Ohio Food bank.  The residence hall's first haunted house drew in a crowd of 562 people and collected over 700 nonperishable food items.  If you haven't been a part of a haunted house, I would consider it.  It's definitely something that I will be crossing off of my bucket list.

Humanities Film Festival

I was very impressed by the film festival. The topic was creative, and the videos were entertaining. It was especially rewarding to watch my mentee's films and see the effort they put into their work. The humor and liveliness infused into many of the videos made it an enjoyable event. I was glad to go to the event since I didn't attend last year's, and I was especially impressed by the Wexner Film Center. Overall it was a lovely night and I was glad to experience it.

Madrigal

I am in the Medieval and Reniassance Performer's Guild and we hold a madrigal every year, which is really more of a dinner and variety show than a madrigal.  I really enjoyed my participation in the show this year.  I was barely in anything last year and none of the shows were shows I planned, but this year I was the director of the plotline running through the show and I started up a bunch of shows that I wanted to see happen.  I also chose a very bouncy and energetic character this year, which takes a lot of energy, but was fun to perform.  If anyone's really interested, one of the member's parents recorded the show and posed it on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-jT_yGW4xF5ukIIX3xnGzx4HsR5Xbgn_&feature=edit_ok.

--Sarah Barringer

Treat the Hungry

On Halloween, we went to a neighborhood to ask for non-perishable food items for the Mid-Ohio Foodbank. Some people dressed up in costumes, others went in street clothes. While collecting, mostly canned goods, I didn't feel like we had accumulated very much food, but when we got back to Haverfield, there was a huge pile of goods. We ended up collecting more food than last year! I had a good time while doing this, and we even ended up getting some candy as well!

Dracula

I went to see BalletMet's performance of Dracula on November 1st. The Humanities Scholars went with the Arts Scholars to see the ballet. It was spectacular and I really enjoyed it, well because I dance ballet myself. Throughout the performance, I kept on comparing it to the play version of Dracula that my high school performed. The ballet's version was much less gory and less dramatic than the play's version. I really loved the ballroom scene because the costumes were absolutely beautiful! It was different to watch a ballet from the audience's perspective because I haven't been to very many ballet performances. It was definitely an interesting experience!

Mentor/Mentee Scavenger Hunt

The scavenger hunt was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it more this year than last year, partially because I knew the answers to the clues, but also because I knew my peers better (fellow mentors, and group we teamed with). The weather was lovely, and it was fun to introduce the mentees to Ohio State, and where different places are located. The time seemed appropriate, and popsicles are always a delicious way to end a group activity!

Rocktober

So, this was a week ago now that I went to Rocktober, which is a swing dance event in Columbus.  I didn’t feel the need to pay the money for the lessons, but I went to the dance on Friday and Saturday night and I had a lot of fun.  I’ve been to a few of these dances before – none of them so blissfully close – and it’s been an interesting progression from too shy to ask people to dance to barely dancing because I’m talking to other people.  Other than really enjoying swing dance by itself, I find the swing dance culture very interesting.  There are a decent number of people who are willing to drive hours and hours away for a few hours of dancing.  This creates a dedicated and (often) talented group of travelers who only know each other from dances.  And when you think about it, they are spending most of their time dancing, not talking with other people.  So these travelers only really have a vague understanding of each other.  But I believe dances are about the dancers just as much as they are about the dance and if you don’t create friends easily, you will spend a lot of time staring at the ceiling.  Therefore, most of these people do create friends, of a sort, easily.  So, the culture manages to be very close and oddly distant at the same time.  Anyway, Rocktober was enjoyable, even if I was tired, and I enjoyed what swing and blues dancing I did and enjoyed talking with people just as much.

--Sarah Barringer

Live action graphic novel

Last night was the showing of the breakthrough idea of the live action graphic novel. The show was very enjoyable and there were many laughs shared by the audience. The actors were brilliant. They all did many different voices, ranging from a french time traveler, russian informant, and a mad scientist. The show was well worth the time and money and i would encourage everyone, who gets the chance, to go and see these amazing actors and their performance.

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast: The Smash Hit Broadway Musical

Beauty and the Beast is the story of finding love. This production produces laughter and tears among those in the audience who had fallen in love with the story and its characters during their youth. I'll be the first to admit that last year was the first time I had ever watched the movie. Unlike other Disney movies, the story of Beauty and the Beast moved me. The performance centers around a prince, who had transformed into a Beast when he turned away an enchantress disguised as an old beggar, and a young woman named Belle seeking to find importance in her life. For Beast to become a prince once again, he must fall in love with his prisoner and win her love in return. Though the story appears dark and cruel, the musical numbers and characters give the story life and allows the audience the chance to witness the magical castle in which Beast resides. Belle finds herself in the presence of a number of hilarious characters that include Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts. They all produce great laughter and enjoyment! Ultimately, the cast sang their songs perfectly and in a way that, I believe, won the audience over. Several scenes, such as the scene with the mugs and the "Be Our Guest" sequence, were entertaining to watch and used special effects to interact with the audience. This was one of the many great plays that I have had the pleasure of seeing because of the Humanities Scholars Program. In addition to watching the play with each other, we were also able to talk with members of the cast. I was astonished to see that the actress who played Belle came out to greet us! They had great words of wisdom and stories to share. As always, I'd like to thank you again for allowing us to go to such a great performance. I can't wait for the next great performance!

Potluck and Movie Night!

Last Wednesday I attended the potluck and movie night. Not too many people came, but that was their loss because I got to eat even more Cane's, cookies, cupcakes, chips, pretzels, and much more (I know people will go next year now that they know what they missed!). We watched "The Prestige," a movie about 2 magicians who are essentially fighting it out to be the best at what they do and royally mess up the other's life.  People die, get their fingers blown off, create cat clones... what more could you want from a movie? Everyone should attend next year! Maybe we'll get lucky and have another one spring semester!

Cartoon library tour

The cartoon library tour was a great opportunity to learn about an art form that is often thought to be childish and sophomoric. The art form in its self can be very beautiful and engaging. The tour guide for the event was very entertaining and knowledgeable about the subject. Overall it was a great event, I just wish more people would have shown up.

Study Abroad Expo

It took me a little while to find the expo because I assumed it would be on the main floor, which it was not.  However, after trekking up a few flights of stairs, following people with large amounts of papers (which I could only assume came from the expo), I did find it.  It was not set up quite as I expected it to be.  To some extent it was organized by locations you might want to travel to, but there were also booths for organizations and credit-courses and a few things I’m not certain what were.  I was most interested in the winter break, spring break, Maymester booth – all of which appeared to be set up so you took a course either before the break or during part of Maymester and then went to study in another country during the break or the rest of the Maymester.  Although I think I would enjoy a semester in another country, I have done as much before and I would rather not loose time I could be using to take classes.  So, doing a shorter trip seemed like a better idea.  I also like the idea of taking a course and then visiting the place you have studied – something I have also done before and rather enjoyed.  The two classes I happened to see where a nursing course in Nicaragua and a Medieval art class in Paris.  I rather find the Paris class an interesting concept and even though I don’t plan on doing so now, I will keep my eye open for the opportunity to travel during the break, most likely in connection with a class I have taken.

Sarah Barringer

8th Floor Improv: The Facebook Show

I have seen a few 8^th Floor shows and am always impressed at how funny they are.  I think what I was most impressed with was how funny just getting information could be.  So, for one act, they called up an audience member and asked them questions about their major, likes, dislikes, friends etc.  It would be pretty easy for this to be a boring trade of information.  But it’s not.  It’s very funny.  The other thing I have noticed about comedy, from both this and other experiences, is the importance of buildup.  Sure, it is important to be funny the whole time, but you don’t actually have to try as hard in the middle because the audience is already worked up and laughing.  Anyway, there were a lot of good games in this show (some of which I hope to use) and then of course the namesake of the show, which was, at the end, they logged onto someone’s facebook and started looking for both info and messing with it.  Again, a lot of fun.  I recommend 8^th Floor to anyone who hasn’t or has seen them before.

Sarah Barringer

Mentor Meet-and-Greet

I am, in fact, not a mentor, but I thought I would stand in for my roommate (who is a mentor) and meet a few new people.  I didn’t do a lot of talking, but it was interesting to hear what other people had to say about previous experiences in Humanities and what the new people expected from Humanities.  One of the questions asked was how easy or difficult it was to get to enough Humanities events to fulfill the requirements, which was a question my introverted self had last year.  I was and continue to be somewhat surprised at how everyone seems to agree it is really easy to go to enough events.  I am in this camp as well.  It’s not hard to go to enough or even superfluous events.  There were a few other questions asked, especially about where to get food on and off campus, where to find groceries, where to find different sorts of food, most of which were questions I had last year and never really had answered.  So, it seems like the mentor program is doing its job.

Sarah Barringer

Renaissance Fair 2012

Holly Hoagland and I spent about an hour or so wandering around the Renaissance Fair. While there, we visited our friend Julie, whom was acting as one of the people from the Renaissance Guild. On our way to the Renaissance Fair, we passed through the "A Kid Again" Carnival and many Sibs Week events. After the fair, we then went down to The Short North. 

Gallery Hops: May & June 2012

On the first Saturdays of the months, May and June, my fellow humanities scholars, Holly Hoagland, Bethany Grace Cluff, and others, got on the COTA bus and went down to The Short North. We went to gallery hop twice during spring quarter, being our second and third times experiencing The Short North Gallery Hop. In addition to participating in the gallery hop event, we also ate at La Fogata Grill and grabbed coffee at Cup O' Joe. The Gallery Hops were probably some of my favorite experiences as a Humanities Scholar.

GoBuckeye Day 2012

On April 13th, 2012, The Ohio State University welcomed perspective Buckeyes to the campus. As residents of North Campus, my roommates and I led tours of Haverfield and our dorm room, room 331. This was not the first time we had shown our room to perspective humanities students, but it was probably one of the largest events or groups of students we were in charge of out of all of our experiences. I throughly enjoyed being a leader, and someone who could supply inside information to the perspective students.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

I went to see the Off the Lake production's performance of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. While all of the cast seemed to be having a wonderful time performing the musical, I cannot say the same for the audience watching the production. The story within a story aspect was very confusing. Not only was each performer supposed to be someone within the play, but also a person within their imaginary playhouse. This was very confusing to people (like myself) that had never heard anything about the play. The songs were mostly boring or  necessary and largely had nothing to do with the plot or character development. The voting done by the audience to chose the killer was the most enjoyable part of the production. 

Gallery Hops

Gallery Hops are probably one of my favorite events to do as a Humanities Scholar and as a student in Columbus. I love seeing the community come together to celebrate and appreciate different art forms, like painting/drawing, dance and music. It's so interesting to walk down the Short North and see all the different people enjoying the Galleries. I went to three Gallery Hops this quarter, and each one was spectacular!

Spring Plays

This past quarter I've been to three plays, The Caretaker, West Side Story, and Memphis! Overall I have enjoyed every single one of these performances and they were put together incredibly well. Each show was definitely worth the ticket price, I received so much more than what I payed for. Not only did I have the privilege to witness each show, I sat alongside my fellow Humanities Scholars and enjoyed experiencing these new adventures with them.

The first show that I saw was West Side Story, where the music was great, the acting moving, and the setting was done brilliantly. This was my first time seeing the musical live, so it was a monumental experience for me. I thought that the portrayal of each character in the play to characters in Shakespeare's classic Romeo and Juliet were done so with integrity and elegance. Overall this event was an amazing one, and that Humanities Scholars should go to more events like this not only to watch a play and to fulfill a requirement, but to also experience the lush culture that Columbus and it's satellite neighborhoods have to offer.

Next, I went with a few of my fellow 1st-years to go see The Caretaker, which was an excellent play that was being performed by the Tony award winning recipient, Jonathan Pryce. Pryce's performance was amazing and he was accompanied by two other great actors, Alan Cox and Alex Hassell. The play is set in London, and during the entire duration of the play, the stage has only one setting, a cluttered room that is home to Aston, a nicely dressed man whom takes in Pryce's character, Davies, who is a homeless man. While Davies is allowed to stay at Aston's home as he is away, Aston's younger brother, Mick (played by Hassell), shows up and taunts and beats Davies. As the play moves along, and the laughter is continuous in the theater, the climatic part of the play happens when Aston gets into an argument with Davies, and eventually tells him about his long-term mental illnesses. The laughter from that point on was minimal. The falling action of the play ensues as Davies fights like a caged animal, desperately trying to play one brother against the other, transitioning the play from a biting comedy bleeds into a bleak study of human loneliness and need that leads to mystery, but it is more powerful for these ambiguities.

Finally, I went to see the musical Memphis, which was my favorite of the two that I've seen this year. The music was incredible, the storyline was remarkable and the actors were undeniably talented. It was very interesting to see the plot unfold as it was very intriguing. Overall this musical was one of my favorites of all-time. During most of the performances, I would find myself bobbing my head and rhythmically tapping my feet to the music. I would have goosebumps appear copious times on my arms from the talented singers. This was one of my favorite Humanities Scholars events, at the top of my list with the Chicago trip, 1st year retreat, The Caretaker, and meeting my fellow scholars.

For those of you who went to the plays/performances, share your thoughts!! 

West Side Story

I didn't really enjoy West Side Story. I went because I had heard great things about it but in general I am just not a musical person so I should have known. However, the theater was beautiful and it was a nice experience. I did like how there was a lot of Spanish in it though. I would not see it again.

Water for Elephants

The movie was awesome. I had seen it before but it was a good one to watch again. The story is really unique and that is one of the reasons I like it. The love story is also really well developed and I love a good love story! It was really nice of Ben to provide food as well. Overall, I'm glad I saw the movie!

Picnic with Ben!

The picnic was awesome! Ben gave us a ton of great food-for free- and it was awesome! He even brought one of those classy plaid blankets and had a wicker basket for the food. At the picnic we got to talk to with Ben and just have a good time. It was also perfect weather! I am so glad I went!

Water For Elephants

This quarter I attended the viewing of Water For Elephants.  I read the book last summer and never had the opportunity to see the film.  A little rusty on the details, the story quickly came back to me.  Filled with an elephant that loves whiskey and witty comments, the movie proved to be a pretty accurate portrayal of the book.  The story can be lighthearted at some points, but is ultimately outlined by very serious matters including domestic abuse, family deaths, and an old man who has "escaped" to the circus.  I really enjoyed attending the event to see this story in a new light.

Humanities End of the Year event

Last wednesday was the end of the year humanities event. The event was well planned out to recognize the graduating scholars and to reflect back on a memorable year. The slideshow from the past humanities events was very enjoyable and sparked interesting conversation. overall the event was a great way to reflect upon the past year in the humanities scholars group.

Bill Nye

Last week OUAB had Bill Nye the science guy speak at Ohio State.  I'm a big fan of Bill Nye and always was.  He talked a lot about science and space, but he also talked about his personal projects.  One big project was energy conservation, and he had several interesting ideas about this subject.  Also, he was involved in putting small sun dial on mars, which he seemed very passionate about.  I loved when he talked about his show and the making of the opening credits...he was so funny!  Hopefully OUAB can bring more funny speakers like Bill Nye in for next year.

Room Showing

This quarter, Hav 311 was pretty busy showing our room to future Humanities Scholars. We cleaned a lot. It was actually pretty nice to see our room so clean. Not that it's usually messy, but we don't put too much effort into keeping it spotless what with classes and things like that. It was really nice to interact with the upcoming students and answer any questions they had. Hopefully, they'll enjoy their time in Hav 3 as much as my roommates and I did.

Memphis!!!

I went to see Memphis and it was a really great musical! It would have to be one of my favorites! The actors were terrific. It was the story in the 1950s in Tennessee of a white man who plays "black" music for a radio station and falls in love with a black woman who sings very well. It was a very beautiful love story along with awesome musical talents and dancing. It was very funny as well. I would love to see this again some time and I think it is a great play for all.

Growing Matters Gardening Experience

A month ago, I went on a gardening excursion with one other Humanities Scholar and several Art Scholars.  I met some cool people, got to enjoy the sunshine, and helped out in a big way.  We worked at the Hoover Y Garden, which is a huge garden that teaches people about sustainability and natural foods and is owned and operated by Growing Matters and Local Matters.  We were the first group to volunteer for the growing season so we got to dig up all the weeds and clean out the garden, which was surprisingly relaxing and quite enjoyable.  My arms were slightly sore the next day, but it was definitely worth it.  I recommend helping this organization in the future if you have the opportunity.  It is a great group of people with a great cause and I will definitely be volunteering there in the future.

GoBuckeye Day

About a month ago, tons of prospective students came to OSU on GoBuckeye Day.  It is one of the biggest recruitment days for the university and I got the opportunity to show my dorm room, along with my three roommates.  I had a blast and I loved interacting with all the students.  It was easy to see how nervous and scared they were to, but we made them feel right at home and answered all their questions.  It made me realize how far we all have come in just a year.  I used to be those kids, scared and worried about fitting in, but OSU, Humanities Scholars, and all the awesome friends I have made have showed me that it is okay to be yourself.  I hope we helped these prospective students start their life journeys in the right direction too. 

Water for Elephants

I was unable to attend the Water for Elephants Event due to a midterm, but I watched it with my roommates earlier that week and had a small discussion. I found the film very well done and was impressed with the acting.  More importantly, the plot line was really good and interesting.

Water for Elephants was originally a historical novel and then was turned into a movie last year.  I found it most interesting that the movie told a story from the eyes of the male character. It also discussed some major themes, more than just love, including animal and marital abuse. In that time period, marital and animal abuse wasn’t looked down upon.  This plays to the fact that we have come so far in such a short period of time.