Hey guys!
So this week I plan on declaring my major (PPPLPL)…
I think this is something that a lot of people find to be intimidating-but it’s really not! Just because you declare you’re major, doesn’t mean you are forced to stick with it if you find yourself disliking it. You are allowed to change your majors multiple times, and in college, this is even expected of students! There’s no shame in changing a major because you’re supposed to get a better sense of what you like the more you learn.
I’m in my first semester of sophomore year now, and the reason why I’m going to declare is to become eligible to take certain classes. At BU, like at most colleges, keep certain classes exclusive to certain majors….
Actually declaring your major is a breeze. Most of the time it just involves finding the department and signing a piece of paper.
But when thinking about what to major in, in the end you should do what you like. Don’t pick something that you find boring or hate because you think it’ll get you a better job or will be easier to do well in. If you pick something your passionate in, you’ll love what you learn!
Cheers!
Amanda Grannis

First off, I am not a vegetarian.  I love the idea of it and every so often I attempt to be one, but after five or six month I lose my will power and have a ham sandwich.  However, when given the option of eating meat or not eating meat, I will choose not to 90% of the time.  So when I came to college options at the dining hall were pretty important for me.  Most places, if you don’t want to eat meat you’re stuck with cereal—not the case at Binghamton!

Here are just a few of the vegetarian options offered everyday at my local dining hall, Hinman:

“From the Garden”- This is the vegan section exclusive to Hinman (making it the best dining hall in my opinion).  Recent dinners include Vegan Lo Mein, Greek Crepes with Cucumber Salsa, Jasmine Rice Cakes with Asian Vegetables and Fried Tofu and Hot Chili Sauce over Rice.  The also occasionally offer Moosewood products, such as soup.
Salad Bar- the obvious go-to for an herbivore.  The salad bar at Hinman (and most others) includes the normal stuff like ice berg lettuce, dark leaves, olives, mushrooms, broccoli, onions and croutons but also has chick peas, eggs, tofu, goldfish, raisins and cheese among other things to keep it interesting!
Sandwich Counter- once again, pretty obvious choice.  Vegetarian options include eggplant, egg salad, tuna fish, mozzarella and peanut butter and fluff.
The Grill- the grill offers hot food made to order- garden and veggie burgers are available, but my favorite thing to get there is an omelet.  You can ask for almost anything in it such as peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes or cheese!
Waffles- if you feel like having “breakfast for dinner”, every dining hall has a few waffle makers and homemade waffle batter in cups with flavors like banana, blueberry and brownie.  Each waffle takes only three minutes to cook.
Sushi- California Rolls, Veggie Rolls, Tsunami Rolls and countless others are always available.  Many have fish or crab in them for the less strict vegetarian, but there are several kinds that have vegetables only.
Pasta- plain pasta with cheese and sauce is always available, but often times there is also ravioli, shells or vegetarian lasagna as well.

If you’re interested in seeing the daily menu at Binghamton, here’s the website to do so!

Happy Halloween! At Binghamton University, a campus-wide game of Humans vs. Zombies (HvZ) is taking place, sponsored by Late Nite Binghamton. Let me quickly describe the rules to you:

1. Everyone signs up to play at the online site, and they receive an ID number unique to them. You carry that number around with you on an index card.
2. Out of the pool of people who have signed up, one is randomly selected to be the “Original Zombie.” They do not wear anything that makes them noticeable.
3. The “Original Zombie” runs around “infecting” Humans, who then turn into Zombies. You are infected if a Zombie tags you. A Zombie must replace their white Human armband with a red Zombie armband. You give your index card to the Zombie who infected you.
4. A Zombie starves to death should they fail to “feed” every 48 hours. A Zombie reports a kill online, using the ID of his victims. Once a Zombie starves, they are “dead dead” and are no longer part of the game.
5. ANY building on campus is a “safe zone” where humans/zombies cannot attack each other.

Human weapons: marshmallows and socks (stun a zombie for 15 minutes); NERF darts (kills a zombie, forcing them to flea to their “respawn” point)
Zombie weapons: your two hands

The game is over when ANY of these conditions are met:
1. Zombies have infected the entire Human race, OR;
2. All the Zombies have starved to death, OR;
3. Friday, November 6, 2009 has finally arrived.

Over 100 students are participating in this huge game of tag, and it has proved to be very fun thus far! We have had several “missions” so far (it helps bring humans and zombies into closer contact, therefore accelerating the game), most of which started at 8PM and lasted through 10PM. The current tally is: 29 zombies, 68 humans and 5 “deceased.” Unfortunately, I was turned into a Zombie (by someone from my own building—Hunter!) within 24 hours of the game starting, and I’ve so far only managed to infect one other person. My roommate is playing, and he’s a human ... he said we’re no longer friends for the remainder of this week.

I’ve never experienced such an intense game of tag before, and it’s always fun bumping into fellow players to/from class. This game definitely makes you really paranoid for one full week—the game lasts 24/7 until November 6, which means you can be infected on your way to or from class.

Brains!

I just wanted to tell you a little about my time in Turkey this past summer. I went in the summer of 2008 also but this time I stayed for two months instead of just one. I enjoyed myself even more this time which I had thought was literally impossible! I learned so much and, as I was able to communicate fairly well (I took both Survival Turkish courses here at the university last year), I could explore more of the country on my own without feeling hesitant about getting around and not knowing the language. My language skills really improved after spending just two months fully immersed in the culture, especially my listening skills. It was amazing to see how much I improved from the beginning of the trip to the end. I was so surprised at how quickly one could pick up a language in just a short period of time! I spoke as much Turkish as I could, picking up on new words and phrases and incorporating them into my language use. I believe that to be able to truly learn a language and truly know it you must go to the country (or countries) where it is spoken as the main language and use it, speak it, read it, and listen to it each and every day. There is only so much practice you can get by a book or course before you have to dive right in and fully immerse yourself in the language. You must have passion and patience, for learning a language in a comprehensive manner is not the easiest thing to do. But for me, language learning is just as much about learning new words, phrases, and grammatical points as it is learning about another’s culture and way of life, which is always fun and fascinating! Next time, I’ll tell you about the many adventures I had while in Turkey See you then!
-Sam-

Hi everyone! As Senior year begins, I have started to think about my options for next year. My first choice program is Teach for America. This a program that gives students with exemplary leadership skills the opportunity to teach in Title 1 schools and get their masters degrees in Education at the same time. The program heavily subsidizes the tuition to different graduate schools and participants are also given a full teachers salary while part of the program. This is one of the most prestigious and difficult to get into teaching fellowships in the country. Binghamton has someone who recruits for Teach for America which is how I came to applying for the program. After meeting with a recruiter, I submitted my application. I was so excited to find out that I was going to be skipped through the second round 3o minute phone interview straight to the full day final interview! During this interview I had to prepare a sample lesson plan, talk about educational issues, did team problem solving activities, and had a final interview. It was a great day and now I am super nervous/ excited to hear back from them!! I strongly encourage anyone who is interested in education both as a teacher or administration or issues in education as well as people who just want to help people to check out their website and amazing program!!!

Last week has been characterized by two huge events: the Binghamton College Fair on Wednesday and the Parents Weekend, where, as expected, parents come up and enjoy some quality time with students.

On Wednesday, I had the chance to be behind the Binghamton University tables at the fair. I was surprised by the number of people who came to the huge Broome County Arena. Binghamton may be pretty far from big cities, but there is no shortage of high schools in the area. The Decker School of Nursing had their own table, and advisor Judy Monroe and assistant director Jennie Orton were delighted to have me help advertise. While I did not have the experience of a junior or senior clinical attending student, I was more than glad to discuss campus life and freshmen experiences. I noticed a bunch of shy males stealing Decker brochures from our table. Don’t be shy. Nursing is a noble profession.

Parents Weekend was unique in a sense that my parents did not come up. I had just visited them the week before, so it did not make sense. Instead, I helped guide lost parents around, watched little siblings and students joust with inflatable weapons, played laser tag for Late Nite, enjoyed a campfire with fellow ambassadors, decorated my room with blue mood lights, bought a student discounted version of Windows 7 Professional ($29 at theUltimateSteal), watched “Where the Wild Things Are” (great movie) in the theater by the nearby Walmart, and prepared my Halloween costume. I will let you know of next weekend’s adventures with my cardboard box and spray paint costume:)

And while life is just fun-filled and busy, there are always little things that can make you chuckle and brighten your day. Just yesterday, I was drying my hands with a push button air dryer, and someone sharpied written instructions next to the pictures. 1: Push Button. 2: Receive Jellyfish
Kudos to that simple act of vandalization that made my day.

Maturity is knowing when and where to be immature
-Randall Hall

Catch Joey K, Apprentice Word Puncher, on Mondays and every other Thursday when he’s not trying to find a new way to procrastinate

My roommates and I spent a good two hours of our Friday afternoon cleaning every inch of our room. Why? Because this past weekend was Binghamton University’s Family Weekend (and we wanted our parents to believe that we are as neat as they trained us to be). The weekend was a load of fun! Here’s a list of just a few of the events that the University had to offer:

- A vendor fair: We got a chance to sample free, innovative food items sponsored by Sodexo Campus Services!
-a Nature Preserve Tour
-a Meet the Deans Session for each of the six schools of Binghamton University
-a Family Weekend Concert: Performances by the Women’s Chorus, Harpur Chorale and University Wind Ensemble
-Late Night Binghamton Family Weekend Edition featuring a show by mentalist Jim Karol
Fall Woodstock Festival: a carnival outside of College in the Woods that featured fun food, games, and tie-dye!
-a family brunch sponsored by Hillel at Binghamton

Check out the weekend’s entire schedule here!

It was also a nice treat to go out to dinner with my family. Sure, dining-hall food is great! But, sometimes, it’s nice to eat something else for a change.
After they left, I had to get started on two papers that I had neglected earlier in the weekend. But at least I didn’t have to take a break to go down to the dining halls. My family and both of my roommate’s families stocked our room up with food and water bottles (144, to be exact) that will last us until Thanksgiving...or...maybe next weekend.

-Helaine