Finals Week

A student gets a coffee from the Starbucks at the Cyber Cafe

Finals week has finally arrived and the library is packed. Sunday night the library was full of busy students preparing for their upcoming tests. The lines for food were longer and it was impossible to find an empty computer to do your work. Finals week can be brutal, at least at the library you experience somewhat of a camaraderie amongst students. Everyone knows that we are suffering together. Also, finals means one good thing and that's summer. It is almost time break. The years is over but it sure has been fun. Good luck to everyone with their tests!

The long line for food and caffeine.

A students work in one of the private study group rooms.

The Information Commons was packed.

The Little 500!

Saturday was the 60th Running of the Men's Little 500. The bike race which is actually only 200 laps around the track usually takes about 2 hours to complete. It took almost four hours this year because of a weather delay. At 104 laps lightening struck and they delayed the race. After the weather cleared up and the track dried off the riders remounted their Schwinns to complete the race. The Cutters, an independent team, took home the trophy. It was their 11th win. It was a muddy, cold and rainy day but the race still as exciting as ever.

A biker from Beta Theta Pi stretches before the race

The riders during the National Anthem

The riders mount their bikes for the start of the race

The riders start the race

The race

The riders got muddy in the rain

The rider from the Cutters after winning the race

The Cutters receiving their trophy!

The Little CornHole Tournament

On Friday Teter Hosted the Little Cornhole Tournament. The event was one of the first on a group of events happening all over campus leading up to the Little 500 bike race on Saturday. The event was moved inside to the Teter Nest because of rain. There was pizza, music, and lots of competitive bean bag throwing.

Singer David Campbell provided entertainment.

Filling in the final winner on the tournament bracket

The 1st and 2nd place winners and their prizes

The 2nd Annual Mr. Collins Pageant

On Saturday, Collins Living Learning Center had their annual Mr. Collins Pageant. The pagent is an opportunity for seven Collinsites to dress up, show off their secret talents, and make fools of themselves. The students at Collins look forward to it all year!


There was a huge crowd outside the door before the show. There was free sushi and chocolate covered strawberries, everyone wanted to be the first to get some. The event was very classy. It featured cocktail waitresses, sparkling juice in champagne flutes and a band.




















The judges for the event were Yara Cluver, the associate director of Collins and Mrs. Gay IU. There was a talent portion, an evening wear portion, and a question and answer portion. One contestant was asked which cereal they would most like to take a bath in. The pageant was a goofy affair and all in good in fun!

Students Celebrate Passover with a Traditional Seder Meal

Rachel Cohen and Julia Speigel who put on the Seder meal.

The spring brings holidays for many faiths. The most popular is the celebration of Easter. Many associate dyed eggs and the Easter bunny with spring. Less well known is the Jewish holiday of passover. Two Jewish students, freshman Rachel Cohen, and sophomore Julia Speigel put on a traditional Seder meal to share their customs with other students.

Students pass food at the dinner

The dinner was held on Tuesday night in the Collins' coffee house. It was open to all people of all faiths. It was interesting to learn about a different faith and their customs. I didn't realize everything that was involved in a seder dinner. There are several prayers involved with the meal. Everything that we ate was symbolic of the struggles of the Jewish people and there was a blessing for every part of the meal.

Grape juice was substituted for wine when saying the prayers

"I just wanted to share some of my culture and my family's traditions with my friends." said freshman Rachel Cohen. She put on the Seder with the help of the Hillel House the Jewish student center on campus. All the students at the dinner participated, taking turns reading aloud about the history of the Seder and reciting the prayers. The meal was a nice way to bring students together to celebrate the holiday

All the students at the Seder meal

LIttle 500 Qualifications

The Little 500 is almost here! Saturday all the hopeful teams came out for qualifications. Each teams had to do a time trial and the fastest thirty three teams get to compete in the race.


The time trials were form 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The early morning didn't scare the fans away. People started to show up at the stadium as early as 7:30 a.m. Fans came out to cheer on their team. Making posters and even creating cheers.

Team Dyanamica

In the qualifications each rider on the team has to do a lap. This means that there must be three exchanges in the qualification ride. Exchanges are one of the most exciting parts of the Little 500 and can also be one of the most dangerous. A member of Team Dynamica fell while hopping off the bike and the team had to start over. They still qualified, despite the setback. The race can be dangerous, but that is part of what makes it so exciting. There are only a couple more weeks until the big day!

Spring Break in Florida

We struggled through midterms and it was time to reward ourselves with a beach holiday in Florida. Some friends and I spent the week in Seaside and had some fun in the sun.

The weather was a little chillier than I expected. It stayed in the low-to-mid seventies. I didn't do much swimming, but it was still great to get out of town and enjoy the beautiful beach

The beach at dusk

Spring Break was a great way to relax. The first part of the semester was tough and it was great to unwind, before I have to gear up for finals. The break reminded me that summer is just around the corner and I need to get prepared for the end of the semester. I had a great time and made some wonderful memories with my friends, and now its back to work!

The view from our rooftop patio

IU Celebrates The Oscars!

The Residence Halls Association hosted an Oscar watching party Sunday night. The awards and the pre-show coverage were shown on the big screen in the Whittenberger Auditorium. There was a raffle for a $50 gift certificate to the IU bookstore. You put your tickets in the the bag for whoever you thought would win in a certain category. If you picked right you were in the drawing for a gift certificate.

The party was decorated with mini Oscars figurines and a red carpet to lead you into the theater. "It is really fun to get everyone together to watch the show" said freshman Rachel Cohen. There were also refreshments including sandwiches from Jimmy John's. It may not have been a black-tie affair, but it was definitely a party to remember.

Students Spin The Tunes at WIUX

99.1 FM is the student run radio station here on campus. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, the station plays shows featuring student DJs. The station plays mostly musicians from independent labels. The station prides itself on playing music that you can't hear on other stations. "I like WIUX because it represents my tastes as a student" says sophomore Michael Thomas.

I have been working at the radio station for four semesters now. It is fun to pick out songs to play and learn about new music. The radio station provides a great opportunity for students at IU. You can catch me on the air at 11 a.m. on Sunday mornings.

Campus in the Snow!

Campus was covered in about eight inches of snow last week. I had an impromptu snow day on Monday when both of my classes were canceled. It was an exciting surprise and it gave me a chance to catch-up on my school work. I love snow. It may make the walk to class more treacherous but the lovely scenery also makes your treks more enjoyable.

Snow on campus creates a bond between the students. Everyone complains about having to go out in the storm. It is embarrassing when you slip on the icy sidewalks, but is comforting when a stranger stops to help out. Snow creates a beautiful winter wonderland and a renewed sense of campus camaraderie. What's not to love?

A Single Gal's Guide To Valentine's Day

In honor of Valentine's Day, I arranged for my single girlfriends and I to have a Secret Valentine party. Everyone drew names and then got presents for their secret valentines. I thought it would be a fun way to be together and share the love on Valentine's Day.

After we gave out our gifts, we got dressed up and headed downstairs. In the Edmonson Dinning Hall they were having the annual Viennese Ball. Every year, the Viennese Ball offers residents at Collins the chance to get fancy and have fun. The first part of the ball is dedicated to waltzing and features a string quartet.

After 9 p.m. the waltzing stopped, they turned off the lights, turned on the pop music and it became a real dance party. I didn't waltz, but I did devote all my energy to dancing to Lady Gaga. You don't need to be part of couple to have fun on Valentine's Day. You just need a couple good friends and some god pop music.