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.

Fun Forties Night Entertains Snowed in Residents

Lots of people decided not to go out on Saturday night because of the snow storm. "Its so cold and icy, I think I am just gonna stay close to home." said sophomore Samantha Smith. Luckily The Weekend Programmer at Collins was able to help. Junior C.J. Lotz plans activities to do on the weekends for those Collinsites who like to stay in. Every Saturday night she organizes a different program. This Saturday was a Fun Forties Night.

The event featured make-up samples from Mark Cosmetics as well as info sheets about how to do your make-up 40's style. There was also a bar full of all the ingredients to make "mocktails". I had a cranberry and tonic.

Each event usually features some sort of arts and crafts portion. There were sheets of "marble" that you could paint your hand prints on and sign your name. The pieces which resemble hand prints in cement, may be hung somewhere around Collins.

There was also '40s themed trivia games. The questions were about the decade in general and what was going on at IU specifically at the time. One question, "When was the IU Art Museum built?" had everyone stumped. Every year of the forties was guessed before the correct answer (1941) came up. There were more people than usual hanging around on Saturday and the forties night was a fun way to keep them all entertained.

Improv Workshop Provides Laughs

It was a night of on-the-spot fun on Tuesday with an improv workshop in the Collins Coffee House. Samuel Hammersley of Full Frontal Comedy and Max Cutler of Hoos on First, two improv troupes here on campus, hosted the workshop. It helped to show people unfamiliar with improv just how fun and easy it can be. Especially, since auditions for booth improv troupes are coming up soon.

The workshop involved several standard improv exercises like "Three Line Scenes" and "Freeze Tag". I took an improv class last year but I was pretty rusty. Even in the small workshop, I got nervous doing a scene and just couldn't think of anything to say. Otherwise night was a ton of fun and the whole group had a bunch of laughs, we enjoyed "acting up"!

Collins Organizes Haiti Relief Event

On Friday, students at Collins organized a fundraiser to help the efforts in Haiti. The event featured free creole food from Dats Restaurant. There was a table setup where you could donate to the Red Cross and a collection box for non-perishable food items. There was also a presentation on the many other ways you could give your money and support to the people of Haiti. Including a way to donate via text-message. I choose this option because I didn't have any cash. In all my time texting I don't think I have ever put it to such good use.


A film was also shown about the culture and traditions of Haiti. This was accompanied by a discussion of the poverty in Haiti and what we should do to help. This event came right on the heels on a city-wide forum on Thursday about the societal and environmental factors that led to the devastation in Haiti and what our next moves should be to help them rebuild. It is great to see so many different groups on campus and in the community that are trying to organize support for Haiti after this tragedy.