Strike Out on a New Path

By Genevieve Buthod


Strike Out on a New Path

It seems as though each year at school is like a train, slowly but surely picking up speed as the weeks go by, until it is going so fast you can barely see it passing. (It’s a pretty fast train). We only have two more weeks until Thanksgiving break, and after we return to school, only two more (finals-filled) weeks until Winter break! It’s very exciting, but also very stressful if you stop to think about everything that must be accomplished in such a short amount of time.


Mixed in with all of the stress, however, are some opportunities for fun, both on- and off-campus. For instance, just this past weekend I dragged a couple of my carnivore friends to the annual Chicago Vegan Mania fest at Pulaski Park, just off Division at Ashland. It was surprising to see what a packed house it was, everyone from parents with their kids, to old-school hippies, to pretty girls with shaved heads and septum gauges. The food was amazing, the cooking demonstrations were very useful, and there was even live music on a big stage. It was a nice break in between studying and working all week.


I think it’s important to take a breather every now and then and realize how lucky we are to be living in Chicago! Why waste any minute not appreciating this big city? College is about embracing new experiences, and I believe that goes far beyond seeing what clubs are on campus, or what movie is showing in the lounge that night. Other than that, it’s a very cheap alternative to studying abroad. If you have an open-minded perspective, you can learn so much just from exploring the city you live in. With so many different global neighborhoods in Chicago, it’s not too difficult to feel some one else’s culture and hear their language all around you, simply by walking down a new block or two.

I know it’s hard to get away from all of our responsibilities with school and work, so if you really can’t break away from everything, maybe try something new on campus. The guitar ensemble and jazz combo will be playing a show in McGuire Hall at 7:30 this Friday evening, and it’s free to all students. If you feel like testing out a few new kinds of music you may not have considered trying before, this is a great way to start. Hope to see you there!

Genevieve Buthod is a sophomore, and a double major in computer science and philosophy. She is a women’s studies minor, and thinking about a music minor as well. Genevieve is an officer in the Alliance (the GSA) and is a happy, healthy vegan. She is also involved with the Students for Justice in Palestine.