RHA Christmas Party

By Ashley August

This year’s Residence Hall Association Christmas party was a huge hit, with more than 200 students attending the party on Thursday, Dec. 3 in the Andrew Conference Center. There were many activities to take part in at the Christmas party such as decorating stockings for local hospitals, a “gift” wrapping contest, a gingerbread house making contest, ornament decorating, a pie-eating contest, singing, dancing and socializing with other students.

Everybody received a free candy cane upon entering, and once inside there were many more delicious treats available like cupcakes, chips, eggnog, pop, pizza, wings, fruit, and many other appetizers.

There were many events that took place throughout the night and the winners received prizes such as gift cards and movie tickets. The gift wrapping contest was a partner event in which one person was the gift and the other was the wrapper. The person wrapping had to run back and forth to the supply table because they were only allowed to use one thing at a time. They had streamer, ribbon, bows, tissue paper, tape, and other supplies to make their “gift” as pretty as possible. This event was also timed so the wrapper had to work fast. The gingerbread house contest was a timed event where students had to build the best gingerbread house they could. Houses were judged on their Christmas spirit and if an elf could live there. The contestants had graham crackers, frosting, M & M’s, Dots, Twizzlers, Skittles, and other candy treats to decorate with.

The stocking and ornament decorating went on all night. Students had stickers, paint, markers, glitter, and other supplies to do the decorating with.

The main reason that many attended the Christmas party was to pick up their gift that their parents gave them. RHA sent letters home inviting parents to send a gift to their child to receive at the Christmas party. Students who received a gift also received a special invitation inviting them to the party so that they knew they had a gift to pick up.
eryone was invited to the Christmas party even if their parents didn’t send them a gift.

Ashley August is a sophomore education major from LaGrange Park. She is member of the volleyball team and the Student Athletic Committee. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.

Cougars Have Talent!

By Ashley August

SXU recently hosted the Saint Xavier Talent Show. The show was hosted in an American Idol-type format over three nights, with three judges giving feedback after each competitor’s performance and some acts being eliminated each night. Judges included two student activities board members and Rae Joyce. The final six acts competed last night, Nov. 30, for the grand prize of a brand new iPod.

All of the acts had to return the following night because they didn’t know if they made the next show until only moments before when the M.C. announced their names. When announced most of the performers were jumping with joy because once again they had to entertain the audience for a chance to go all the way.

The final six performers/groups were:

• Malcolm Lee & Dara Jackson: Singing and Piano
• Ryan, Jei & Kristel: Dancing
• John David: Singing and Piano
• Evangela Evans: Poetry
• Adetoune: Singing
• Tim Young: Singing and Piano
  

After many spirited performances, it was up to the audience to cast their votes. Malcolm Lee and Dara Jackson did a great job engaging the audience and received third place for their performance.

Ryan, Jei and Kristel worked hard to chroeograph their own dance and after listening to the judges feedback and coming out strong with matching outfits, they claimed second place.
Finally, John David in the third act stunned the audience by writing his own song and performing it with his stellar voice and accompanying singers. Together, they got the audience behind their music and took first place. All of the performances were outstanding and it was a very tough competition. Cougars definitely have talent!

Ashley August is a sophomore education major from LaGrange Park. She is member of the volleyball team and the Student Athletic Committee. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.

Six-pack Attack - Shannon Center Workout Classes

By Ashley August

My night class was cancelled this week, so, I decided to check out some of the Shannon Center's free workout classes for students.

I chose the Six-pack Attack class on Wednesday night from 6 to 6:30 p.m. It was a fun way to get a quick work out, and it’s great for all skill levels. I found the class challenging but very rewarding.

This class worked on building abdominal muscles and strengthening the core. The instructor explained the exercises, along with ways to modify it to make it more or less challenging depending on the skill level or the individual participant.

To me, it is easier to go workout in a class because someone is motivating me to do it. I personally enjoy going to the classes with friends but it’s also a great way to meet people.

Check out all the classes offered in the Shannon Center. It’s time to get some good workouts in before Thanksgiving and Christmas so you don’t feel guilty about that second piece of pie!

Ashley August is a sophomore education major from LaGrange Park. She is member of the volleyball team and the Student Athletic Committee. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.

Fall Athletics coming to a close...

By Ashley August

Football: There will be a FREE charter bus for Saint Xavier University students interested in attending the big regular-season finale between the No. 6 ranked Cougars and No. 8 University of Saint Francis (Ind.) on Sat., Nov. 7, in Fort Wayne, Ind.

The bus will depart from the Shannon Center promptly at 6:30 a.m. Saturday for the 11 a.m. kickoff (Chicago time). Any students interested in taking advantage of this opportunity to cheer on the Cougars in a key MSFA Mideast League match-up should contact Laura Kurzeja at ext. 3785 or sign up at the control desk on the first floor of the Shannon Center by Fri., Nov. 6. A conference championship and a high seed in the postseason are on the line for Saint Xavier, so please come out and help cheer the Cougars on to victory!

Volleyball: Senior Night is Tues., Nov. 3, and will take place in the Shannon Athletic Center at 7 p.m. Come out and support the volleyball team and their two seniors as they play in their last home game.

Ashley August is a sophomore education major from LaGrange Park. She is member of the volleyball team and the Student Athletic Committee. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.

Pint Size Heroes

By Ashley August

Last week, Saint Xavier’s American Red Cross Club traveled to Queen of Martyrs, a local elementary school, to give a presentation about Halloween safety tips and the upcoming blood drive to the second-, third-, and fourth-graders.

This program was called “Pint Size Heroes” because it encouraged students to explain what they learned at home to encourage others to help the cause. Now the students can better understand what their parents are doing when they donate blood and why sick people need their help. This will also hopefully encourage them to donate blood when they are old enough.

Personally, I really enjoyed the trip. It was a great opportunity to educate students about blood drives and to help them stay safe this Halloween. The students did a wonderful job coming up with important safety rules for Halloween. My favorite part was answering their questions about Halloween and the blood drive. Many of the kids didn’t know what a blood drive was. After we explained the concept, they showed a great deal of interest in the process and in how blood could help someone.

Although you have to be at least 16-years-old to donate blood, we urged the students to tell their parents, older siblings, neighbors, family friends and anyone else they could think of because one donation can save three lives. This was a great opportunity for the American Red Cross Club to extend its programs to the community and we hope that we will continue be able to do so.

Once again the blood drive is from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 17 in the Student Lounge. Walk-ins are accepted but if you don’t want to wait in line you can make an appointment at http://www2.givebloodgivelife.org/, and then click on "donate blood" and enter 60655 for the zip code. Our drive should come up and then you can sign up for a time.

Ashley August is a sophomore education major from LaGrange Park. She is member of the volleyball team and the Student Athletic Committee. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.

Halloween

By Ashley August

As everybody knows Halloween is right around the corner and Saint Xavier has the right remedy to put you in the Halloween spirit. The Student Activities Board invited students to a Six Flags – Great America trip for Fright Fest this past Saturday, but don’t worry if you missed it because there’s more where that came from.

• Monday, Oct. 26: There’s a ghost hunt from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. You can get your clues from the SAB table in the diner.

• Tuesday, Oct. 27 through Thursday, Oct. 29: There will be chair massages in the diner from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to help you relax before your muscles tense up from all the scares that are to come.
• Thursday, Oct. 29: There will be a murder mystery in the Butler Reception Hall from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. in a who-done-it fashion. Refreshments will be served.
• Friday, Oct. 30: There will be face painting in the diner from 11 a.m.to 1 p.m. and it is also the RHA Halloween costume party located in the ACC.
• Saturday, Oct. 31 is Halloween! Let the frights begin.

Ashley August is a sophomore education major from LaGrange Park. She is member of the volleyball team and the Student Athletic Committee. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.

Help support the American Red Cross Club's blood drive

By Ashley August

This week I attended a meeting for the American Red Cross Club, which is relatively new to the University. Some of the things that we hope to accomplish this year are a couple of blood drives, an educational program at Queen of Martyrs to offer a CPR class and other similar events to benefit the community and save lives.

This is a very rewarding club to join. I am the club secretary and I chose to get involved because it is so important that people realize that by donating blood they can save three lives with every donation. Our first blood drive will be held from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17 in the student lounge, which is connected to the cafeteria.

If you are interested in joining this club or simply finding out more information, please e-mail Angie Bush, the American Red Cross Club President.If you are interested in donating blood please sign-up online to make an appointment. Click on the right side of the page on "donate blood," enter 60655 for the zip code and then sign up for a time.

If you don’t plan on donating, please help by spreading the word. Together we can make this blood drive a success. Save the date, mark it in your calendars and look for more information about the blood drive in the near future. Make an appointment as soon as possible. Every donation helps.

Ashley August is a sophomore education major from LaGrange Park. She is member of the volleyball team and the Student Athletic Committee. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.

Choosing Spring Classes

By Ashley August

Cougs, it's about that time when we begin to pick classes for our spring semester.

First of all, it is very important to make an appointment with your advisor so you are cleared to sign up for your classes when your registration time comes.

I recommend using CLAWS to help plan your course selections. The “Academic Planning” section lets you review you program evaluation so you know what classes you need to take and the “Plan Courses” section helps you organize when you plan on taking certain classes. You can also search for sections under “Registration” to find your priority time assignment.

Picking classes may be a tedious process but it is very important to take your time when selecting classes to ensure they fit the requirements for your major and that the classes are right for you. Some things to consider are whether the class is of interest to you, which professor is teaching the class and the time that the class is offered.

I find it very helpful to read the class descriptions to weed out ones you don’t like right away. Another thing I like to do is talk to upper classman who may have already taken the class or have suggestions of good classes to take.

I always check the class time because I know that I don’t function well at certain times of the day, so I try to schedule classes back-to-back and give myself a lunch break. I also like to finish early in the day so that I can go to practice, work out, or take a nap. Once a week, I like to take a night class because you have a whole week to complete assignments.

The final thing I do before deciding to take a class is to look up my professors on ratemyproffesors.com to see what other students who have taken the professor think. This may be biased but it is interesting to read. Students might also give advice on things that you need to do if you take that given professor for a course.

It’s never too early to start planning classes. Registration starts on October 22 so make your appointments and start planning. I recommend going into your appointment with your class schedule picked out along with backup classes to make your appointment fast and painless. It’s crazy to think that we are already signing up for spring classes.


Ashley August is a sophomore education major from LaGrange Park. She is member of the volleyball team and the Student Athletic Committee. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.

The National Society of Collegiate Scholars

By Ashley August

This past, Friday I was inducted into the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. To be invited into this prestigious organization, students in their first or second year of school need to be in the top fifth of their class and maintain a 3.4 GPA. NSCS’s mission is to honor and inspire academic excellence and engage citizenship for a lifetime.

Benefits of joining NSCS include the fact that they offer more money for undergraduate scholarships than any other honor society nationwide. Students who join meet people on campus, at other schools, and community members they might not have otherwise had a chance to. Students who join get to embark on a mission to take part in transforming the community and campus in a variety of issues that are most important to them. Also, students have ample scholarship opportunities, leadership training, internships, career opportunities and resources in fields, along with travel opportunities that are only available to NSCS members.

The ceremony involved introductions from the President of NSCS at the Saint Xavier Chapter Andrea Bernardi, followed by a few remarks from the Executive Vice President Tiffany McCloud, Vice President of Community Service Courtney Companio, and Secretary Rebecca Pehle. The keynote speaker of the evening was Alexander Flowers who started the Saint Xavier Chapter of NSCS.

Finally came the induction of new members. They announced everyone’s name and gave each person a pin. All standing together at the front of the Butler Reception Room we repeated the oath of membership while raising our right hand. After, we were able to put the pin on as newly inducted members. Amanda Phillips, Vice President of PR and Membership, lead all of the participants through the oath.

After the ceremony there were refreshments and, more importantly, an opportunity to mingle amongst the newly inducted members and a chance to meet the wonderful people who conducted the ceremony. So for all of you freshman and sophomores out there keep your grades up so you to will have a chance to be invited into this prestigious society. As Alexander Flowers said, “What is your legacy going to be?” Perhaps the answer lies in the contributions you could make to the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

Ashley August is a sophomore education major from LaGrange Park. She is member of the volleyball team and the Student Athletic Committee. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.

51-0!

By Ashley August

Cougars, I hope you stayed around this weekend for all the Homecoming fun. Unfortunately, I missed many of the events during the week, like hypnotist Jim Ward, because I was at class but I did get out to most of the events this weekend.

On Thursday night, I attended the first annual pep rally. It consisted of performances by the cheerleaders and the Paw Prints dance team, along with a little something special from the football team. Although the crowd was lacking in numbers, the spirit was as high as ever. After the pep rally, there was a free performance on the newly built stage along with free food.

Friday night I made my way downtown to the Celebration of Excellence Gala at the Chicago Cultural Center. Needless to say, I ate more free food. The mashed potato bar was my favorite part. Everyone looked great in their formal attire and danced the night away. I have to give a special shout out to the 10 o’clock bus I was on. We sang the whole way home and sounded amazing, if I do say so myself.

Saturday morning I started off by running in the Cougar 5K, which is 3.1 miles for those of us who aren’t runners. I was very impressed with the chip times that were used this year and the fact that you could print your results at the race site. After that, I made my way over to the quad where there were delicious waffles and apples with a whole bunch of condiments to put on them along with fun activities and games taking place. Of course I ended Saturday by attending the football game, where we won 51-0!!! Go Cougars! Football is ranked 12th in the nation right now so make sure that you get out to one of their games to cheer them on.

Ashley August is a sophomore education major from LaGrange Park. She is member of the volleyball team and the Student Athletic Committee. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.

Welcome back!

By Ashley August

Welcome back all returning students and welcome to all new students!

For those returning to Saint Xavier, some of the new construction on campus may have caught your eye. The cafeteria is one thing that was updated. Along with adding some color to the wall and new signs in front of the stand,s they also have increased the prices on many items. Personally, my favorite spot to stop at is the deli counter where previously sandwiches were $3.50 and this year they are now $4.25. On the plus side, they have some new, delicious choices available. It may also reduce the time waiting in line if people order off of the menu instead of selecting individual options.

Upon entering the cafeteria, some unsuspecting returning student may head to what used to be the salad bar to be utterly disappointed. “Yikes!” they shout, as they realize they can no longer make their own salad. All they can think about is how they don’t like the premade salads. Their next thought is fear of eating greasy foods and putting on the freshman fifteen that they tried so hard to avoid. Don’t worry, fellow students. The salad bar moved to a new place, right next to where they are serving up fresh pizzas and, even better, someone else will make it for you.

Finally, his poor unsuspecting student whose brain is fried after a long week of classes just wants to go grab some grub. “Yikes! Maurice’s is closed.” Another change this year is that the cafeteria will once again be open on weekends while Figaro’s and Maurice’s will not. My advice is before heading out to eat check the hours as to be sure not to miss a meal. Also, you can check menus online before heading out. Here’s more information about campus dining.

Ashley August is a sophomore education major from LaGrange Park. She is member of the volleyball team and the Student Athletic Committee. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.