When forty college freshmen board a charter bus for the Windy City, possibilities are endless. Early Friday morning on November 5th, this was the Humanities Scholars reality. Not only were we getting to “skip” Friday classes, but we were packed like sardines and on our way to experience the pizza, shopping, and of course the annual Humanities

Festival in Chicago, Illinois. As the bus inched its way across the highway, anticipation of Gino’s Pizza lingered in the air. Over the next two days I experienced several situations that I can now check off my “bucket list.” I stayed in a hostile, strutted down the city streets with a Starbucks in hand, saw Second City Comedy, and practically bought out Forever 21 on

Michigan Avenue. All of these activities are incredibly exciting, but nothing compares to the relationships I now have with many of my fellow first year Humanities Scholars. I had the privilege of spending approximately 36 hours straight with students on my floor that I perhaps would not have met had it not been for this trip. Prior to our shopping excursions we sat

1st-Year Chicago Trip!

FIRST YEAR RETREAT

Good Luck With Finals!

November-December 2010 Edition

through an hour long discussion about the art of public scandal in honor of the Humanities Festival. It was a riveting dialogue which offered me several new perspectives that I would not have otherwise. Among our shopping adventures, my group posed for countless O-H-I-O photos at the Bean in Millennium Park and ogled over the childhood memories displayed at the American Girl Place. Saturday night was perhaps the most memorable experience that I will take away from this trip. I will never forget the captivating image of the Chicago skyline amidst billions of stars dancing across the icy sky from the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel. Six of us huddled into the tiny cab and literally experienced the city from new heights. It was a breathtaking moment; one which I will never forget.

Whitney Kindell, 1st Year Humanities Scholar

MEMORIES

Hands down, I thought that this Chicago trip was a worthwhile experience; I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to other Humanities scholars in the future. As mentioned, the trip truly served as an opportunity for learning, fellowship, and lots of laughs, and I personally walked away from it with new perspectives and friendships that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

The Humanities Festival Conference offered new ideas on the very intriguing topic of public scandal. It helped me better understand why our media today, and even why ourselves as individuals, are so completely obsessed with the idea of broadcasting public misdemeanors and ostracizing the individuals involved. It was a truly intellectually stimulating conversation, and the Q&A session at the end was particularly useful for anyone who disagreed with the speaker, needed clarification, or simply had

additional questions about the topic being discussed. Overall, I found the session very interesting and culturally relevant, and am definitely looking forward to similar occasions in the years to come as a Humanities Scholar.

Participants in the 2010 Treat the Hungry - Students dressed up and went Trick-or-Treating for non-perishable food items.  A total of 453 pounds of food was donated to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank.

The time spent experiencing the sights, the food, and the shopping of a true Chicagoan was an absolute blast as well, and offered plenty of opportunities of bonding and unity as a group amongst us scholars. From laughing until we were brought to tears at the Second City comedy performance, to running up and down the streets of the Magnificent Mile with shopping bags in hand, to finally conquering our fear of heights atop Navy Pier’s famed Ferris Wheel, I think I can speak for many when I say that I got to know my scholars group on a much more personal level on this trip. New friendships were kindled, old friendships were polished, and enough memories and inside jokes were made to last a lifetime.

Some of the acquaintances I made during this trip have already begun to strengthen into firm friendships. I have found that my college experience is significantly more enjoyable now that I’ve actually been able to share some fun times with many of the scholars in my dorm, and am now able to successfully connect faces with names. To echo the words of well-known author and educator Charles R. Swindoll, “I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends I’ve made who have given me a heart full of joy. Let's face it; friends make life a lot more fun.”   

Maria McGillivary, 1st Year Humanities Scholar

Best of the Blogs!Thursday, November 4, 2010URBAN ARTS SPACE Personally, being a pre-design major and a huge art (sometimes contemporary art) fan, I loved going down to the Urban Arts Space. The people that worked there were really nice and helpful with explaining the abstract art pieces. And the pizza was delicious. The hair exhibit was a little strange. Admittedly, the explanation was really cool (the artists were making a statement about how hair is viewed as attractive on people and really gross once fallen off the scalp—so true), but I still couldn't get over the shocked-and-in-disgust factor in seeing hair on tiles, portrayed as art no less. I guess a lot of contemporary art is like that though. There are some pieces you look at with your eyebrows scrunched together and wonder, "how is this art?" Sometimes the title or explanatory summaries help clarify the artist's intentions... but when there are no summaries and the title is "Untitled," contemporary art can be a bit frustrating. There were some very interesting pieces at the space though. My favorite of the night were the bookmarks. There was a whole wall dedicated to a line of bookmarks, posted on top of an ink-stamped page of a book to give it the illusion that the bookmarks are resting in-between an open page spread. Some of the bookmarks were real

bookmarks but most of them were random pieces of paper. People apparently use a variety of unusual things as bookmarks: grocery lists, child-drawn pictures, notes from history class...etc. The most memorable of the ones on display was the financial bucket list. Things like "create a beautiful home" and "travel to Europe and China" were included among other personal benchmarks of financial success. It's amazing how much you can learn about someone from their bookmark. In my humble opinion, I think the best kinds of contemporary art are those that makes statements about people and their lives. The best ones usually fall into one of two categories: things that are seemingly obvious/boring or things that are taboo. Contemporary art is the perfect place for both. (Like post secret! If you haven't heard of it, please check out www.postsecret.com, a perfect example of contemporary art.) Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the Urban Arts Space. Please feel free to comment about your favorite and least favorite pieces if you would like.Thanks and sorry for the lengthy post!

Posted by Jina Yu at 11:42 PM 1 comments

1st Year RetreatBethany Lewis said... The morning of the retreat did not begin very positively. As Adam, HAV 2's crowned RA, so eloquently put it "You know its fun if it's mandatory!" All over, the mood of the common room was tired, annoyed, and a general sense of not really with it. When we boarded the CABS busses the mood didn't get much better, but THEN Ben brought out the food! And what could at least slightly perk up a group of grumpy sleepy humanities scholars other than food! When we finally got to the camp it was extremely cold, and after warming up for a good minute and a half in the bathrooms we were divided into groups, and, all huddled together, my group set off to our first mission. Overall I ended up having a lot of fun on the retreat. I was with a group of people I didn't know very well at all, and I ended up talking to all of them in one way or another and learning so much about everyone. Since so many of us didn't know very much about each other I think it made us more determined to bond together to get through the challenges that were placed before us and to keep positive attitudes. One of our groups highlights was when we accidentally broke the tire challenge and spent the next few minutes just laughing about the whole situation. I also loved the thrill of the trust fall, it was so exhilarating to be in free fall, if only for a moment, plus we had fun catching Ben and Daniel. My group leader was very chill and informative about the camp which was side information that was interesting. Also, for the most part, our group stayed very positive, which I definitely think added to the experience and made it much better for me. Overall, even though I was sooo cold, it was a lot of fun. November 2, 2010 5:58 PM

Don’t Forget!• Study for finals!• Blog!• Have a good Holiday!