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• Remember, Remember the 5th of November (and the other 29 days, too...)

Remember, Remember the 5th of November (and the other 29 days, too...)

Hello Everyone! It's been awhile since I've posted, but lordy has it been a busy November! First of all, last night there was a mini-crisis on campus.  Not only were 100 mph winds raging in Los Angeles, but there was a power out at Oxy.  That was a little inconvenient, but the fun

didn't stop there.  Shortly after the power went out, a fire started somewhere behind the Greek Bowl and several dorms were evacuated.  The evacuation didn't end up being necessary, as the fire never reached any buildings, but it was still stressful not knowing what was going on.  We all spent about an hour in Rush Gym with the lights going on and off and the scoreboard buzzing occasionally (oxy:0, fire:1), but it wasn't all bad.  My friends and I were sitting in a circle on the ground, and who should walk up but President Veitch? He talked to us for awhile and made sure we were all alright, and let us know what was going on.  The experience reminded me of how glad I am that I go to a school where the President is an actual person that's accessible and interacts with his students.  Not to say that other presidents don't care about their students, but President Veitch knows his students and is very present on campus.   The whole thing was very dramatic, and classes are cancelled today because we still don't have power restored to the whole campus and the internet comes in and out as well. It definitely isn't the way I thought I would finish out November, but it makes for a good story, I guess.  Here's a Video of the Blaze, if you're interested.  You can see transformers arcing in the background of the video (no, not those transformers) Working backwards through the month, this week was our first back from thanksgiving break.  I went home this year, unlike last year when I decided to stay, which I regretted.  Not to say that I didn't have any fun at all, but nothing beats going home and seeing the fam.

I thought that more people would stay, but I ended up being one of three people still in my dorm, so it was pretty lonely.  So this year, I went home, and I brought my friend from Vermont with me! We went snowshoeing, which was a lot of fun.  It was harder than I thought it would be, though I should have known it would be a little challenging. It's basically hiking in the snow.   Other than that, we drove around in the mountains, walked around Pearl Street, ate a LOT of food (Of course), listened to holiday music, watched movies, and did homework.  Yes, we did actually have to work over the break.  Finals are just around the corner, in a week and a half actually, and this is the time of year when Professors like to give out papers and the like.

Before I went back to Colorado, however, I had a Karate Tournament. I didn't win, but everyone else did really well! It was a good experience all around, and it was fun to watch all the other competitors. Afterwards, we went to QQ Asian buffet.  Nothing better than all you can eat Asian food!   Earlier in November, the History Society had our second dinner with a History faculty member.  Our first dinner was at Casa Bianca with Professor Gelbart, who talked to us about her books and research for them as well as the process of searching and hiring

professors.  Our second dinner was with Professor Wilson, who is curator of an exhibit at the Autry Museum.  We went to a kosher diner in Sherman Oaks (I can't remember the name :-( ).  She told us about what went into creating a museum exhibit and being a curator as well as how she came to that position. The History Society isn't really a new club on campus, but it has been less active in recent years, so we are trying to get it up and running again.  Basically, it's a club of people who are passionate about History.  Most of the members are either history majors or minors, but that doesn't mean you have to be a studying it intensely to be a part of the group. I will tell you more about it as the year goes on, but it's a really fun place to meet peers who are interested in the same things you are (in this case, History). Another exciting event that happened recently on campus was Tim Wise coming to talk to us about racism and white privilege.  Tim Wise is an anti-racism educator who often appears on CNN to talk about race and racism in various contexts.  He was a great speaker and was actually quite funny, but that didn't detract from his message.  I don't think I can eloquently summarize what he said, but it definitely made me think about a lot of things I take for granted. There are a lot of activities coming up in the next couple of weeks that I will {try} to blog about, such as Dance Production Showing and Finals in college. Until next time, here's a video that is educational AND fun! Enjoy!and if you want a real mind-boggler, watch this:ciao for now!