Last night campus was transformed into a beautiful Winter Wonderland with five inches of snow! I think the campus looks gorgeous with the fresh layer of snow, and it puts us all in the Holiday Spirit! Friday night, Untied, an all-male vocal group made up of six upperclassmen, performed a benefit concert to raise money for the Santa Squad, a non-profit organization started by a junior at Ripon to raise money and purchase toys for children. At the concert Friday night they raised over $600!
Today I only have one class, then I'm selling Autism Awareness t-shirts for Psi Chi during lunch at the commons. This is the second chance to buy t-shirts; during the first sales we raised over $600 for Autism Speaks, a foundation to raise awareness and fund Autism research. 
This afternoon Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) and The Environmental Group of Ripon are sponsoring a presentation by Ripon Alum, Steve Sandstrom, entitled "Global Climate and the American Consumer: How You Can Make a Difference." It should be very interesting and educational! In addition, tonight the Spirituality Association of Ripon (SARC) and Campus Cristian Fellowhip (CCF) are presenting Sister Lynne Smith of the Benedictine Abbey in Madison (an ordained Presbyterian minister), who will speak on the work of her religious community to restore the environment. She will also explain how she, a Protestant pastor, came to be a Catholic nun. 
This past weekend was the Conference Tournament at St. Norbert College. At the end of the regular season the top four teams make it to the conference tournament, where they play to see who will move on to the first round of the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Tournament. We were the number three seed and played the number two seed, Beloit College, in a tough match Friday afternoon. We lost in three sets, 15-25, 18-25, 25-27. After staying to watch the Championship match on Saturday, I went with my parents to catch the last quarter of the football game at Lawrence University. The boys won 42-14!
I went home with my parents Saturday night and went to the Packer-Viking game in Minneapolis on Sunday! What a game! It was a tough last-minute loss, but it was a fun game!
I was recently invited to join Psi Chi, the national honor society in Psychology. Psi Chi was founded for the purposes of encouraging, stimulating, and maintaining excellence in scholarship, and advancing the science of psychology. Receiving an invitation to Psi Chi is a great honor! In order to be eligible you must have had 9 completed semester hours in psychology, have declared a psychology major or minor, have a GPA of at least 3.0 in psychology and a 3.0 overall, and must be ranked within the top 35% of your graduating class! So I am very excited to have been invited to join Psi Chi! 
This weekend's Halloween festivities were so fun! Merriman had a Haunted House open to students after donating a canned food item for the Food Shelf. It was a spooky good time and for a great cause as well! 
Hello! I am sorry it has been so long since my last post! The time has just run away from me! First, it was midterms week and then I spent Fall Break in Texas on a volleyball trip! It has been a hectic few weeks!
This weekend is Halloween--my favorite holiday! :) This afternoon I'm going to Goodwill to try and find a last-minute costume! There are plenty of Halloween festivities happening around campus: Theta Sigma Tau is hosting a Halloween Party at the Union tomorrow night and Merriman fraternity is having a Haunted House Saturday night! I am so excited...let the tricks, treats, and hauntings begin! :) 
In my Intro to Sociology class we are studying deviance. Deviance does not necessarily have to be something bad, just something outside your norms. On the first day of the unit our professor, who normally wears pumps and business attire, was sitting in the front of the class wearing sweatpants and a hoodie with her feet up the the table! That was her form of deviance, but today is a chance for the students to be deviant! For 10 EXTRA credit points, we had to lock up our cell phones in her office for 12 hours. So as of 9:15 this morning I am going on 45 minutes without my cell phone! I think it will be good for me though; I have two exams to study for today, so I won't be distracted by calls or text messages! :)
Also tonight, Ripon College's Ethical Leadership Program is sponsoring a forum to discuss Wisconsin’s Drinking Age and the Amethyst Initiative. The Amethyst Initiative is a statement signed by 129 college presidents, including Ripon College’s President David Joyce, that does not prescribe a particular policy change but states the signatories' belief that the legal drinking age of 21 is not working as well as the public may think, that its unintended consequences are posing increasing risks to young people, and that it is time for a serious debate among our elected representatives about whether current public policies are in line with current realities. The forum is intended to open the discussion about Wisconsin’s legal drinking age as well as encourage student, faculty and community participation to bring forth as many positions, beliefs and questions as possible. It should be a very interesting and well-needed discussion.
This week is Homecoming Week at Wild Wild Ripon and there's a great line-up of events! The week kicked off on Saturday with a brat fry at the soccer game. Yesterday campus organizations grabbed thier paintbrushes and painted the windows of the commons, and today SMAC sponsored Monday Music Madness in the Pub during lunch. On Thursday, comedian Chad Daniels will be at the Terrace. Friday there is a Fireworks show on Upper Sadoff and Couch Potato Playoffs, and Saturday is the Parade and the Big Game! The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra is also performing Saturday night at 7:30 in the Rodman Center.
Today I received my acceptance letter from the Academic Year Abroad - Madrid Program! Now the next step is filling out an academic questionnaire, a health/insurance questionnaire, a housing questionnaire, and signing a contract for payment...
--Christy
Today I went to a presentation by Dr. Ann Frisch of the Nonviolent Peaceforce. Dr. Frisch is a retired professor from the University of Oshkosh, who is now a member of the US Fundraising Board and a returned international civilian peacekeeper. She talked a lot about her organization, Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP), which is a nonpartisan unarmed peacekeeping force composed of trained civilians from around the world. I am very interested in Peace Studies, after taking a Peace Studies Maymester and traveling to Hagley Gap, Jamaica last spring. I spoke with Dr. Firsch after her presentation about internship opportunities and I hope to be in contact with her in the future.
Today, my Spanish professor, Dr. Fuerch, is holding a meeting for all students interested in studying abroad in Spain next semester! I have already sent in my application and am excited to learn more about study abroad! The program I am going through is called Academic Year Abroad. It's program is located in Madrid, but there are also programs in Toledo, Sevilla, and Alicante. Not to mention all of the other study abroad programs Ripon offers:
-Botswana
Most Mondays are usually my least favorite day of the week, but yesterday there were a lot of great things happening around campus! During lunch, SMAC sponsored "Monday Music Madness," a free concert in the Pub. Ari Herstand, a native of Minnespolis, MN :), performed. He sounds like a mix of Dave Matthews meets Ben Folds...check him out on iTunes!Last night was also the kick off of Sigma Chi's Derby Days, a week-long series of events, raising money for the Children's Miracle Network. Last night the guys sponsored a bon fire behind Storzer Athletic Center. What fun!
For those of you who don't know me, I'll quickly tell you a little about myself. I am a junior at Ripon this year, and I am originally from Rochester, Minnesota. As I mentioned earlier, I am an outside hitter on the Ripon Volleyball team. When I'm not playing volleyball, I am in the classroom with a full schedule this semester! I am a Psychology and Spanish double major with a minor in Sociology, so I am definitely keeping busy! I work in the Admission Office and am also on the Marketing Advisory Committee on campus.
