Finding a suitable internship

Internships are common parts of many students’ academic careers. They provide hands-on experiences within a student’s field of study, allowing them to better understand what responsibilities their future may entail.

Communication major senior Anna Kelly enrolled in her first internship in the summer of 2016.

“I worked for the health insurance company Lifetime Care,” Kelly said. “I worked in their public relations department and was able to apply my communication teachings to the work I was doing. It was a very rewarding experience that I feel will help in my future career.” 

There are a wide variety of tools—found both within and outside Geneseo—available to find such internships. Resources such as these all serve to streamline a potentially complicated process.

“I used several different search tools while looking for my first internship,” Kelly said. “I used KnightJobs through the school as well as Internships.com, Indeed.com and Monster.com to look for internships. I could enter my city of choice and the field I wanted to work in, so it was an incredibly helpful process and its simplicity made it easy to find an internship suited to my goals.”

While students can find internships outside of Geneseo to explore their fields, they can also enroll in internships on campus alongside their normal coursework. Kelly found such an opportunity in the fall 2016 semester. 

“Last semester, I was an event programming intern for the Department of Student Life,” Kelly said. “In addition to that, I have had dual internships as a Career Mentor and Marketing Specialist for the Department of Career Development throughout my senior year.”

In Kelly’s eyes, each internship builds upon the lessons of the previous one.

“At your first internship, you learn the broad strokes of the professional setting,” Kelly said. “You learn how to present yourself and work with others, and the next internship builds on that, teaching you the more nuanced parts of the job—and having that experience in your pocket helps build you up for your first job post-college.”

Some people feel that internships are a requirement for students nowadays, as they provide on-the-job experience to students before they find themselves in the professional setting post-graduation. But not all students’ degrees are fit for an internship, as Kelly sees it.

“I feel like an internship’s necessity is determined by the student applying for it,” Kelly said. “Sometimes an internship is not a necessity for a degree; more like, it will simply add experience toward a future career that a student may want to pursue. I have met students who were successful both with and without internship experience. It’s mostly what you make of it.”

As students, we reap what we sow, and working hard at an internship can provide valuable experience and preparation for future opportunities and impending professions.

Energizing eggs to fuel your busy day

Getting through the day can be tough after eating a petite breakfast like cereal. While eggs are a great way to start the day, a complex recipe can take a long time; every second counts in the morning for college students. This recipe is quick and delicious, while still providing a hearty, filling breakfast.

Avocado & Tomato Omelette

Ingredients:

4 egg whites

2 medium-sized tomatoes

1/2 of an avocado

Directions:

1.    Dice the tomatoes and avocado in half; any size works.

2.    Heat a pan to medium and add the egg whites.

3.    When the egg whites cook through, flip them and start to 

break them up.

4.    Add the tomatoes to the pan while reducing the heat to 

medium-low.

5.    Wait one minute and then add the avocado.

6.    Let it cook for 30-40 seconds.

7.    Take off heat and serve immediately.

Pro tip: Sriracha is incredible on this dish.

Chocofrolic connects Geneseo’s small businesses, community members

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As a much anticipated event, Chocofrolic took place on a picturesque Saturday afternoon. The Geneseo Merchants’ Association organized the event to promote small businesses on Main Street.(Annalee Bainnson/Assoc. Photo Editor)

With the temperature hitting an unseasonably warm 60 degrees, Saturday Feb. 18 created a picture-perfect day to stroll up and down Main Street for “Chocofrolic.”

From 12-3 p.m. residents of Geneseo, the surrounding area and students of the college had the opportunity to explore the nooks and crannies of Main Street in the pursuit of chocolate.

“Chocofrolic is organized every year by the Geneseo Merchants’ Association,” owner of the landmark bookstore Sundance Books Fred Mingrino said. “The Association began holding the event about three or four years ago and it has been great in raising awareness of the local shops that may not get as much traffic.”

This increase in traffic motivates the Merchant Association’s organization for this event. A big part of that uptick in traffic is the inclusion of treats found at each participating shop.

“Each shop has a different treat and bonus available to Chocofrolic participants,” employee of Sundance Books LeeAnn Mumbach said. “Here at Sundance, we have a combination of cookies from Finger Lakes Cookie Company and some of our favorite German chocolates. We also are offering a 20 percent discount on all books sold during Chocofrolic.”

Each shop offered a chocolate-related delicacy for participants as well as a discount or promotional offering to each customer. ENVY Salon and Spa had chocolate cake pops as well as $5 gift cards, while ArtSmart Studio had hot cocoa, free scratch offs and a lottery for curious parties.  

Each shop signed the tickets of Chocofrolic participants, who could then enter those tickets for a chance at a $25 Visa gift card. Regardless, wandering around the village in search of treats and rewards gave participants the opportunity to visit new shops that they may not have found otherwise.

“The great thing about Chocofrolic is it really allows people to get to know our town better,” owner of Finger Lakes Cookie Company Lois Bush said. “People get to explore our village and take in the beauty that it has to offer. And they also get the chance to look in all of our shops to see what they may like.” 

The exploration of the village and its shops served as perfect time for couples to get out for the day and to spend some quality time together. Couples could drink in the crisp air of the town while also searching for a myriad of treats around the village, a perfect—albeit belated—Valentine’s Day experience.

“The Association tried to form the event around the idea of Valentine’s Day,” Mingrino said. “Eventually they decided that a wonderful activity to get people into the shops would be to go around finding treats. After all, who doesn’t want to search for sweets with someone that they think is sweet?”

Overall, Chocofrolic was an event that pulled the community together, while giving a nice commercial boost to all the shops of Geneseo. It also gave participants a chance to spend some quality time with friends and loved ones, to enjoy chocolate and beautiful weather, all while exploring the shops and finding new things to strike their fancy.

Tips for balancing a relationship, pledging

College is hectic and busy in its simplest form. It can be hard to juggle the responsibilities of one’s coursework along with one’s romantic endeavors—but when you throw rushing and pledging on top of that pile of obligations, it only serves to compound the problem.

Greek life is renowned for the difficulty of its new member education, which can really take a toll on a relationship. 

Speaking from personal experience, pledging can be a difficult process. You are burdened with a hefty task: learn about the history of your prospective Greek organization, form a close bond with your fellow pledges, overcome the challenges placed in front of you and—more than anything else—juggle that whilst still doing your best to achieve your academic and personal goals.

More than likely, there will be moments when your relationships suffer, as you are challenged to balance an introduction to Greek life, school, and extracurriculars. Perhaps you are painting the tree, going to pledge meetings or simply engaging in some ritual meant to foster a bond of brotherhood or sisterhood. 

These new priorities can happen at multiple points in any given day and, as such, they can obstruct prior plans to spend time with that special person in your life. Perhaps you and your significant other were planning a relaxing night of watching Netflix and eating pizza. Regardless, those plans are now second to your commitments to new member education. 

This may deter the relationship, but it is important to stress to your significant other that pledging is just a temporary obstacle that you can overcome in a variety of ways. 

Make sure to spend time together whenever you can. Get lunch together, help your partner study for their upcoming exams, provide a sounding board for their essay ideas and act as a counsel for their pledging anxieties. By tackling homework or engaging in useful conversation, time spent together can be productive—almost a guarantee to help keep a relationship healthy.

A surprise date can go a long way, too. If your partner is having a long week with class, pledging and everything else, surprise them with a relaxing activity. 

Show up to watch Netflix with them on a Thursday night or go up to Main Street for pizza and for perusing the shops. Maybe invite them over and have the candles lit with the Marvin Gaye playing—see where the night will take you two.

Above all else, a firm understanding and acceptance of your partner’s responsibilities beyond your relationship is crucial. So long as you care about them—and demonstrate it through your actions—you are bolstering your relationship and giving it the stability to last through the pledging process. 

The best relationships are built upon the little interactions that pile up to show you care for your partner. If you have shared those interpersonal moments, your relationship can easily survive the temporary roadblock that a bid to a fraternity or sorority might mean.

Dynamic twin duo of Bar-Eat-O share special bond

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As mirror image twins, Nick and Nate Wisnowski have been together for the majority of their lives. After being separated for a brief amount of time, the twins reunited by working together at local restaurant and bar Bar-Eat-O. (Courtesy of Nick Wisnowski)

The relationship between twins is one that can be difficult to describe. Yet, the duo from Bank Street’s Bar-Eat-O Nate Wisnowski and Nick Wisnowski did their best to explain this relationship. 

“We’re mirror-image twins,” Nick Wisnowski said. “We’re reversed, so we have different dominant hands and our hair grows in opposite directions. When our egg split, one of us flipped. We’re a one-in-a-million duo.”

Just as they were together in the womb, they have been inseparable in life. The twins share everything, including school, style, work and personality. They even auditioned for a movie in their pre-teen years.

“We had just done a bit for a mattress commercial and the casting director told us about a movie audition for this story of twins,” Nick Wisnowski said. “So, with our parents’ approval, we went up to Toronto to audition for the part. We actually were the director’s second pick, which was a really incredible piece of news for us.”

As the years passed on, the brothers continued to foster their one-of-a-kind relationship.

“We actually both went into the Air Force,” Nate Wisnowski said. “We decided that it was something that suited us, so we went for it. Nick ended up making it, but my wrist’s arthritis kept me from being able to meet the physical standards. But we still kept in touch all while Nick was at the academy and during his enlistment.”

The twins reunited after Nick Wisnowski completed his four years of service in the Air Force and they soon began working in and around Buffalo.

“We DJ’d for Kiss 90.5 Buffalo for a few years,” Nate Wisnowski said. “Eventually we broke off from that and formed our own DJing company. For about six or seven years, we DJed for clubs and events all around Buffalo.”

After the DJing company ran its course, the brothers went separate ways for a brief period. Nick Wisnowski began managing for the First Niagara Sabers Center and Nate Wisnowski began to work as an EMT. They still maintained consistent contact and eventually came back to work together at Bar-Eat-O.

“Nick had been managing here at the restaurant for a couple of months, and I had decided that I would go back to school,” Nate Wisnowski said. “My bar managing job could not accommodate my school schedule, and Bar-Eat-O could. So Nick offered me a job behind the bar and I took it.”

The brothers still, however, have their differences.

“Nick is certainly more outgoing than I am,” Nate Wisnowski said. “But I make up for it by going to the gym. And while we may argue like an old married couple, we really do love each other, and I don’t know what I would be without him by my side.”

The brothers remain close companions to this day and still do everything together.

“If I’m ever doing anything—be it having dinner, going on vacation or just hanging out at home—Nate is my first call,” Nick Wisnowski said. “He is a part of me.”

“Everlasting” is how Nate Wisnowski sums up their relationship, and that is exactly how they appear: a dynamic duo who will always support one another, each one a part of the other.

Rising textbook prices counteracts free tuition

Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently proposed a free tuition plan that would provide free tuition to public universities for students who come from incomes of under $125,000. Unfortunately, this plan will have little to no effect on student debt due to the rising prices of textbooks.

Cuomo’s free tuition plan may provide a way for students to access higher education for free, but the inevitable increase in students at public universities during the years has caused textbook prices to surge in accommodation. Instead of costing hundreds of dollars per book, textbooks range in the thousands of dollars.

Geneseo’s add-drop period ended on Jan. 23, a day similar to the purge. Students were robbed of their final chance at freedom from buying textbooks—now students must buy those books whether they want to pay for them or not.

It has long been an issue for students to accomplish this task, and this semester seems to be even worse for some. 

“I am here completely on financial aid and I still can’t pay for my textbooks,” English major sophomore Ima Broke said. “I got here on a full ride, but when I have to pay $1000 per textbook, it’s almost not worth it.” 

Due to her financial situation, Broke qualifies for Governor Cuomo’s free tuition initiative. 

“Governor Cuomo’s initiative will allow me to attend Geneseo with my tuition covered for four years straight,” Broke said. “But when I have to buy textbooks, I basically have to pay that same amount. My parents have had to mortgage our house to pay for my textbooks, and my younger brothers have yet to even enroll.”

Not all students, however, fall under the $125,000 salary capacity. In addition to paying regular price for their tuition, they must pay thousands of dollars for their textbooks. Some students—like biology major junior Will Barter—turn to more taboo means for their textbook payments.

“I had always been interested in getting involved in the black market,” Barter said. “Last semester I sold my car and worked 60 hours a week to pay for textbooks, so I figured it was time for something new.”

Barter has been an active black market merchant since January, dealing exclusively in the trade of human organs.

“As a biology major, it has really helped me learn more about how the human body works,” Barter said. “I have gained the experience of holding a human heart in my hands. I’ve dealt with livers. I’m really happy that I was given this opportunity, and I advise everyone to do it whenever they get the chance. After all, it’s not like textbook prices are going down anytime soon.”

Alcohol prompts risky drunk dialing

Imagine it’s been a long night and you’ve got a couple of drinks in your stomach. Now you may start to think—think about that one person who gets to you, be it in an amorous or antagonistic fashion, and you realize that you must tell them how you feel because it absolutely cannot wait.

So you decide to text them.

Then you wake up the next morning and read what you wrote through a sober lens. You may find humor in the recollections or you may feel untold shame at your conduct of the previous evening.

Regardless, you put yourself out there and declared your voice loud and clear. At least you can find a reprieve in that admission. This begs the question, however, why do we only send those texts that tell people how we really feel when we are drunk?

Associate professor of psychology at the University of Missouri Bruce Bartholow seems to have answered this question.

In a 2014 study, Bartholow found that alcohol caused people to stop caring about the potential negative results of their actions, essentially silencing the mental fire alarm we have that goes off when we make a mistake. 

Test subjects ingested alcohol and then completed an exercise forcing them to make mistakes. When compared to the control group, the experimental group was found to recognize their blunders, but they exhibited far less inhibition when it came to making those errors.

This cavalier attitude of the mind’s neurotic hindrances is easily observable, both in ourselves and in our inebriated companions.

The entire notion behind the act of drunk texting reveals a desire for catharsis and for change. We want to initiate a new step in a relationship, whether it is a testimonial of love or a declaration of hate. So long as we say what we feel, we find satisfaction.

But as Bartholow points out in his research, our sober minds keep us from following up on these desires. We are inundated with a mass of what-ifs, barring us from seeing the silver linings by only focusing on the “darker greys.”  

Alcohol nullifies these fears, forcing us to confront our own insecurities and to decide whether we will submit to them once more. Sometimes we come out of the situation having sent that text message or having made that phone call; we found ourselves desiring a change and we endeavored to manifest that change. 

People often say that drunk words are sober thoughts. I agree with this affirmation, but it is not to say that this is an absolute. Sober words can be sober thoughts. You just have to be willing to make peace with your desire for change. Otherwise, we will always be left with those questions of what could have been.

Christmas in the Village yields festive activities, long-lasting memories

It’s almost Christmas, a time when people come together in mutual admiration and thankfulness for their friends and family. In this yuletide spirit, Geneseo held its annual tradition, Christmas in the Village, on Saturday Dec. 3. “The event has always existed in one way or another,” Not Dot Shop owner Marcia Podhorecki said. “Originally, it was broken up over two nights, with ChristmaSing happening on the first Friday of December and Christmas in the Village happening the following Saturday.”

ChristmaSing is an event where the whole town gets in the spirit of the season by coming together to sing Christmas carols. Hot chocolate and cookies were available for attendees and everyone was granted a brief respite from the chilly night air.

The choral tradition was held on Saturday Dec. 3 this year, however, instead of the first Friday of December. Taking place at the Main Street fountain, holding it on Saturday allowed ChristmaSing to begin shortly after the lighting of the tree decorations in the Village Park at 6 p.m.

Christmas in the Village began at noon and ran until 6 p.m. Those in attendance could take a ride down Main Street in a horse-drawn carriage, hunt for elves, walk with Santa and Mrs. Claus and more. This provided a source of fun for the whole family, as attendants ranged from toddlers to grandparents in age.

Businesses up and down Main Street also held events for attendees. The choices available varied as greatly as the stores that offered them. Wadsworth Homestead, the historic home of the Wadsworth family, held photo ops with Santa from 12-3 p.m., which was something sure to make any child’s day. ArtSmart Studio, the quaint art school on Main Street, also hosted a workshop where attendants could design their very own ornaments.

Additionally, Not Dot Shop offered s’mores as a warm, tasty treat in contrast to the crisp, wispy day, and Touch of Grayce, the local variety shop, offered a chance for everyone to have hot chocolate and Christmas cookies with the Claus family in the evening after ChristmaSing.

With events such as these, attendees could make long-lasting memories that would stick with them for many holiday seasons to come.

“This is just a very nice way for the town to celebrate the season,” Podhorecki said. “We all come together as a community to get into the holiday spirit. When we sing the carols, everybody forgets their troubles for a little bit, and we are all able to enjoy one another’s company.”

And that is what the holidays are all about—coming together to enjoy one another’s company. It doesn’t have to be with your hometown; it can be with your coworkers, your friends or your family.

As long as you are with people whom you care about and who care about you, you can always get in the spirit of the season.

22nd annual China Night highlights culture through performance

Geneseo’s Chinese Culture Club celebrated their highly anticipated annual China Night on Saturday Nov. 12. Every fall, the cultural organization hosts a night in celebration of Chinese culture, complete with authentic Chinese food, dance, music and a play. This year marked the 22nd consecutive year of the night’s performance. “It’s incredible when I think about it,” Chinese Culture Club president biology major senior Tiffani Lee said. “This night has been going on longer than I have been alive, and it’s so great to be a part of this tradition.”

The club started preparing for the function about a month and a half ago. A total of 35 people were involved in the event when the time came to open the doors, including both members and non-members of the club.

The night began with the serving of authentic Chinese food, such as snow-white rice, shrimp-fried rice, plum and pineapple pork sparerib, lo mein and egg drop soup. Club members cooked and served all the food, giving the night a more personal and authentic feel.

Once everyone had sated their appetites, the show began. The performance, titled “A Peony in the Wind,” included everything from romance to intrigue to choreographed dance and fight scenes. And at the center of it all were two leads: Zhang Cheng Li, played by physics major freshman Kevin Zhang, and Lan Mei, played by communication major senior Leah Collazo.

The two portrayed a young couple trapped in a tale of Romeo and Juliet-esque amity, where Lan Mei was unable to be with her love because of his lower social status. The couple, however, threw caution to the wind and fled so that they could be together without anyone judging them.

Each year, members of the club write the skit for this event. The principal author for this year’s fable was biology major sophomore Evelyn Welch.

“I have never written before, so this was a real learning experience for me,” Welch said. “Thankfully, I wasn’t by myself in writing the script. I had a lot of help from our e-board, especially [accounting major sophomore] Eric Wang and Tiffani Lee; they were really invaluable throughout the whole process.”

When writing the script, the club wanted to put special emphasis on the traditional values of Chinese culture.

“We actually based this story off Tiffani Lee’s great-grandparents’ lives in China,” Welch said. “A lot of significance on the filial piety, ancestor worship and Confucianism are Chinese traditions. We saw the peony as a great way to do this, because it is a flower that is usually associated with loyalty respect.”

The club knew that while this may be an enticing part of the play, livening the story up a bit would be a grand addition.

“If it was just a play of nothing but speech, it would have been boring for the audience,” Welch said. “That’s why we added in the dance and fight scenes. They really made for a great spectacle, and we had a lot of fun practicing them.”

All in all, China Night was a great way for the club to entertain the students of Geneseo as well as to tighten their bond as a club.

“At the end of this, I really feel like we are much more of a family,” Welch said. “We had some difficult parts of rehearsal and writing the play was no small feat, but now we are closer than we have ever been before.”

Exploring sexuality through threesomes

Threesomes are a mysterious, taboo type of sex—but one that most people have thought about before. Fantasizing ourselves in a state of sexual euphoria, engaged in a moment of pure sexuality with two other people could be hard to resist. The threesome is a fairly liberal endeavor where one, in the hopes that they will respond in kind, must ask participants to open themselves both mentally and sexually to two other people. This motley crew of sexual beings can be any combination of genders: three males, two males and a female, two females and a male or three females. As long as one feels the desire and the drive to experience this new form of intimacy, nothing else matters.

Many people assume that males primarily fantasize about threesomes, but this is simply an idea that stems from the stereotype that associates men with perversion. The allure of a threesome does not extend from our innate sexual hunger—it stems from our desire for intimate connection.

In life, many seek companionship and relationships that can fulfill that desire. They can bring us close to a person who understands us, accepts us and helps us to grow as individuals.

The act of lovemaking embodies this. In The Big Lebowski, Maude Lebowski refers to sex as “the physical act of love,” which rings true in life. Sex allows you to share everything with a person. All of the troubles and anxieties fade away, and you are lost in each other, if only for a brief time.

Being with a person in such an intimate way is a tantalizing thought—the threesome is the next level up from that. You no longer share your love with one person, but with two. You are opening yourself up further and attempting to deepen the relationship that you share with your partners.

But with this added depth comes a certain anxiety. When bringing it up to your partner, there is a chance of miscommunication. Your partner may think that you are bored, dissatisfied or simply a pervert.

The best way to avoid this would be to develop a healthy, open sexual dialogue with your partner. With that in place, you two can have a mature discussion with each other in regard to a threesome.

When the time comes to do the dirty deed, jealousy is a significant possibility. One partner may become too invested or get cold feet in response to the introduction of another intimate partner.

That is the gamble, however, that comes with a threesome. You and your partner are putting yourselves out there, seeing if you can express your feelings in an even more potent manner. Your relationship may come out of the endeavor stronger than ever, but as a couple you will never know until you try it.

You just have to be willing to try something new.

Biracial, adopted student embraces his background

“Unconventional.” For business administration and psychology double major and marketing minor junior Lukais Sciandra, that is the one word that can sum him up.

“I don’t usually go by the book,” Sciandra said. “I think differently, and—from a superficial standpoint—I’m biracial, adopted, super young and my name isn’t even spelled right.”

Sciandra’s family adopted him when he was just three months old. Having three other adopted children—all of them of different ethnicities—Sciandra’s adopted family is very diverse. Sciandra’s adopted parents have always supported him and his adopted siblings through everything, from academic choices to Sciandra’s search for his birth family.

Early on in his academic career, Sciandra found that school did not pique his intelligence enough and subsequently ended up skipping a grade. “When I was in elementary school, I was very bored,” Sciandra said. “I mentioned this to my mom, so she signed me up to take some aptitude tests. The tests said that there would be no adverse effects to me skipping third grade. As an eight-year-old that sounded like a great idea, so my parents started looking at schools around Buffalo. Eventually we found one, and I entered as an eight-year-old fourth grader.”

While this was the right decision for him, Sciandra has mixed feelings about being the youngest in his grade. “I hadn’t thought about the implications of being a year younger than everyone in my class,” Sciandra said. “I was the last person to be able to drive, the last to work and, fun fact, I will not be 21 when I graduate from college. I will just have to make up for it with a belated celebration one month later, on my birthday!”

Sciandra also met his birth parents on his 19th birthday last summer. With the support of his adopted family and the help of the adoption agency, he tracked down and met his birth family.

“I really wanted to find out about myself,” Sciandra said. “I had sort of an identity crisis growing up, living in a home with so many different races. I guess I wanted to see myself in other people, physically and mentally. I just wanted to know who I looked like and see what I had gotten from them.”

Sciandra looks back on meeting his birth family with great fondness. They have provided him with another group of people to connect with, who are equally supportive of him. His birth mother even supported him before they formally met each other.

“She was able to find me on Facebook because of how uniquely my name is spelled,” Sciandra said. “She saw that I was playing varsity soccer in high school, and she actually came to a couple of my soccer games in Buffalo—her hometown. She didn’t come to meet me, but the thought that she came to show her support was really touching.”

His college life has not been devoid of meaningful experiences, either. Sciandra sees his pledging of the Kappa Sigma fraternity as his most memorable experience thus far. “Joining Kappa Sigma transformed my college experience for the better,” Sciandra said. “I was looking for a way to connect with other people and grow as a person; being in Kappa Sigma has really been a catalyst in my ability to achieve that goal.”

After college, Sciandra plans on utilizing his degree to pursue a career in marketing. To prepare for this, he has become a brand ambassador for Coca Cola and has plans to work on a co-op with Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals.

Until he graduates, though, Sciandra can be found eating his favorite food—which is pasta—working hard on his marketing ideas and doing everything in his power to remain “unconventional.”

The Registration Games

It’s that time of year again: registration time. During this period, students vie for spots in classes, doing their best to create their ideal schedules. This semester, however, the good folks at KnightWeb have adopted a much more unorthodox system of class registration.

“We know that our class registration process has never been perfect,” Director of Research and Development at KnightWeb Robert McIver said. “And after a lot of brainstorming and planning, we are happy to unveil our revolutionary new method to register for classes: the Everdeen Enrollment Process.”

The idea behind the process is very simple: all students who want to register for a class are put in an arena and then have to fight for their right to take the course. Weapons will be provided, along with sponsors and their respective gifts.

“The most common issue when registering for classes that we have found is that more people want to take the class than there are seats available,” McIver said. “But, through the Everdeen Enrollment Process, we can really cut down on those numbers and lessen the headaches that we at KnightWeb have to deal with when going through registration.”

Of course, there is also a domino effect caused by this program. With fewer students taking classes, there will be fewer people to combat each other, making fighters a sought-after commodity.

The college can easily capitalize on this aftereffect by instituting a gambling program to go in tandem with the fights. Any student who wishes to bet may wager a portion of their tuition on the likelihood of his or her candidate making it into the class. This will help to galvanize the entire campus in getting involved with the process. After all, those who entered would have a chance to forego some of their college payments.

Some people may wonder about the legality of this new method of registration, but McIver has assured Geneseo that all parts of the process are completely within the college’s legal rights.

“There is a little known clause in the SUNY Geneseo constitution that grants KnightWeb complete, unchecked authority when faced with a crisis of registration,” McIver said. “We plan to use this capability to restore order to the process and to make Geneseo into the great college we know that it can be.”

No real structure to the way in which students will be placed into the arena exists. They simply must be willing to kill for their spot in the class.

“We believe that this will be instrumental in preparing our students for life after college,” Head Chairwoman of the Student Registration Committee Josephine Davidson said. “In the world after college, you never know what is going to come your way. One day, you might be working in a cubicle and the next you may be competing with others for a promotion. In those types of scenarios, you need to prove that you are worthy of what you are fighting for, and that’s what this registration process aims to train students for.”

The first round of battles will be held on the College Green on Wednesday Nov. 9. There will be food and drinks for sale and bleachers will be erected for the event. There will be 400 students engaged in combat for the 200 spots in BIO 101 at 8:30 a.m.

Let’s get ready to rumble.

Tale of Erie Hall haunting reminisced during Halloween season

With Halloween around the corner, there are specters and ghouls out and about—yet one of these paranormal beings may be real and not just some student on their way to a costume party. Students documented a haunting that occurred in Erie Hall back in 1985. The spirit of a teenage boy visited the residents of suite C2D1, growing obsessed with Christopher Di Cesare, a resident of the suite at the time.

Reportedly, the spirit made its first appearance to Di Cesare in February of 1985, appearing first as a ceaseless, disembodied voice that persisted even when Di Cesare put on his headphones. The next night, the spirit made an appearance as an apparition rising out of Di Cesare’s roommate’s stereo.

This understandably shook Di Cesare, and he relayed his experience to his suite neighbor, Jeffrey Ungar. Ungar was an amateur photographer and writer at the time, so he decided to chronicle the supernatural events as they unfolded. Consequently, Ungar recorded both photographic and auditory evidence of the phantom.

Over the following months, the ghost of the teenage boy became increasingly bold, going so far as to attack Di Cesare in the shower, leaving him with three bleeding scratches on his back.

The phantom abandoned the suite after Father Charlie Manning came in to perform an exorcism, but not without leaving behind a legacy. In its wake, the spirit left two dozen witnesses, evidence of its presence and—most of all—a relic on Geneseo’s campus.

Some theories say that the spirit was one of a teenage boy, Tommy, who reportedly hanged himself on the campus grounds.

No one has reported another major sighting of Tommy in the last 30 years, but that does not stop any of the students from wondering if he is still around, roaming the halls of Erie.

“We didn’t know about the haunting before we got our suite,” English major sophomore Jennifer Galvao said, one of the current residents of suite C2D1. “We only realized our suite was the ‘haunted suite’ after registration.”

Galvao and her suitemates claim that they have not had any experience with the ghost so far this semester. “I don’t think it’s real,” she said. “But I can still creep myself out if I think about it too much late at night.”

There is something undeniably unnerving about the thought of living in a haunted building, even without evidence in favor of the ethereal being’s presence. In a situation like this, some students may feel it appropriate to find a means to rid themselves of the ghost, but Galvao and her suitemates don’t seem to have an issue with the possibility of an apparition.

“I don’t think we’d get rid of him,” Galvao said. “He seems like a peaceful guy, so I don’t see why we can’t coexist as long as he cleans up after himself.”

In the end, we may never know the truth about the haunting that took place in Erie Hall all those years ago. Nonetheless, the myth still makes for a way to spend time with our fellow classmates in the spirit of the season.

Zen Buddhism abbott advocates meditation benefits

The Asian/Asian-American Studies and Programming Department welcomed Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede to the Alice Austin Theatre on Thursday Oct. 13. Kjolhede is the abbot and director of the Rochester Zen Center, one of the oldest Buddhist centers in America. Kjolhede taught at the Rochester Zen Center for the past 20 years, having completed extensive training in Japan, India, Tibet, China and Taiwan.

For the last 10 years, Kjolhede has visited Geneseo annually to talk about Zen Buddhism and the benefits of daily meditation. Outside of the center, Geneseo is the only other place where Kjolhede gives his presentations.

The presentation began with a simple explanation of how meditation and Zen Buddhism go hand in hand. Kjolhede explained how the Japanese word “zen,” used to describe traditional Buddhism, actually translates to “meditation.”

He talked further about the benefits from daily meditation that he has seen over the years.

“When meditating, we explore the body and mind,” Kjolhede said. “We begin to see the world in a different way. Through meditation, we can realize that we are all part of one world. We feel less at odds with all people. Our friends, family, enemies—everyone.”

Meditation can be a wonderful tool, especially for students. Through meditation, one can manage anxieties about class, grades, exams and the like.

The presentation, however, included more than just the benefits of meditation. Kjolhede also took the time to demonstrate proper Zen meditation form. This form is achieved simply by sitting with your legs folded underneath your lower body, while arching your back. By achieving this form, one is able to expand and to breathe deeply in order to be more in touch with their surroundings.

At the conclusion of the presentation, Kjolhede took questions from students and offered advice. One student asked what they should do when their mind starts to drift off during meditation.

“Count to 10 as you breathe, but clear your mind while you do,” Kjolhede said. “If while you are counting your mind wanders off, start back again at one. After enough diligence with this, you will be able to meditate with a clear mind.”

Kjolhede ended his presentation with a simple message about the nature of meditation.

“The key to happiness is simple: being present. Not lost in our thoughts, just examining and responding to the world around ourselves,” Kjolhede said. “And that is the benefit that meditation brings to us. A way to just focus on our world and be present.”

When done properly, meditation can provide great benefits. A healthy mind and body is essential to students, especially as the semester grows increasingly hectic.

Digital culture makes hooking up accessible

Our society is more connected now than it ever has been in the past. Never before have we possessed the ability to connect with people all over the world at our fingertips. As a result of this constant connection, we sometimes feel a fair amount of pressure to make such connections. This pressure especially displays itself in the way that our society views hooking up.

Text messaging, Tinder, Bumble and Grindr are a few of the easy and prevalent tools for finding hookups that are available to students. With all of these options, it has become almost expected to utilize them, and if you don’t use them then your chances of meeting people may diminish and you might feel left out.

While many people do still meet through face-to-face contact, it is becoming more and more common to find your match by simply swiping through a list of potential partners, scrolling through a webpage or talking to people in an online chat room. Making connections this way can feel as though no “real” connections are made at all. In essence, it can feel like attempting to make a connection in spite of a disconnection.

This disconnection can make you feel obligated to simply hook up with somebody, as opposed to first forming a deeper connection. After all, how can one make a proper romantic connection without really knowing their partner, especially when the immediate sexual option exists?

This gets to the heart of what drives certain technology to perpetuate hookup culture. These apps and websites offer the simple options—those easy, sexual encounters that make it seem too tiresome to pursue something more personal.

That isn’t to say that these are the only interactions created by these resources. Every person who uses them has a different idea of what they’re looking for. Furthermore, each person will get something different out of it.

There is always that pressure and expectation, however, to use Tinder, Bumble, and Grindr to find a new person to sleep with. Some people go along with the pressure, while others do not. Both options are completely fine, as everyone can pursue their own interests in whatever fashion they prefer.

To some people, though, the pressure to hookup can be too much. They may view the pressure as something to be avoided: something that can make you feel like a performer in a one-act play—one that will end with its two characters going their separate ways, never to talk again.

It takes being honest with oneself to successfully navigate the possibilities technological connections can offer. Dating apps can be both a platform to meet potential partners, or a recipe for a romantic disaster.

#Pray Vigil memorializes victims of worldwide tragedies

The Intervarsity Christian Fellowship held the #Pray Vigil on Saturday Sept. 24 outside of the MacVittie College Union. Anyone and everyone was welcomed to attend if they wished to spend their crisp, refreshing autumn evening either praying or simply thinking about the tragic events that have occurred over the last year, regardless of religious affiliation.

“We hope that the campus has a space to remember and pray for those who are hurting,” biology major senior Amber Lin said. “[The purpose is] to look outside of our bubble and be mindful of what is happening in the world.”

Seeing the continuous flow of tragic events occurring throughout the world—such as the Syrian refugee crisis, the bombings in Nice, France and the shootings in Orlando, Fla.—inspired Lin to organize the event.

The vigil consisted of soft music and prayer companions, and there were six tables on the terrace for participants. Five of the tables signified a different event to pray for, including #prayforjustice, Syria’s civil war, #OneKnight, terrorism and the Pulse shooting in Orlando. Each table provided a summary of the event and prayer cards to fill out and place in a prayer jar at the sixth table in the center of the terrace.

“So much is happening, and I just feel like my heart is being broken,” Lin said. “I thought, ‘What could I do to show people that I care about them if they are impacted by these events?’”

The convenient location of the vigil allowed attendees to stop by the event and to reflect before continuing onto the rest of their night. Moreover, there were rules to restrict how attendees could participate in the event. Some attendees simply stopped at a station to fill out a prayer card, while others sat together in prayer and contemplation.

Each table had small electric candles with Psalm 34:18 Bible verse written on them, reading: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Students could take the candles to remember to be mindful of the events that have happened or are still happening.

As the administrative coordinator of the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, accounting major senior Stephanie Jacob strongly supported #Pray vigil.

“I think that this is such a beautiful thing that Amber is putting on because it is not ‘pray for one thing,’ it is ‘pray for everything,’” Jacob said. “I’m really happy that we can all come together as a community to pray about all these different events.”

In all, the Vigil was a very serene affair. The event created an inclusive environment that allowed students to pray or to contemplate in their own personal way. It provided a wonderful respite from the negative events that have transpired over the last year with hopes that there will be no need for another one in the future.

Until then, all that we can do is be mindful of the world around us.

Eleven students leave convention early, face punishments

The department of languages and literature held the annual Jailbreak for Literature Convention with the nearby Livingston County Jail on Sept. 10. For the last 10 years, this department has taken the second Saturday of September to go to the local correctional facility to introduce the inmates to pieces of powerful literature. The students receive extra credit for their participation in the event, and it has proved to be an incredibly beneficial program that has helped numerous members of the inmate body to rehabilitate themselves.

The dean of the department of languages and literature started this program in 2006 as a way for the university to give back to the community. The program has successfully helped over 100 inmates gain knowledge through reading followed by a discussion with the students.

This year, however, the reputation of the convention was sullied. Due to the amount of extra credit offered for this event, hundreds of students showed up. Eleven of these students signed up for the convention, showed up and then left before the event concluded. They abandoned the task they had taken upon themselves.

One of the eleven students—who asked to remain anonymous—explained that they went for the extra credit, but after they were told there wasn’t enough space for the eleven of them and that they wouldn’t receive credit, they decided to leave.

The dean wasted no time in dispensing her swift and righteous judgment upon the perpetrators. The 11 students in question have already been penalized and placed on probation in response to their abhorrent actions. The student will have a list of tasks to complete to put themselves back in the good graces of the dean.

One task requires the students to write an entirely original story about a character who is justly punished for their arrogance. The story may be no fewer pages than an unabridged copy of War and Peace, and will be due by the end of the semester.

Additionally, the 11 students must spend a week in the Livingston County Jail so that they can experience firsthand the environment of the inmates. Furthermore, the 11 guilty students must stand out on the College Green for a duration of three hours, wearing only their underwear and holding signs that read, “I AM GUILTY OF LEAVING THE JAILBREAK FOR LITERATURE CONVENTION EARLY.” Finally, yet most importantly, the students must each prostrate themselves before the dean and grovel for their right to remain enrolled in the department of languages and literature.

Here at Geneseo, students are taught to act with integrity and honesty. Hopefully this will discourage any future trespasses against the Jailbreak for Literature Convention.