Work, awards make April a blur

Rumor has it that there was a month of April this year. I have yet to confirm that rumor, and until I do it will remain as nothing more than a rumor.
Just jokes... April was a pretty hectic month around here for just about everyone. Class Week and Spring Fest Week were both phenomenal! The Marathon Monday concert was a hit once again, as Mason, Interstate Flamez and Lasell's own SkyMan tore up the quad on the afternoon of the 16th.  The rain this past weekend held off long enough for Spring Fest to happen exactly as planned. There was a BBQ, inflatables and plenty of competitions.

As for this blog, it was unfortunately neglected while I've been bogged down with research papers, screenplays, presentations and newspaper production to name a few things. However, it's nice to know that your hard work pays off once in a while. I'm told that I'll get a diploma once I finish up all those assignments, but to hold me over I was recognized as the Student Leader of the Year for the 2011-12 school year.

I shared the award with my Co-Editor, Alyssa, and we're both very proud of our personal accomplishments this year, as well as the growth we've seen in the newspaper as a whole. We launched our external website (which you can find here) and told a number of compelling stories, including a couple that were harder to tell.

Though the newspaper was nominated for the Organization of the Year award as well, it couldn't have gone to a more deserving recipient than the Rugby Club.

Other members of the community that were honored at the annual Awards Banquet last week include Mairead VanHeest, the General Manager of dining services at Lasell, who received the yearbook dedication. Elisa Scarsella, the Director of Housing, was recognized with the de Witt spirit award, and Senior class president Kasey Looney received the prestigious Lasell chair.

But, after the banquet it's back to work for everybody, especially me. Alyssa and I left the banquet and headed straight to the final night of layout for the most recent edition of the paper, and I have finishing touches to put on a my capstone paper and final screenplay.

It's still hectic, but I can say for sure that I'm feeling much better than I was this past weekend when I was buried under a pile of work that hadn't been started.

So, what about after graduation?

... I think that's about enough for this week.

Tell me I'm not the only one...

End of the semester: LC Activities style

April is usually the most challenging part of the school year for everyone, other than finals, of course.

It's no different on the second floor of the Campus Center. April is crammed with events and celebrations to finish out the school year. But, OSA's final exam isn't until Laser Link Orientation in June.

Preparations for orientation are always ongoing, but it certainly accelerates now with future Lasers choosing Lasell every day. (Note: Industrial-sized Starburst is at the top of the early shopping list).

Not to mention, Commencement is just over a month away, and OSA has already started distributing announcements to seniors. Graduates are entitled to five free announcements each, and can purchase extras for $1 each. Note: Announcements shouldn't be considered tickets. Seniors can invite as many people as they want to the ceremony, but seating is first come, first served.

Looking even further ahead, OSA has openings for Front Office Assistants for both the Summer and Fall. It's a pretty good job to have, for obvious reasons. If you're interested in applying, applications are available in the front office during our business hours of 9 A.M. to 7 P.M. Monday through Friday. The deadline to turn in completed applications is April 18th.

With all of that to look forward to, there's still a lot to be done in the immediate future. Next week marks the beginning of Class Week, which will include a wide range of gatherings for each class.

There will be a barbeque exclusively for the Class of 2015 on Monday, April 10, from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M. in the Woodland Circle. Meanwhile, the Class of 2013 will be hosting a Celtics viewing party in the Campus Center that starts at 6:30 P.M.

On Wednesday, April 11, there will be breakfast for dinner from 4:30 to 7:45 P.M. in Valentine Dining Hall. The Class of 2014 encourages everyone to wear their PJ's to dinner that night.

Common Hour on Thursday, April 12, will feature a class T-shirt giveaway outside of Valentine Hall. Sophomore T-shirts will only be available at the Sophomore Connection, an event taking place in de Witt Hall during that time. At dinner that night, Valentine Hall will be converted into a Cupcake Creating Arena, as the classes will compete to see who can best decorate a cupcake.

Finally, Seniors will bring Class Week to a close with a celebration marking one month until graduation. The event will be held at Margarita's in Waltham from 9 P.M to midnight.

Class Week is just the beginning, though. Here's the rundown of some other events OSA is involved with this April:

• Class Week Super Bingo (4/14 7:30 P.M. in de Witt)
• Spring Fest T-Shirt Giveaway (4/17 during common hour outside Valentine Hall)
• CAB Concert: Mike Studd (4/18 9 P.M. in de Witt)
• The invitation-only Awards Banquet (4/19 6 P.M. in de Witt)
• CAB Spring Carnival (4/21 3 - 7 P.M. in the Athletic Center)

Have any questions about OSA events and activities? Let us know in the comments section, by E-mail , or by phone (617-243-2475).

Student Activities is on Twitter: @LCActivities. Find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/lcactivities. Jordan is on Twitter: @JordanRMayblum

Commencement 101

Well, there's no turning back now.

The Office of Student Activities has made the commencement website live! If you check it out, you'll find all the details you'll need to make graduation day on May 13 a breeze.

Seniors have a list of tasks to complete in order to walk at graduation that includes filling out the intent to graduate form, picking up their five free commencement announcements (available April 3), pre-ordering caps and gowns, and last but not least, finishing everything for your courses.

The commencement speaker will be Congressman Barney Frank. More information about him is also available on the commencement website. You'll also find information about hotel arrangements in the area, which should be a top priority, as hotels fill up quickly in the Boston area this time of year.

If you have any questions, give OSA a call at (617)-243-2475. You can also e-mail questions to studentactivities@lasell.edu

Spring Break: The Final Tour

Greetings from St. Petersburg, Florida!

As (my last) spring break draws to a close, my shoulders, forearms and cheeks are red, and the pages of my scorebook are filling up rapidly. That's because, for likely the last time for a while, I'm touring the Grapefruit League in Florida. I've been taking in spring training games featuring the likes of the Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves (to name a few).

I'll be returning to Boston late tomorrow night with my sights set firmly on commencement and (sigh), the real world that awaits myself and my fellow seniors following that ceremony.

But, I'm not worrying about that right now. Instead, I'm focusing on taking in my last Grapefruit League game. I just settled in at my hotel in St. Pete, a place which is special to me for an entirely different reason.

The trip included a visit to Boston's new spring training complex in Ft. Myers. After a game at jetBlue Park and a few hours watching major league drills on the practice fields, it has my stamp of approval.

I've been fortunate enough to have my Dad with me in the Florida sun each of the last five springs. This year is different in a lot of ways, though. This week has been his first as a retired man, with little to worry about other than helping me keep up with a flurry of defensive replacements and pitching changes.

At the same time, I've got a mountain of projects and tasks that await me when I return to Boston, not the least of which is preparing to go to work after graduation. With the job the I hope to get after graduation, I likely won't have a free week in the middle of spring to trek down to Florida for exhibition baseball.

Last May in St. Pete, I made nearly a dozen lifelong friends who all share a passion for journalism and are at similar junctures in life. Even though I've been coming to this area for a half-decade now, it's somewhat strange being in St. Pete without any of them. But, it serves as a reminder just the same of how lucky I am to have friends that I can relate to at this point in life, and talk to about ways to best set myself up for success.

Seniors, do you have any spring break traditions that you'll be bidding farewell to this May? Do you have any peers in your field that you can turn to for advice as you prepare to graduate?

Underclassmen, what did you do for break?

I'll be back next week with a commencement primer. For now, I'm focused on the Tampa Bay Rays and the Blue Jays.

Relay for Life at Lasell: Teams and individuals exceeding their goals

Relay for Life at Lasell will be taking place on the night of March 30th in de Witt Hall. In anticipation of the event, 99 members of the Lasell community have split into 20 teams, all with the goal of raising money for the American Cancer Society.

Several Lasell sports teams have formed relay teams, including the cross country, rugby, lacrosse and women's volleyball teams. In addition to student-athletes, multiple campus organizations, like CAB, Hope for Humanity, and SGA have joined the effort that has raised over $7,000 so far!

The top teams are Dennis' Menaces ($3,880), Brady's Bunch ($1,345), and Lasell Women's Soccer ($700).

The event is an overnight relay race, running from 7 P.M. on the 30th until 7 A.M. on the 31st. During that time, teams are asked to have at least one representative on the course at all times, showing support for cancer awareness and research.

The individual and team leader boards have some tremendous figures that still have room to grow with more than three weeks remaining until the event. Students Erin Norton ($2,355), Ryan Brady ($655) and James Hooper-Hamersley ($620) are at the top of the individual leader board. They've each exceeded their personal goals, with Norton surpassing hers by over $1,000.

Participants raise money through individual pages, and many of them compete in honor of loved ones who have been affected by cancer. If you'd like to donate, visit the Lasell's Relay for Life page, and choose a person you'd like to donate to. It's also not too late to start a team of your own or join an existing one.

February Senioritis: The countdown continues

So, it's almost March. There's a lot to look forward to over the next few weeks to be sure. There's all kinds of events on campus, spring break (of course), and the start of baseball season to name a few.

It's also come to my attention that come May 16th, I'll be what some people consider a "grown-up."

There's all the subtle reminders that range from the constant camera flashes from the room where senior portraits are being done, to the monthly deposits for senior week.

Being a senior sounds like an appealing lifestyle on the surface: Soon enough, I won't have to attend classes or write research papers anymore. Soon enough, I won't have to worry about fulfilling requirements to graduate. And soon enough, I won't have the responsibilities and stresses of managing The 1851 Chronicle anymore.

How I wish I could have all of those things for the rest of my life. Because, soon enough, I'll be going on job interviews, sending out applications, and hoping I can find a landing spot shortly after graduation.

I've already applied to a few positions for after graduation, both of which had early application deadlines. One is a fellowship, the other a paid internship. Both are with newspapers, and both are far away from where I expected to end up after graduation.

For the first time in my life, I don't know where I'll be living, who I'll be living with or what I'll be doing on September 1. Both of the positions I applied for are for the summer only. That means I'll still be looking for a place to settle down come August, and I'll have some big decisions to make.

While it would be disappointing if I didn't get either of the jobs I've applied for so far, the bright side would be that I'll have the chance to spend one last summer in Boston with my friends. After all, they're going through all of the same things I am, and there's no guarantee that they'll be around in September either.

For now, I'm trying not to concern myself too much with the prospect of being an... adult. Come May, I could easily be unemployed. But, as a sports fan, I prefer to look at it not as unemployment, but free agency.

Bruins, Vaginas and Zumba (Oh My)!

The rest of February is going to be pretty busy around here. We're expecting a long line of people for the Bruins ticket sale starting (and most likely ending) on Monday. Tickets to see the Bruins take on the New Jersey Devils on March 1 go on sale at 5 P.M. Students can buy two tickets with a valid college ID.

The line will probably start forming as long as three hours before the sale starts, as is usually the case. So, if you want to see the defending Stanley Cup Champions in action, be prepared to wait around for a bit.

Tickets also go on sale next week for the Dance Team's Zumbathon event, taking place Feb. 29 in de Witt. The event is a two hour Zumba party with proceeds benefiting the Multi-service Eating Disorders Association. Tickets are $5 in advance from OSA, or $7 at the door. Tickets go on sale at 10 A.M on Wednesday, February 15.

Once again, Lasell students and staff are showcasing the Vagina Monologues on campus. The event is meant to help raise awareness for the issue of violence towards women. The monologues are based off of the work of Eve Ensler, who interviewed 200 women on topics including their sexuality, bodies and life experiences.

The show is free to attend. It opens on February 23rd at 7:30 P.M. in the Yamawaki Auditorium with a second performance the following night, also at 7:30.

More tickets:

CAB will be offering tickets for a free trip to the Natick Mall starting on Monday 2/13. Also on Monday, the Ski and Snowboard Club will be offering tickets for their upcoming ski trip at $40 each.

Tickets for both trips will be available at the Office of Student Activities starting at 10 A.M.

Will You Carry the Torch?

It's still a little cold out, and the wait for the first major snowstorm of the season hasn't ended yet, but the search for summer orientation leaders is on! Applications are available in the Office of Student Activities and are due by 7:00 P.M. on February 22 to our office (Campus Center, 2nd floor).

Be warned, carrying the torch isn't just a job, it's a way of life... Having been behind the scenes for orientation the last few years, I've seen a little bit of what it's like to have that responsibility.

The hours are long, and there's a lot of information to take in, but the students who are selected walk away with a bond that doesn't end with orientation. OL's from past years are all still very close, and they make it a point to get together during the school year. It's hard not to get close to people when you spend as much time as the OL's do together.

If you've got a lot of school spirit and want to make a difference in the beginning of hundreds of students' college careers, now's the time to pick up your application!

The OL Experience starts well before the summer, as you'll go through your first round of training in the spring. Then, OL's come back to campus early in June for the beginning of the real fun. There's day-long sessions on the history of the school, that come with catered lunch and dinner as you prepare to induct a new class of students into the Lasell community.

Ask any former OL, and they'll tell you all about the Laser Link Orientation experience. There's so much more to it than carrying a clipboard around for two weeks in June.