One of the on campus organizations that I am involved with is student Senate. That is the governing body of the university. Our responsibility is that we work as a liaison between the administration and the students. We are also responsible for allocating money to the different recognized student organizations. The committee responsible for this is the allocations committee which is the Committee I am apart of. Over this past week we have been going over budgets and I was able to see first hand all of the programs that Clarion organizations puts on. There were a ton of events that will be going on next year. Organizations received funding to put on everything from speakers to educational trips to regional conferences. There really are a lot of things for people to get involved with. Whatever peoples interest are, there are plenty of things going on that can help them perfect there crafts and gain insight and knowledge. In addition to this there are plenty of cultural organizations as well. Regardless of your background there are organizations that are relevant to your background. Whether it be ASIA or the Black Student Union there are organization that can fit your needs. Overall, throughout this week I have seen first hand that there is a lot to do and plenty of funding for these organizations to put on very interesting events. Next year should be packed with things to do.

Last week a new ice cream shop opened. up. I was very impressed. Clarion is trying to come up a little bit. Anyone who knows me knows I love chocolate ice cream so this new shop in Gemmell will definitely be visited by me. However, I just recently had a chocolate milkshake and it was watered down, So if someone from the shop is reading this please remember to keep the ice cream thick.

On another note the weeks are moving by slow. I cannot wait to go back home to Philadelphia. The 6 hour bus trip back home does not even seem like it will be that much. I just cannot wait to get back home. Now there is nothing wrong with Clarion. It is a nice place to be, However, after a while I am usually craving to go back home. I miss the family. Likewise because of the break a lot of teachers feel this is a nice time to give a lot of work, so I have a lot of tests and papers due this week. So I cannot afford to slip up. Hopefully I make it through the week. Well until next week. I hope everything is alright with everyone who reads this.

I'm a little late on this blog. I had one of the funnest weekends of the semester. At the University of Pittsburgh there was a step show I attended. The Greeks who performed there were very good. It was one of the nicest step shows I been to. In addition to that it was also my first time at a big Greek event as a brother of a Fraternity. Watching the show with this perspective was very memorable and a lot of fun. Only to make things better the Kappas won the step show, and my sandz from Pitt who crossed the same time I did were in it and they did a good job. On April 21 the same Kappa team is coming to Clarion and will put on another good show. I am looking forward to it. I would hope that everyone in Clarion comes. It will be the funnest weekend of the semester.

I would strongly encourage any young African American Males, or females to consider Greek life. Over the weekend I was able to See more of the brotherhood that fraternity life brings. I was able to experience up close and personal some of the networking that Greek life has. It is really a good thing and does a lot of good. The special thing about Greek life in Clarion is the bond that the Greeks have with each other. We are all real tight and we all hang together constantly. Over the weekend I had a little get together with some of the Greeks on campus and we had a lot of fun. All the pictures you see are from the gathering that I had.

I am really getting use to this Blog. The idea that I can type what I am doing and how I am feeling and everyone would read it. Now I know that a lot of incoming freshman and people that are interested in Clarion will be reading this blog. So I feel it is important to talk about diversity. The minority community in Clarion is very small. However when you go by the numbers there are a couple hundred of us. Being that most of us know who each other, we have a pretty big community. So when it comes to Clarion it is a nice place for diversity because there are a lot of different types of people that bring a lot of different things to the table. In our daily interaction we get to learn a lot of things from a lot of different people of different cultures and backrounds. So I would encourage minorities to come to Clarion. I see that people are reading this blog from all over the world. Everyone has something unique and special about them and places like Clarion are ideal places to get together and build on our differences.

Last Wednesday we had a snow day. It was also Valentines day, and I spent all day With my Beautiful Valentine. However there were a lot of people outside sledding. I don't know about that. It was very cold. But they looked like they were having fun. So if you like to sled Clarion is for you. On that note I would like to say I hope everyone had a Valentines day that was as special as mine. That would be hard because mine was pretty special, However I hope everyone used that time to talk to loved ones, and reached out to family and friends to strengthen relationships.

Just recently I was asked to serve on a panel to answer questions to incoming freshmen. The panel went really well and we were able to provide a lot of insight to incoming freshmen about how Clarion REALLY is. The students kept asking us the same questions so I figure I will put a couple on here and answer them. The students asked what we disliked most about Clarion. The answer was unanimous, The weather. It gets cold with a lot of snow. In addition to that the classes will remain in session. Only like three times in my entire collegieate career were classes cancelled because of snow. The only plus side is that the school is not that big, so when you have to walk to the two separate ends of the campus it will only take you about ten minutes. Another question that was asked was why did we choose Clarion. I chose Clarion because it was out in the middle of nowhere, and the distractions were to a minimum. I thought if I joined a small college community like Clarion, I would have a lot f time to focus on my studies. It turned out to be true. As I move through the years I constantly find myself with nothing to do and often times I just study, or do something that would contribute to my long term goal of becoming a lawyer. So overall, choosing Clarion ended up being a good decision.

I also want to talk about our Aids Charity event. Last night the Black Student Union, put together a student vs. faculty basketball game. It was very successful. A lot of people showed up to support the event. There was a dunk contest, and two basketball games. First the students played the faculty. The faculty won by a lot of points. Its not that they were better, I just don't think the students were in enough shape. We underestimated the faculty. So for the next year, they may have bragging rights, but they will not win again. Next time we will work out before the game. After our game, there was another game, that was students vs. students. That game also went really well. The event made over 150 dollars and the money will go to finding a cure for AIDS. The event was nice and it is these types of events that make Clarion Fun.

One of the finer things about college life are the friendships that develop. As I sit and think about how far I've come since high school, and the trials and tribulations I've been through, I know for certain that I had good friends to help carry me through the storm. At the same time as you navigate yourself through the college experience, you begin to understand the importance of positive relationships. Friends always rise together, fall together and help each other out at every available opportunity. For me personally, I did not truly understand the importance of friendship until I came to clarion. We all know that clarion is a place where there is not much to do; therefore there is a lot of time for human to human interaction. Through the years as you interact with these people day in and day out you are cultivating the relationships that will last forever. Through these relationships you can better understand yourself, know what you want in relationships, and have the courage to break off unhealthy relationships. Clarion provided me a good education, but what has been the most beneficial aspect of my collegiate Carreer, was the quiet atmosphere, which provided me with the opportunity to grow within myself, and develop lasting relationship with great people.

One of the best things about Clarion is that there is always something to do. For example yesterday the University Activities Board put on Fun Flicks. This was an event that allowed people to create there own music videos karaoke style. It was a lot of fun and it was a major attraction for students. We also recently had some of the cast members from the hit show Black and white. They came and talked about some of there experiences during the filming of the show. It was a very thought provoking lecture and discussion. This semester seems to be starting off very positive with many things to do.
One of the problems though is that professors are giving a lot of work at one time. I can already tell this will be a tough semester. I already have two tests, homework and a major paper. The higher you get in college the harder it becomes. But I'll manage.
In the future I will be adding photos of some of the events I attend. If anyone were to have any question or concerns about Clarion feel free to e-mail me, I will respond.