Busy but Having Fun

(above pictures --> the contestants from Mr. South Quad: I'm on the left with the two polo shirts and sunglasses, the winner of Mr. South Quad getting his crown, the poster advertising the event )


I can’t believe it’s already February! Time really flies when you’re busy!

So I have to tell you about this really cool thing I went to - last weekend, my residence hall (South Quad) held a “Mr. South Quad” pageant. It’s just like “Ms. America” except with guys and a different emphasis…the “Mr.” pageants are more about being fun and silly and less about having real talent or beauty. I got to participate in it as a representative of our Hall Council (the student government system within each residence hall…see other entries for more on that). Every candidate had to appear in a hobby outfit, perform a talent, answer silly questions, and do the dance to “Love Shack”. Everyone did really funny things! I appeared with two polo shirts on and some crazy blue pants and said my hobby was “fashion”! That got a big laugh from the crowd, and it was really fun to dress up and act crazy! In the end, I won second place, which was a really awesome way to end the night! The whole thing was a lot of fun, and the event had great turnout within the dorm…over 250 people came out to see it!

Also, I may have mentioned that I’m in a class called a “dialogue.” (see my Jan. 16 entry towards the end) On Wednesday, we did the “testimonials” portion of the class, where each student wrote up their “story” in terms of their socioeconomic background and shared it with the class. Each person had 5 minutes to talk with no interruptions or questions, and the things people said were intense and very engaging. It was really interesting to hear people speak so honestly about their backgrounds, and because of the nature of the class, participants are able to feel safe revealing these important things from their past. That was a fabulous class, and my IGR course is definitely my favorite that I have taken at U of M so far!

The Program for Intergroup Relations(IGR) at Michigan was the first of its kind, and many other universities have created their own programs modeled off ours! President Clinton also praised U of M’s IGR as one of the best things being done to promote tolerance and end racism in America. Pretty cool! This is consistent with the importance Michigan places on diversity and tolerance…it’s apparent in all aspects of the University. For example, at the very beginning of the year, UM puts on something called “Day of Change,” where guest speakers come and discuss issues relating to diversity and the importance of changing our attitudes and opinions to be progressive in society. There are all kinds of group discussions and different events which occur throughout the day, and they were all really cool! That day was my introduction to Michigan’s strong commitment to diversity and breeding acceptance and tolerance, and it’s really cool! Another really cool thing I participated in was the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Symposium, which is a collection of events and seminars which all occur on MLK day. That was a really cool experience, and I participated in several interesting programs.

I know that “appreciating diversity” is vague and hard to get excited about from reading it in a blog, but it’s such an important part of my life here at UM that I just had to address it in this entry!

Anyway, I had a Psychology 111 exam today which went well, and the next few weeks are going to be very busy ones in terms of exams and papers, as it’s midterm season! Fortunately, I have a break to look forward to in the last week of February. I’m going to be visiting some friends at Temple University, as our breaks don’t coincide, so they’ll be in school while I’m on break! I can’t wait to see them, and to have a break from exams and classes!

I’m meeting my friend soon for coffee and working on homework, but I’ll write more soon! GO BLUE!