As always, things have been busy the past week or two. The big highlight was the Oxfam International Hunger Banquet that we of the Hunger House, in conjunction with the Office of Service, Spirituality, and Social Responsibility, held last Thursday. It was a hunger awareness event, and ended up being very successful. We had a great turnout. When people showed up, they were given an identity card, and that identity had a “class” depending on their socioeconomic status. They were divided into upper, middle and lower classes. Then there was a dramatization in which a person might loose all their crops, for instance, and move down a class. Then the meal would be served, which depended entirely on their class. The upper class was served several courses with a salad, pasta, lemonade and iced tea. The middle class had a buffet setup with rice, beans, and water, while the lower class had only rice and water. There were a number of things I found interesting, one of which was watching the lower class. Several people took it upon themselves to make sure everything got distributed equally, and went around serving the rest of them. Though it was only a dramatization, it was quite touching. Another thing that shocked me was how my perception of upper class changed. Before, I would have put myself in middle class, but the American view of middle class and the world view of middle class is very different. I think it’s safe to say that anyone attending Wheaton would be in the upper class. After all, many people don’t even have running water. It was great, and it made me rethink a great deal I take for granted.

Classes are going well, though it is approaching midterms. We have a really fun project that we are working on in Graphic Design. We had to pick a vocation, any one we could think of, and then design a clack to somehow represent that vocation. I chose to do a pirate, and I am designing my cock to look like a frayed treasure map. It’s so much fun! I stained the paper with tea and coffee, then seared the edges of it with a lighter. It looks great. After we complete the clock, we even have to design packaging for it. It’s a really great project.

In the Dems, we just started folding cranes for our Iraq War Memorial Project. Right now they’re all hanging up in my house, to the slight consternation of my housemates. Though they are very pretty. The anniversary of the war is on the 19th, so we will be hanging them up the week following Spring Break.

Speaking of which, Spring Break is just around the corner. Don’t have much planned, but I am still looking forward to relaxing and folding more cranes. There is something very zen about it. And after you fold five hundred or so, you can practically do it in your sleep. Well, that’s about it. Until next time!

Well, another Spring Break has come and gone, and sadly, I did nothing special for it. There were some really cool programs going on though, including building houses in the Caribbean. Midterm season is over as well, though I have to say, I am not quite as sad to see that go.

I only had three midterms however, which was lucky. We had our critique on our clocks in Graphic Design, as well as handing in our midterm portfolio. For the clock, we also had design proper packaging that worked with the theme of our clock. SO with my pirate clock I created a treasure chest box to go with. It was a fun project, albeit a very challenging one.

We have also handed in our midterm portfolios in Drawing, and are moving on to studying plants and still-life subjects. In addition to our portfolio, we handed in our giant self-portraits, which is one of the most fun projects we’ve had. It was so cool to work at such a large scale, even if it was on my own face. The composition I chose was me snoozing, and was supposed to be comical, but ended up being very serene and relaxing.

In Great Works we have moved out of the Rococo period and into Neo-classicism and the Romanticism period. We have been looking at artists like William Turner and John Constable with examples such as “Raft of the Medusa” and “The Haywain”. I have to say that I am not particularly drawn to Romanticized paintings, though I can still appreciet them as master works.

In the Democrats we are still trying to get our crane project hung. We have run into a few snags in regards to that, but we are hoping that it will happen this Wednesday. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

The other Ambassador Coordinators and I are preparing for the big Junior and Senior open houses coming up, when there will be the big overnight events. Right now we are trying to make sure we have hosts for all the students who are coming.

My birthday is coming up this week, and my friends and I had a minor celebration this past week. It was a lot of fun. We went to the loft and listened to the band that was playing, ate free pizza, and danced a bit (me not so much).

Well, I imagine things will be picking up again pretty soon. We only have a little more than a month left of school, which is just slightly terrifying. After this year, I am going to be a senior, and have actual responsibility. God forbid.