Wow. Back to OWU already. Seems like summer flew by so quickly. Well, I am back on the grind (somewhat). Currently I am a Minority Pre-Orientation Leader, a regular Orientation leader, and the Senior Orientation Leader of Adventure Activities such as Ultimate Frisbee, Running, Hiking, and other such events. I am so happy that I get the chance to be on campus early so I could organize my room (which, by the way is a single- all mine), get to know all of the freshman before most of the other upperclassmen, and be in peace before that wonderful place called college and all of the work it accompanies. Anyway, I took a good amount of pictures. I tried to get several events as they were unfolding. The events happened in a matter of 36 hours. I decided to make it a colorful 36 hours with these pictures. I will give a brief description of the events. Enjoy!!
The first two pictures consist of The Strand movie theater in downtown Delaware. One of the pictures is of a blank screen. A blank screen is left up to interpretation and my thoughts went wild trying to figure out what type of movie I would be watching. I eventually saw Superbad, which I thought was definitely a teen movie, a true teen movie. I didn't think the movie was bad but a real sense of teens living their lives, a period of exploration, if you will. The other picture is of the interior of The Strand. The Strand seems to attract all types of customers and the interior seems to tell a story of a renovated prizewinner of a small town (which it 
is). The Strand gives off this sense of majesty and struggle in the same breath. Come to The Strand to get a better understanding!!! I guarantee you it is a good time!!! Time: Monday night before a meeting to discuss one of my events for Saturday- Habitat for Humanity building project. I needed the movie as it was a long day.I guess that the long day of Monday did not stop me so I propelled myself into Tuesday with a renewed sense of spirit. I changed hats and helped out with Minority Pre-Orientation, the program that gives awareness and critical information to incoming freshman of color. This would lead into an unpredictable and long day as I didn't finish until about 11:30 at night. I started at 7:45 with breakfast. I might as well run down the schedule:
Beginning at 10:00- Welcome from the Administrators
Introduction of the Pre-Orientation Leaders
Icebreakers (ask if you want to know)
A History of Students of color in OWU
The Importance of Maintaining a Positive Attitude
Study Skills
Live, Lead, and Learn
The OWU Experience- Everything from the Clubs to the Classrooms
I lead the Live, Lead, and Learn session, facilitating a question and answer session with Debra Lamp, who is also the Director of Student Involvement and Orientation. The questions from the audience was interesting for incoming freshmen. They just don't know though. They will get their answers and a lot, lot more. GUARANTEED!!!
I have a couple of pictures here: the first two pictures is from the presentation of Maygen Hall and Nick Oteng, President of the Student Union on Black Awareness (SUBA) and President of Rafiki Wa Afrika, respectfully. Their presentation showed the history of students of color on the campus of OWU. For me, I was reintroduced to some history on OWU that I must have forget. I know that sounds horrible coming from me (a student of color and a History major) but I was extremely happy when the topic of the first Black OWU graduate, Olive E. Day, was discussed wholeheartedly. I don't like forgetting my history especially in an area that I 
should be particularly connected with. What did I do: relearned it and gained knowledge to tell to people that come in after me. To me, this makes perfectly logical sense. The second photo is telling information about the House of Black Culture. Yes, the House of Black Culture is a safe haven for a lot of people on campus. It also serves as an educational tool to those who want or don't want information about issues in the Black community. I love being in the House of Black Culture even though I don't live there. The house is a comfort zone for me. I can focus on my goals without distraction being in there.
The other set of pictures consist of Patrice Murphy and Kenny Williams. They were discussing maintaining a positive attitude in everything: grades, progress, workload, social settings, the whole nine yards. I liked the presentation; it was clear what the purpose of the PowerPoint was and very easy to make your own jugment with. I was also happy with the interactive session I had with my group. We discussed all types of situation where you had to maintain that positive attitude. That's right- in the face of adversity. If you want more information about the session of maintaining a positive attitude, see the quote on the second picture. Then, once again, you can make your own interpretation of what I am telling you. I won't get winded discussing the nooks and crannies so I will intentionally cut myself short.
The last set of pictures shows where the freshmen and the upperclassmen (along with the Director of Minority Student Affairs, Ms. Terree Stevenson and a couple of other people that I either knew or became acquainted with that are not freshmen or upperclass students) had dinner. We went to the Brownstone on Main Street in Columbus (about a 30-35 minute drive from OWU). Last year was a memorable experience. People really got to know the real Hasani Wheat (not that I became unruly or rowdy). What I mean is that everyone got to see my inner most antics. This year was no different except that instead of pie eating, it was picture taking. I took a ton of pictures but I am only going to show a couple. I will explain each in detail.
The window on the second floor of the Brownstone had a great scenic view. I loved peering out of the window and looking at the skyline surrounded by tall, illustrious building. I like buildings standing tall especially in the nighttime. A beautiful and splendid sight.I decided to take an outside picture confirming that I went to be at the Brownstone. Just a couple of things about the Brownstone. The Brownstone is an African American restaurant that happens to be upscale and strict about its dress code (no jeans, no shorts) yet it is very comfortable. It is preferable that you bring a good amount of friends to make the experience
better. To the right, you can see me and my good buddy, Corey Turner, posing for the camera, throwing up that famous BMF hand symbol. This nevers goes out of style, people. Believe that! I have other pictures but unfortunately, I decided to not use all of them. Seriously though, it was a great time. My food choice: Brownstone salad, Chicken Florentine, and some good ol' cheesecake. The cheesecake was so good, I bought a piece back to OWU.The Brownstone experience ended approximately at 9:45 p.m. on Tuesday night on August 21. However, the night was not over;
immediately afterwards, Nick drove myself and a couple of the new freshmen to Columbus International Airport to pick up another student (he's not new to OWU, so no, he is not a freshman). These 36 hours were filled with inside information and a lot of planning and executing on my behalf as well as my friends. I have gained new memories- these will be near and dear to me. I can't explain how greatful I am to be involved in these projects. I am so ecstatic right now. Well, I have to continue planning for the next part- regular Orientation and my project- due on Saturday. I am a little nervous but I am almost done so I am thrilled.Living my Fresh Experience,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10
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