Mid-Semester Break- Wednesday

Columbus, Ohio. Before this year, I never really visited Columbus unless it was for an event at Ohio State or for a project. This time, I am all alone and exploring the benefits of what Columbus has to offer. I was surprised by the landscape and the structures. Downtown Columbus looks like some parts of Downtown Cleveland. Downtown Columbus is sectioned off into several districts like Downtown Cleveland. All of these pictures are from the heart of Downtown Columbus in or around the Arena District.





The reason I was in Downtown Columbus on a Wednesday morning instead of slugging it out in school was that it was Mid-Semester Break and this was the first time (since I have been at Ohio Wesleyan) that Mid-Semester Break started on a weekday. I thought five days was enough time for me to explore a new environment NOT in Ohio. After thinking about the cost of the trip and where I wanted to go, I decided to leave for Minnesota. I tried to be discrete about it since Minnesota does not usually equate excitement for other people. I decided on Minnesota because one of my classes just finished its lecture about the Malling of America and what better way to do research and experience the mall atmosphere than to go to the Mall of America.


I went to the Greyhound Bus Terminal around 10:00 am even though my bus did not arrive until 1:00 pm. I checked at the register, purchased my tickets, and found a place to store my luggage. This gave me an opportunity to explore downtown Columbus during the morning as well as lunch time. At 10:00 am, the town seemed relatively quiet. People were not walking about and most of the restaurants were still closed. Since I was in the Arena District, I was wondering how much traffic it would be and where exactly I would get something to eat. Around 11:00 am, I started to see mass movements of people emerging from their office buildings. Many people needed a smoke break and many others were moving quickly to their next destination by foot, probably to a nearby restaurant. I was not familiar with the area so I decided to go to a vendor that sold an impressive amount of food. There was Philly Cheesesteak, Gyros, and other things (think: Mr. Hero's) along with desserts. I got a Philly Cheesesteak, some Doritos, and some kind of soda I was unfamiliar nor do I clearly remember. I looked at a location to settle down and I found a plaza in which a Starbuck's was near. I took my time eating and enjoying the scenery of people going about their business while I was idle. After I finished eating, I walked to the Scioto River bridge. Wednesday at noon was lovely and the sun was very bright. I had to avoid the bird crap on the sidewalk but another than that, I enjoyed my walk around the area.


There are a lot of area I covered in the Arena district. I walked past a lot of interesting architecture and sculpture including one of William McKinley. The messages are interesting; you can check them out for yourself at the end of the blog. I walked past the Ohio Theatre, which is a place I always hear about from the Music professors. Since I am doing Opera this semester, there were a couple of plays I was invited to at the Ohio Theatre but I had other engagements to take care of before I could enjoy a stage rehearsal. Nevertheless, the Ohio Theatre looked good from the outside and it is in a good location where it will draw a lot of people in the downtown area. I also walked through the Columbus Town Center during this stint. I was very surprised to see how empty the City Center. One would think that the City Center would draw a lot of people but there are only about 5 or 6 actual stores open. The City Center still looks relatively new. Walking through to get back to the Greyhound Terminal was a bit eerie. I hope that stores will re-open or relocation back to the City Center. I know that downtown Columbus is more for businesses rather than retail but hopefully people will utilize the space more. I would hate to see this space go to waste.


I walked back to the Greyhound terminal station at about 12:30 to retrieve my bag and to wait in the long line. My anticipation was growing because never have I traveled to a foreign state on my own on a Greyhound. One thing I did know- I had to leave Ohio for a short amount of time and quickly. This was my opportunity to be me and have the experience of a lifetime visiting Minnesota and reaping all of its benefits. I had the money and the means and I was determined to do it. Minnesota, here I come!!!!








From a Man on a Mission,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10

P.S.- Additional pictures below.



The landscape and construction of a new potential retail area by the hotels.














The dearly departed Brownstone. Oh, how I confess my love for you!!














Sculpture outside of the Columbus City Center.

Two pictures of the landmark Ohio Theatre. I should have went inside to take pictures.

The message on the sculpture of William McKinley that I mentioned in the blog above.

That is what I am trying to do. Opera is definitely helping me be in shape, vocally and physically.

Genoa Park- the area where the Scioto River Bridge in Columbus meets. There is some construction going on but it is a nice area to walk around.

Interesting Scantron outside Starbucks.

The plaza in which I ate my lunch at earlier in the day.

Four slabs of stone on the ground of the YWCA in which I thought was expressive of women's rights.

Homecoming Weekend 2008

Yeah!! The title says it all. Plus, I got my camera to start working again after letting it dry out and buying a new 4GB memory card and new batteries. I am one happy camper. Sorry this took so long but I got caught in the hustle and bustle of life at OWU. The mid-terms and the term papers and the long practices for Opera Staging, oh my! Alas, Homecoming was come and gone but I thought this Homecoming was the best one- even better than my freshman year because it was new and refreshing.

The quick rundown-

Friday-7:30 a.m.- I am helping out with parking in the Beeghly library lot with other student leaders. I am getting paid by OWU Admissions to do this and since I love this school and I am a generous, community-oriented person, I helped out by sticking it out in the freezing cold day until 10:00 a.m. I did not realize this until the night before but I also have a mid-term in my Civil Rights and Liberties class at 10:00 a.m.- the same day as the Inauguration. Oh, bummer. Well, at least I know that I passed the mid-term as I recently saw my mid-term report of a "P." Hooray for surviving round one. Now on to round two.

11:00 a.m.- After the exam, guess what I did? I went right back to work. I needed to take my mind off school work and focus on the special day. This is the one and only chance to see a live inauguration (at least as a student right now). This time, I was stationed in the back of Hamilton-Williams Campus Center. Most of the cars parked were Board of Trustees only- students had to park in Selby or Kroger. I know that many students are turned away from their regular parking slots.

Noon- I quickly changed my Rock 16 shirt for a Choral Art Polo for practice since I was one of many to sing in the Inauguration of Rock Jones. Practice went off without too much of a hassle. I enjoyed working with the brass section and the 70 person chorus.

1:00 p.m.- Back to work, this time located directly in back of Beeghly. Nearly any cars were inquiring about the parking because most of the guests, trustees, alumni, and other important people are already inside buildings for their meetings. More peaceful than the other two locations. I stayed there until 3:00 p.m. roughly.

3:00 p.m.- Call for Choral Art. Everyone looked nice in their polos. This was BIG exposure for us.

3:30 p.m.- On stage with the platform party surrounding Rock Jones. The Inauguration was about 2 hours long filled with sentimental speeches and interesting stories of success and how to reach it in due time. Choral Art sung in the middle of the program and near the end of the program. I was somewhat beaten into the ground by the end of Inauguration since I was already up for 8+ hours and most of it was endured in the sun.

5:30 p.m.- All campus party with EVERYONE!!!! This was crazy and I loved every minute of it. There was food from different countries and all of it was good. I was in ecstasy listening to the Owtsiders and Gospel Lyres perform. I hung out with my friends and I was living life to its fullest. I was beyond blessed to be a student at Ohio Wesleyan University. I hung out with people until 7:30 p.m. when I realized the surrounding darkness and left the Jaywalk area.

7:40 p.m.- People headed over to the men's soccer game, which we won by 1-0. I was stoked and so was the packed stadium of soccer fans. This was a huge sense of pride in our school. Everyone got a huge boost from the win.

9:30 p.m.- I headed over to the Hill for the festivities of the Bonfire, sponsored by the Student Homecoming Organization. The cover band was nice and there was a nice crowd. I was exhausted by 10:00 p.m. and since my house was nearby, I ran to the nearest door, entered my room, removed my shoes, and lied down.

Midnight- Miraculously, I awoke at midnight on Saturday and celebrated Homecoming with younger alumni at the one and only, the Backstretch. Seeing all of the people who graduated brought back memories of an easier time for me. I miss the experiences of freshmen year. I want that year back again to be perfectly honest.

Saturday- 11:00 p.m.

SUBA (Student Union on Black Awareness) hosted its annual brunch in Welch Hall. I was honored with an academic achievement reward. I also got to hear from prominent alumni such as Greg Moore and Aaron Granger. I was inspired by their drive to become something greater than their selves and to incorporate that drive into who they are. I like the brunch a lot. I can't wait until wait year for the next annual brunch. I thrive to very high aim for academics.
1:00 p.m.- I went to the Volleyball game first to support the ladies. I know a couple of them and since their game was on the day and same time as the anticipated Homecoming football, I decided to give them my support. I stayed until the time of Coronation for Homecoming King, Queen, Prince, and Princess. At the football game, I hung out with my friends as we cheered on our friends who made the court. I was thrilled when House of Black Culture members moderator Delmar Flourney and newest number David Burke won king and prince, respectively. That was a nice feeling. Oh, OWU won their first game. I wonder why it is at Homecoming that we always win?
3:30 p.m.- I went back to Phi Delta Theta to help host a reception for Phil Roos, class of '60. This reception was in conjunction with our House Tours that we give every Homecoming. House tours and the reception went without a hitch and this gave me an extended opportunity to acquaint myself with Phi Delta Theta alumni.
6:00 p.m.- I caught the tail end of Rafiki Wa Afrika's mini fest. I heard the dancing was good and the program overall was well planned. The food I tried was good too. In my spare minutes, I went to the Cave, talked with a couple of students and alumni about myself and life at Ohio Wesleyan in general. I really wanted to stay longer than I couldn't because of Opera. This event is in conjunction with the festivities that was planned for the Student Union on Black Awareness 40th Anniversary. I was unhappy that I would not attend a good portion of the events that was planned. But I still got to be on a panel that Thursday night and give my opinion about the importance of SUBA on campus and what it means to me.
7:00 p.m.- Opera!! Cendrillion!! We fixed up parts of our staging for our performance which will be held in Jemison Hall in Sanborn on November 7, 8, and 9 at 8:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m., respectively. I am starting to feel my character in this and in Riders to the Sea (anyone familiar with Bartley in Riders?) We had a three hour rehearsal so I was spent after the rehearsal was over.
11:00 p.m.- Backstretch. I needed to reconnoiter with more alumni and older current students after my rest. When the Backstretch is packed, there is no better place to be in Delaware, OH. You have my guarantee on that. The atmosphere was absolutely amazing.

Sunday-Culture Fest
Culture Fest 2008 was a blast. I had an excellent time looking at all of the talents. I love the diversity of this campus and Culture Fest reaffirmed one of the main reason why I am here at Ohio Wesleyan. From Rafiki Wa Afrika's performance, which is always a highlight of Culture Fest to many solo performances to the mini-party that Sangam throws at the very end where the food was served, Culture Fest capped all of the wonderful festivities for Homecoming 2008. If you went to Homecoming, I hope you had a splendid time. If you missed out, you need to head up to Ohio Wesleyan for these events. I cannot say anymore about how great Homecoming 2008 was in every aspect.





Enjoying the evolution of Ohio Wesleyan University through the presidency of Dr. Rock Jones,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10