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
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
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