My first Kiwanis Meeting

Believe it or not, I have never been to a Kiwanis meeting before. Prior to my freshman year at OWU, I did not even though Kiwanis or any other members of the K-family existed besides Key Club (which was not offered at my high school). I am now finding out how much I am constantly missing on a regular basis. The format of the meetings are similar to that of Circle K with the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. However, instead of stating the pledge, there is a prayer. I was somewhat taken off guard by that but I listened and took a mental note of that.




I was not expecting a lot of people to show up because of the winter storm the day before. At Circle K meetings, everyone is already in the area of the school so it is not too much of a hassle. Ironically, the place where the noontime Kiwanis club meets on Thursday's used to be the place where I attended church. River Valley Vineyard used to be in that same building until they moved to South Sandusky Street about a couple months ago. This building brought back precious memories and now I was back in it for a different purpose. This time, I was on the other side where the Delaware Elks group used to meet.




The drawings on the wall was interesting to me. All of the drawing had intertwined justice with food. I am a guy that wants justice. I am also a guy who loves food. The idea to have those two things intertwined into a theme for a restaurant is something that has never crossed my mind but I think this is an interesting idea. This also ties into local history because Byxbe is the last name of the founder of Delaware, Ohio. I am learning a lot about Byxbe and the development of Delaware in class right now so it has become a topic of interest currently.





The Kiwanis meeting. I had a Turkey Reuben before that was paid for by Kiwanians. I met the President and talk to her before I started to eat. Since there was only 7 members in attendance, the meeting was very short and sweet. I had sheets given to me by the District Convention Chair. The first sheet had information about program ads in case the Kiwanians wanted to buy and place them in their areas of work and leisure. The second sheet was the guest registration form. Circle K members want Kiwanians there at District Convention since this is a huge opportunity for Ohio Wesleyan to shine. The purpose of the guest registration form was to invite Kiwanians to the Convention in Dublin- if they wanted to stop by on the events, this is free for them. The food is not that expensive either if they wanted to stay for the banquet on Saturday. My presentation was probably 5 minutes and I was so happy to represent our club at the Kiwanis meeting. Despite the cold, dreary conditions outside, I had a good time attending the meeting and I look forward to seeing fellow Circle K members, Key Club members, and Kiwanians at this huge, historic event for Ohio Wesleyan.










Cheers,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10

Field research during a snow day

Yesterday, I went out into the cold and unforgiving weather to take pictures and to do field research for one of my Geography classes. I had myself geared with all of my heaviest clothes. Surprisingly, I did not think it was that cold outside. There was a lot of snow on the ground and I had to hike my way to the location but other than that, I was fine with the weather. Students at Ohio Wesleyan were wondering why wasn't school closed. I did not mind because both of my professors decided to cancel class. The snow stopped falling by the time I decided to leave the comfort of my warm house. This was around 2:30 pm.

My area of research was Lake St. I believe I had the furthest location to the East of Sandusky St. I am very familar with the area because I work at the Common Ground on East Central, which is past Lake St. and past the Railroad tracks. I walked over to Lake St. and carefully surveyed the surrounding area. First, from East William St. to East Winter St. Then, from East Winter St. to East Central St. Finally, from East Central St. to Flax St. I had to verify the information from the 2007 data of Delaware Township by doing the field research with the latest information. There was a lot of changes with the addresses I saw. I mapped the new addresses with the 2007 data of Delaware Township and made sure that the data was correct before I headed back into town.


I had that Geography class earlier today. I had to create and print off Lake St. maps from 1950, 1959, 1969, 1980, 1990, 1999, and 2007 with the additions or subtractions I saw during my field research. I had info from those dates to do the project. The results were interesting. I discussed the changes of Lake St. at length in class but the main thing I realized was that Lake St. used to be like Sandusky St.- filled with industry and residential homes. With Sandusky St. being the main street for Delaware township, Lake St. became a shell of its former shelf. This is evidenced with the vacant and abandoned buildings. There are some signs of life but not like how the data showed for the 1950, 1959, and 1969. The evolution of a street. Very interesting phenomena.



I have more pictures of my adventure to Lake St. in Delaware, Ohio. I wanted to bring a personal perspective of the area and pictures are worth a million words. The snow makes the area even more mystical and mysterious, yet beautiful and even educational. I had fun doing the research on a snow day; it make me all the more appreciative of Delaware, Ohio and its rich history. Enjoy the pictures- I am going to relax before the day's end and write my weather log. Oh, the joys of snow.






Long live the snow day and field research in Delaware, Ohio,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10

P.S.- More pictures are at the bottom. Some are taken on Lake St. and some are taken from my balcony.

Working in the Student Involvement Office

I realized that I have not posted since the 31st of December. The reason: no camera, no pictures. I was also trying to make a smooth transition into the semester, which has not been all that smooth thus far. Nevertheless, I have made it to week three and I am doing okay in my classes. I am trying to get money to go to conferences such as Jubilee, the mission trip to Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota during Spring Break, and to the Annual Association of American Geographers conference in Las Vegas. This is an everyday grind for me because I really want to attend all of these conferences.

Anyway, I work in the Student Involvement for 8 hours a week trying to earn some money for these conferences. Yes, I have to be up and at work at 8:30 pm for four days a week but the activity in the campus center is at a minimum so it is not a big deal. I have to do data processing work, along with running errands to several offices including Human Resources, Purchasing, Accounting, and the Cashier Office. In the Student Involvement Office, I usually put out the reserved signs for student organizations who table during lunch. The work is not hard plus I get ample amount of time to study and to read for classes. This is a lot better than sleeping for 10-12 hours a day and trying to focus at home.

I hosted a prospective campus so the Campus Center was pretty filled with prospectives and their parents today. The sounds of the piano was not heard until around 10:00 am today. Usually, someone is playing something nice when I arrive at 8:30 am. At noon, I am going to eat with the prospectives, their parents, and fellow students in the Benes Room. This is a special treat for whenever there is a big group of prospectives. I do not have to walk back to my fraternity house for food; I can stay in the campus center area, eat, and walk to class with an ample amount of time remaining to relax before class. The weather is cold so this is a break for me- meeting prospective students that hopefully share my interest.


I am finally glad that I got a camera so I can show you pictures once again. I took various shots. The first one is the board I use to display important messages such as the upcoming OWU Summit for student leaders. The second shot displays the continential breakfast that was available during the registration for prospectives and their parents. The third shot is an intimate showing of the desk I am behind for the morning and how it overlooks the banners in the atrium area. The banners showcase student groups. The final shot is about OrgSync which will be somewhat like a Facebook but for organizations. Organizations can use this to keep up with everything they need to be successful and function to be best of their abilities. I believe OrgSync will be important for student leaders and their organizations.

Well, it is close to lunch and I have to organize myself for classes later in the day. Glad to be back on the writing and I hope that everyone is enjoying the weather. Just kidding.







Back on the blogging scene for OWU,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10