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October 09, 2008

One of my favorite parts about being a student at Rollins College is being involved in so many extracurricular activities on campus. With nearly 130 student organizations, there is never a dull moment and always something to do. As the Director of All Campus Events (ACE), I am extremely involved in campus programming at Rollins.

So far this year ACE has put on several very successful events. After a long week of nightly programming for the first-year students during Orientation, ACE continued to show its event planning skills with many new and exciting events throughout August and September. Orientation week started out with Casino Night where Dave’s Down Under was filled with blackjack, poker, and roulette tables and the students competed against each other and the professional dealers for chips. Following the always popular Casino Night, was another event that students love – Cold Stone Creation. Twenty full pans of Cold Stone ice cream were brought to campus along with every possible mix-in imaginable, and students were challenged to invent the most creative creation to be chosen as a new flavor featured at the Cold Stone Creamery in Winter Park, FL.

Once students created their ice cream concoction, they headed downstairs to Dave’s Down Under for the hypnosis show performed by hypnotist Mark Maverick. As 12 students took the stage and volunteered to be hypnotized, the audience didn’t stop laughing for the rest of the night! Talk of the hypnosis show doesn’t ever end that night either; rather it seems to be the topic of conversation for at least the next week.

The following night of Orientation consisted of a three-foot chocolate fountain, a make your own caramel apple station, and a design and paint your own chocolate lollipop table. While this was all going on students were able to compete against each other in sumo wrestling in the middle of the campus center! The last night of Orientation is also a very memorable one as Rollins College Conference (RCC) classes compete for RCC Cup points at the SGA/ACE Talent show. The winners not only received prizes, but also points to bring back to their RCC class to make them one step closer to the RCC champions!

Event planning doesn’t end when Orientation week is over; in fact it is usually just the beginning! Since then ACE has put on several events including the Not So Olympics Events; a Rollins version of the Olympics which included events such as speed walking, dizzy bat races, and wheel barrel relays, a Dive-In Movie viewed on an inflatable screen next to the pool so students can swim and watch a movie at the same time; and Fish Tank Creations, an event that allowed students to decorate their own fish tank, fill it with rocks, a plant, and of course a goldfish, and bring it back to their dorm rooms as it is the only pet allowed in the campus residence halls.

ACE, in conjunction with the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership as well as Fraternity and Sorority Life, sponsored the very first Rollins After Dark event, which included hypnotist Dale K (one of our favorites), an intense game of BINGO, and a free breakfast buffet.

Rollins After Dark is a new initiative on campus that focuses on alternative late-night programming to increase student involvement and enhance student life on campus, perhaps during non-traditional times. There are three RAD events hosted each semester and they are typically held on the last Friday of each month from 10 p.m. – 1 a.m. and are free to all Rollins students, faculty and staff.

The program is designed to supply entertainment and events on Friday nights for students who wish to stay on campus as well as to provide a safe environment for students to return to if they have decided to go out off campus. Each event supplies a free breakfast buffet for everyone who attends. The first-ever Rollins After Dark was a huge success with 350 students in attendance and a nearly empty buffet line come 1 a.m. that originally was overflowing with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, scones, muffins, bagels, fruit, coffee and juices. Some students walked away hypnotized while others left with handfuls of prizes including gift certificates to local restaurants and stores, clothing from stores on Park Ave, lotion samples from Origins, Peterbrooke chocolate, Visa gift cards, and much more!

ACE has so many more events planned for the rest of the semester so look out for flyers posted around campus and join the ACE group on Facebook to find out more about our events and learn how to get involved!

In addition to ACE I have been busy with both the Academic Honor Council (AHC) and the American Student Dental Association (ASDA). The AHC has already accomplished so much this semester. We are really focusing this year on completing initiatives that we have been discussing since last year. Since our full weekend training retreat, which consisted of bonding time at Farris and Fosters Chocolate Factory (a shop in Baldwin Park where you can make your own pound of chocolate to bring home), we have been working extensively on further revising the Academic Honor Code in addition to creating an educational booklet to help students, faculty, and staff further their knowledge and understanding of the Honor Code.

ASDA is busy already planning our event for Halloween Howl, a Halloween event hosted at Rollins College for all the children of the community. ASDA is planning to give toothbrushes, toothpaste, and sugar free gum to the children to ensure that they are taking care of their teeth, especially after a night of Trick-or-Treating and a pillowcase full of candy! ASDA is also in the process of making connections with local elementary schools, community centers, and child development centers where we can give lessons to children about oral health care and the importance of taking care of your teeth.

In the past we have taught at the Rollins College Child Development Center, the Winter Park Community Center, and Fern Creek Elementary School. Educating children on the importance of oral hygiene and the proper techniques of brushing and flossing is key to increasing awareness and improving their overall health. Also, many ASDA members are currently out in the community shadowing several dentists of different specialties to further their knowledge and experience in the dental field.

Omicron Delta Kappa (O∆K or ODK), a national leadership honors society, is getting ready for a big week. The induction of our new members is scheduled for this Friday. ODK is a leadership honors society that consists of both faculty and students. Each semester several students are offered the opportunity to apply. The application focuses greatly on your involvement on campus in a range of different groups and organizations and according to our mission, “emphasizes bringing together the most representative students in all phases of college life in order to create an organization that will help to mold the sentiment of the institution on questions of local and intercollegiate interest.”

After the applications are reviewed, those who are selected (keeping in mind that only up to 3 percent of our college’s population can be inducted each year) are “tagged” by the members of ODK and invited to the induction ceremony. A formal induction ceremony is held, and the new students are now officially part of the Rollins Chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa. We are extremely excited for the upcoming induction of our new members!

As you can see, campus is booming with activities and events for students each and every day, but what may not be so obvious are the events that take place off campus. I just recently returned from a convention that was hosted in Chattanooga, TN. The National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) is a convention for campus activities boards at universities and colleges throughout the United States. Along with several other members of ACE, I traveled to Chattanooga, TN for four days to learn more about campus programming and to network with other schools in Florida.

During the convention we attended educational sessions to further our knowledge of campus programming as well as share ideas with other campus activities boards about successful events and ideas. We also met with several different agents to learn more about the logistics of large scale programming and attended many showcases to be introduced to the new, up and coming artists. We have returned to campus with many new ideas, so watch out for the future ACE events!

So if you’re looking for something to do on campus, there is no need to look very far. There are so many other organizations that are hosting events on campus each and every day. Dance Marathon just recently hosted a spirit week and WPRK is currently hosting their 4th annual marathon, THE BLOB. The fraternities and sororities are constantly putting on events ranging from tennis tournaments to formals! And don’t forget the relaxation nights at the campus center sponsored by Plug-In!

If you are interested in having fun with ACE this month, here is a list of ACE’s upcoming October events:
October 14: Halloween Cookie Decorating
October 20: Monday Night Football
October 28: Pumpkin Carving and Painting
October 31: Rollins After Dark

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