Pancakes and Public Health.

Ahoy, Maties!

There is nothing better than coffee, and I believe Furman students consumed enough of it this past week to fill a couple swimming pools. Only kidding, but this week was midterms at Furman. Luckily, none of my classes had midterms this semester (which is pretty typical for freshmen). I tried to set myself up for a pretty easy week by knocking out most of my homework so I could keep it chill and not feel the mess of stress looming over campus.

The great thing about Furman is that no one let the overbearing nature of midterms destroy their experience at Furman. So many great activities happened throughout the week to alleviate any stress. There were some very interesting CLP's this week that students took advantage of from  movies about cheerleaders, to a lecture held by Eustace Conway, to a presentation on childhood obesity. Unfortunately, I could not attend those awesome CLP's. Instead, I attended one called "Hidden Pictures" which was a documentary about global mental health. I got there just in time as it quickly filled up one of the largest lecture halls on campus. Three Furman Professors, one from the Health Sciences Department and two from the Psychology Department, introduced and spoke about the film with a professional from the Greenville Area. The movie was absolutely eye-opening because I had never considered the ways in which the global community approached mental illness. To be able to see and understand how other cultures functioned (or didn't function in some cases) was very interesting and made me think a lot. I became a lot more appreciative of my experience here because when some people go to college, they are only taught science or history or art or english, but there I was, an anticipating chemistry major, talking about mental health with students and faculty that study psychology and psychiatry and social sciences. I mean, when it come down to it, i can almost feel myself becoming a more well-rounded individual.

I do not know if anyone has explained the CLP program on this yet, so I'll give it a go. CLP stands for the Cultural Life Program which host a very large amount of events throughout the year for students to attend. In fact, students must attend 32 in order to graduate. Believe me, 32 is much easier than it sounds. Im already up to 5. These CLP's range from a music recital, a viewing of a documentary, a unique lecture by professor, and I even believe there was an African step dance team at some point. Pretty much, it is Furman's way to engage students outside of the classroom and help them to not only develop a love of learning, but a wide variety of interests. It is honestly one of my favorite parts about Furman. I'll talk about it some more at a later time, this is just my brief explanation.

This week was chalk full of good foods. HOLA, a hispanic student group, took over the DH and covered head to toe in festive decorations. Festive food was prepared and eaten by Furman students and it was altogether a great time. I was partial to the churros and plantains, myself. I will say this, I had gotten my days mixed up, so I knew that this night had been coming, but I was not expecting it that night. So I was completely surprised when I walked in and it didn't quite look like the DH normally does, but it was a very pleasant surprise.

Also, anyone who knows me well knows that pancakes are my true love. Through thick and thin, pancakes have always proven to cheer me up after a long day. Well, Thursday night, a sorority (Tri-Delt) held an event late at night that was ALL YOU CAN EAT PANCAKES! Can we just take a moment and appreciate how those five words can change your whole life. Okay, that might be a little drastic, but it was pure bliss. The 5 dollar admissions fee went to benefit St. Jude's Children's Hospital. Pretty much, scores of Furman students took a break from studying to come and enjoy scrumptious pancakes, socialize and listen to the wonderful sounds of the FUtones and the Bell Tower Boys, two acapella groups on campus. It was such a fun evening to enjoy with friends and I loved every part of it.

Now, Furman students are enjoying there fall break. I am currently sitting in my best friend's dorm room in Virginia, so it's time for me to sign off for this week.

Remember to email me with any questions, I'd love to answer them!

From the freshman who has held way too many automatic doors,
Sam McCoy
sam.mccoy@furman.edu