Waiting to be Back at JMU– Lauren Holder

My mother and I on Memorial Day Weekend. Nags Head, NC

Summer is finally here and while I miss JMU more than I can say, and count down the days until we return, it has been wonderful to just relax at home in Richmond. True, some of that relaxing time is taken up by my waitressing job at Johnny Rockets, where I get to wear a bowtie and dance for customers, but a few trips to the James River and a long Memorial Day Weekend with my family in the Outer Banks of North Carolina were the perfect way for me to finally get the relaxing time I needed after a long semester! Watching the sunsets every night off the top balcony of my family’s cottage was breathtaking, and reminded me of the sunsets I’ve watched at Festival after some of our Student Government senate meetings every Tuesday.

Kite Surfers at Sunset. Nags Head, NC near Jockey’s Ridge

I’ve made plans to visit friends that are unfortunately far away from Richmond, the farthest being one of my closest SGA friends Courtney, who lives in Mount Olive, New Jersey. Braving the Amtrak train into Newark is no small feat, but if it means being able to see some of my JMU friends I can’t wait!

I love watching current high school seniors (especially future dukes!) get ready to graduate. I remember being in their shoes last year and can’t believe how much I’ve experienced in a year. I’m so excited for them to begin their college journey, and if they have half the fun I’ve had this year, they are in for a real treat.

Looking towards the upcoming semester I can’t wait to return to my second home, especially since I will be returning as a First yeaR Orientation Guide (FROG) and President of the class of 2015.  Being a FROG is something I knew I wanted to do since I stepped foot on this campus, and our spring training made me wish I didn’t have to wait so long for the first years to move in. I may actually be more excited than they are!

It’ll be wonderful to get back to work on class council events in the fall. Ring Premiere for the Class of 2015 is upon us, and I look forward to working with an amazing team and getting together a committee for the event! We had some very successful events last year like Student Engagement Week, Purple Out, and How To Be Successful At JMU, and I hope that we can keep the trend going with even more events that benefit the student body. I’d love to get out on the Commons more to get ideas and give information to students. Even better, we’ll have a whole new batch of SGA members in the fall and I can’t wait to meet them and hear their ideas for JMU!

So even though there are exactly 1868.65 hours left until I return to JMU from the time that I am writing this (thanks to my countdown app), I have plenty to look forward to in the coming months that makes the wait bearable!

Little Dukes, Big Apple by Andrew Luethke

Tired and content, we watched as the shadow of Manhattan receded into darkness. We sank back and recollected our adventure in the concrete jungle…

Awakening to a misty and overcast New Jersey morning, the three tardy freshmen, Courtney Herb, Lauren Holder and Kaitlin Thomas, (we would later meet up with Nicole) arrived at Russell Zeltner’s house at 9:30 A.M. The group originally delegated the leadership duties, which included heading the convoy to the Park and Ride, to yours truly. As the “elderly” guide to Manhattan, my fellow adventurers felt that age begot wisdom and directional awareness. They were wrong.

After missing the initial Park and Ride, along with subsequent detours and teasing (at my expense), Russ called an audible and we opted for the “more visible” Ridgefield Park and Ride. We purchased our tickets and we began our voyage through the Lincoln Tunnel. Thankfully, there we did not have to venture through seven levels of the candy cane forest.

Upon entering the Concrete Jungle, we met up with our Long Island native, Nicole Bologna. With a more appropriate emulation of the infamous JMU ratio, it was time to begin our adventure.

Our first stop on the NYC tour was Toys R Us.  When we first stepped in the behemoth of all stores, we were taken aback by the sight of a giant indoor Ferris wheel.

The store catered to the little Dukes within, and we quickly lost sight of Tyler and the girls in the giant Barbie house. After an hour of exploration, including the likes of adorable stuffed animals, giant Legos and a T-Rex, the SGA Team of 7 decided it was time to acquire good ole New York grub.Although the initial plan was to eat at an Italian restaurant outside Times Square, the group entrusted the duties of “finding” a cheaper and more eatery to me. After nearly 30 minutes of wandering Manhattan, we found ourselves in the restaurant next door to our initial choice. The freshman women “found” a good place to eat and declared Brooklyn Diner to be our lunch setting.

In the aftermath of three cheeseburgers, grilled cheese, pizza and a larger than life chicken potpie, we departed for more sights along Manhattan.

During the journey, the women of SGA were pleasantly distracted by the discovery of a Forever 21. The store, which numbered four levels, swallowed up Nikki, Kaitlin, Courtney and Lauren. Tyler, Russ and I, although apprehensive to descend the clothing oriented abyss, decided to find the girls before they maxed out their (parent’s) credit cards. The rescue mission was successful, although we had to descend all four floors of overpriced merchandise.

Following the rescue mission in Forever 21, the group headed to the Nintendo World Store.

Among customers half our age, there were larger than life models of both Mario and Pikachu; the former posed with Tyler and Russ, while I was seen with Pikachu.

The store also included a giant display of previous Nintendo handheld consoles, one of which survived the first Gulf War.After the Nintendo escapade, the crew decided to see Rockefeller Center where pictures were taken, and Kaitlin pestered the group to go to Tiffany’s. We relented.

The final stop, Tiffany’s, proved to be the greatest trial and tribulation. Upon arriving at the Tiffany’s entrance, the concierge rudely greeted Tyler, and insinuated that he would be only “window-shopping”. Manners aside, the rest of Tiffany’s proved to be very helpful and conscientious. Unfortunately, the group did not know the elevator existed and we ascended eight flights of stairs. The top floor brought a lot of nervous bachelors, many of which looked borderline suicidal. One exclaimed in a nervous shriek that his fiancée had his credit card, and feared it would be maxed out.

After the guys did their own “window-shopping”, the group rushed back to the Port Authority. Unfortunately, not many of us were great at interpretation public transportation schedules and we almost got on the wrong bus. Nearly 20 minutes later, we were on the bus headed home. In the extremely warm sauna bus, we watched the outline of Manhattan fade to black.

Always Remember: 9/11/01 Ten Years Later…

Today is a day few words can describe.  I remember that day 10 years ago, my dad came and got me from school, and back then you needed a reason to get out.  The reason he wrote down: “I feel sick.”

The hours following were the most unified that America has been  in my memory, and every year since that same unification comes to light.  I am proud to be an American and even prouder that my fellow Dukes are helping each other and the community remember those lost and those continuing to fight.

I’m not going to go into details about the day or show you videos and pictures.  Everyone remembers in their own way, and I don’t want to impose anything on you that you may or may not want to see.

I do however, hope that you take a moment of silence today because even though it has been 10 years, the reality of that day never leaves us.

Forever an American. Forever a Duke.

-Kelly Johnson, Director of Public Relations

Newest Addition to the SGA

Congrats to Morgan Shaughnessy, the newly appointed Contingency Liaison for the 2011-2012 academic year.  The position requires Morgan to interact with multiple student organizations on a weekly basis and requires knowledge of the application process, bill writing and the overall rules of contingency.  Her position is vital to the organization, and she will prove to be an amazing addition to the Executive Staff.  Congrats again!