Eagle Expo

About to graduate and still don't have a job lined up? No need to stress, the Eagle Expo Career Fair is taking place tomorrow at the RAC. A lot of companies will have booths set up and can't wait to talk with you. The career fair gives rising juniors and seniors the opportunity to explore their options with regard to full-time, intership and co-op positions.

The event is hosted by Career Services and I think it is very helpful. I went to the last career fair and it was a great opportunity to get my resume out there and talk with companies that I was interested in. It really gave me a more positive outlook on life after college.

Last year approximately 100 students attended the fair to check out the wide range of career opportunities. The day after the fair, a number of organizations will be giving students the opportunity to conduct interviews with them through the Career Services Office.

Career Services offers a number of programs including Dining for Success, Life Planning Conference, and mock interviews. The website also has resume samples and many other helpful handouts. I know I wouldn't have been able to do my resume without the help of career services because I had no clue where to start, but the people in the career services office made it easy.

I think all students should take advantage of career services because the people there know what they are doing and their job is to help you find a job or internship or whatever you are looking for. Without career services, I would feel lost. If you feel lost you should check out the Eagle Expo tomorrow at the RAC from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Make sure to dress nice...you don't want to show up in jeans! Get a head start before graduation and head over to the Office of Career Services located on the first floor of the Williams Center.

Better food options

I know that when I was a freshman, I hated the meal plans. I pretty much ate Chickfila for a year. The food at Landrum was not the best, to say the least, the options were pretty much grease, grease, or grease. But now it looks as though all that will change. There are plans in the works to renovate Landrum.

Landrum has already changed a bit, Season's, a buffet style service, was added last summer in the hopes of giving students healthier chocies. Many students are growing tired of the burgers, pizza, and fried food that Landrum has always supplied. I do think it would be a smart move for the university to make a more balanced menu. For the students who live in the dorms, school food is about their only option since they don't have the luxury of a kitchen. I never realized how great a kitchen really is until I lived in the dorms.

Students today are more health conscious than in previous years and I think the school needs to adapt to that. Maybe then no one would have to worry about the dreaded freshman fifteen. When students come to college, many are on their own for the first time and in order to make healthy meal choices, the healthy choices have to be there. There really isn't one when the only food offered is fried products.

County transport system needed

Despite the huge amounts of traffic around town, it might surprise you to know that many students do not have any means of transporation other than walking. Freshman and international students are the two most common groups of students who do not have cars. The Southern Express has helped out around campus, but students are in need of a bus system that will take them around town. Although many students agree that a city bus system is needed, it doesn't look like their wishes will come true anytime soon.

Right now, it doesn't look like a city bus system is financially feasible. The project would have to be subsidized by the county taxpayers. Students may also not realize how expensive a bus system really is. According to the director of parking and trasporation, it costs over $1 million a year to run the Southern Express.

The Coastal Georgia Regional Development Council is currently doing a study to see if there is in fact a significant need for a transit system in Bulloch County. If it turns out that there are enough needs, then the process could begin by people going out and looking for the funds.

Right now, it looks like the students will just have to wait and see. I think a bus could help those students without transportion, but I wonder if it would just cause more congestion. Maybe not if those people with cars would ride the bus instead of driving, but I doubt that they will. There is a bus in my hometown but no one I know uses it. It county bus system may help, but it could also potentially cause problems. I guess we will find out soon enough.

Arbor Day!

Today is Georgia's official Arbor Day! The Georgia Southern Botanical Garden, Keep Bulloch Beautiful, and the Bulloch Council of Garden Clubs will be sponsoring the third annual Arbor Day Celebration. The festival will be on February 17 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in downtown Statesboro. Participants will learn all about the benefits of trees and also how to properly take care of them. The festival features guided walks on a nature trail, presentations by professionals from Future Trees about how to plant and prune a tree. Plus, there will be information booths set up and nature crafts. There will also be free food and arboreal advice and free tree saplings will be given out.

The purpose of Arbor Day is to encourage the planting and cultivation of trees. It began as an effort to promote settlement in the tree-barren state of Nebraska. Arbor Day was officially proclaimed by Nebraska's Gov. Robert W. Furnas on March 12, 1874, and the day itself was observed April 10, 1874. In 1885, Arbor Day was named a legal holiday in Nebraska and April 22, Morton's birthday, was selected as the date for its permanent observance. It is estimated that more than 1 million trees were planted in Nebraska on the first Arbor Day. Each state has a different date for Arbor Day that best suits the climate for planting trees.

Georgia Southern's campus environmental group SAGE, (Student Alliance for a Green Earth) will be volunteering at the festival events. This organization's mission is to improve environmetal awareness and responsibility by working with the GSU students, faculty, staff, and administration.

So this Saturday if you happen to be downtown check out all the fun activities and go plant a tree!

Relay for Life

Each year Bulloch County residents join together to help fight cancer during Relay for Life. This year is no different. So far more than 60 teams have signed up to walk in the all-night event. Georgia Southern has about 20 teams that will take part this year. The event will take place April 20 and 21 at the Kwanis fairgrounds. Each team will walk from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Last year Bulloch County was fifth in the nation with the most money raised. The Alpha Delta Pi sorority has raised more than $13,000 in previous years and they hope to raise at least $10,000 this year. The event is open to the public for both teams and individuals. The goal is to help raise money to find a cure for cancer. All proceeds go directly to the American Cancer Society.

Relay for Life got its start in Tacoma, Washington in the mid 1980s Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon, wanted to enhance the income of his local American Cancer Society office. He decided to rasise the money by running marathons. In 1985, Klatt circled the track at Baker Stadium at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma for more than 83 miles. Friends paid $25 to run or walk with him for 30 minutes. He raised $25,000 to fight cancer. He started thinking about how other people could join in and raise more money to fight cancer and Relay for Life was born!

I have never taken part in Relay for Life but I remember when people in my hometown used to do it. I think this is a great way for people who have or are in remission from cancer, and people who have lost loved ones to this horrible disease to work together to raise money to find a cure. Hopefully, someday soon we will find one!

The GSU team's next meeting is February 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Russell Union!

Dive In!

Georgia Southern students, faculty, and staff can now go swimming at the RAC. The new CRI Aquatics Center opened on Wednesday. The center includes an indoor competitive 25y x 25m size pool, a 25 person whirl-pool, an indoor sauna, and locker rooms. All aquatic activities including academic classes, GSU swim team and aqua aerobics will start next week.

The pools stay clean and sanitary without the use of lots of chlorine thanks to an ultraviolet cleaning system. The water is cycled constantly and then scanned with ultaviolet lights which kill any bacteria. This system is very beneficial since a lot of people will be in the pools everyday.

I haven't had the chance to go see the new pools since they opened but I saw a lot while they were being constructed and I know they will be a great addition to the school. The thing I really like about the pools are the giant palm trees and the big open windows. I always enjoy going to the RAC to work out and I'm glad that now I will get to go swimming also.

CRI has a lot more to offer than just the cool new pools. Just a few of their services include massage therapy, personal trainers, and group fitness. So whether you're in class, want to work off that big meal, or just want to go for a dip in the pool...the RAC is the place for you! I know I'll be going there soon to check it out and I'm sure that many students and faculty are looking forward to it just as much as I am.

Hammer Time

Many Georgia Southern students, about 70 to be exact, are working together with Habitat for Humanity to build a subdivision off of West Main Street. Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit partnership program that builds houses for low-income families. The families are chosen by their need for a home, and their willingness to help build a future home.

The Bulloch County branch wants to have 50 homes completed by 2011. So far they have built 31. The subdivision they are working on is going to include 25 houses and so far 8 have been completed.

Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller. The whole idea started when the Fullers visited Koinonia Farm. Koinonia is a small Christian farming community located outside Americus, Ga. The Fullers wanted to build houses with no profit and no interest charged. Years of donations and fund-raising activities have helped to make Habitat a true world leader in addressing the poverty housing issue. Today, Habitat has built more than 200,000 houses, sheltering more than 1,000,000 people in more than 3,000 communities worldwide.

I think the work that Habitat for Humanity does is great. We need more organizations like this. I also think it's great that there are lots of people willing to help out, it really makes me feel better about the world when I hear about these types of organizations.

The Georgia Southern campus chapter is always looking to expand. The organization meets every other Tuesday in the Russell Union...the next meeting is February 13, so if you're interested go check it out.