Hey All!

I can’t believe how fast this semester has gone. Seems like just yesterday I was moving in and enjoying all of the new freshmen being on campus for Orientation weekend. Time has flown by though and now it’s all study, study, study for final exams coming up next week. I have successfully submitted my final papers and presentations and now 4 finals stand between me and my Christmas break.

Amanda and friends enjoying the snow!

As for me, I am enjoying this weather. This past weekend, Marshall received around 14 inches of snow and we were under blizzard like conditions. Campus wasn’t opened until 10:30 on Monday due to all of the snow. Many professors that travel to Marshall cancelled their classes that they had in the afternoon so there were a number of students, including myself, that didn’t have classes at all on Monday.  My friends and I definitely took advantage of the weather and played outside in the snow..and of course took many pictures!

Tonight and tomorrow the Men’s and Women’s basketball teams will be playing Minnesota State University and Concordia St. Paul. Tonight’s game against the Mavericks will also be, ‘Merica night. Students will be proudly sporting their U.S.A. gear. Tomorrow the Mustangs will be taking on the Golden Bears and the fans will be in their Ugly Sweaters! Get away from studying by cheering on your Mustangs and get a little creative with your outfit!

In closing would like to wish the best of luck to all of the students taking their finals next week; You’ll do great! I would also like to send my thoughts and prayers out to all of the people affected by the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.

As always, Go Mustangs! And Go Pack Go!

Amanda Brunner
Sophomore - Arkansaw, WI

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the snow falling down!

This week has just flown by; seems like yesterday was really Monday. Last week we started our indoor intramural volleyball team. We play every Monday and Wednesday night. Our team name is, “I’d Hit That.” The team consists of Brittany Gatzke, Katie Kienitz, Kayla Van Grootheest, Sydney Ristau, Josh Spreiter, Nathan Fransman, and I. Regardless if we win or lose; we always have a good time. I think it is safe to say for the whole team that we enjoy playing indoor volleyball better than sand volleyball. So this week we played on Monday night and had a bye on Wednesday night. But we definitely had something to do on Wednesday as the West End Residential  Assistants hosted Casino night. Casino night is the biggest non-athletic event on campus throughout the year. The event was hosted in both the upper and lower level of the conference center. There were many different casino games, including a human slot machine. Students that got there early, dressed up in pirate theme clothes, or brought in a perishable food item, received extra chips to gamble with. Every student was able to enter their name for a door prize when they arrived. Once you got $5,000 in chips, you could enter your name in for a grand prize at the end of the night. Some of the grand prizes were a Kindle and an iPad.

SMSU Casino Night!

 As for me, classes are still going well, but the stress of finals is starting to hit. One presentation is complete, my theater play is over, my research paper is well underway, and studying for tests is, well….. a work in progress. I cannot believe how fast this semester is going. My countdown until home is only 11 days away. I am excited but at the same time I don’t want to leave all of my friends! I have made many great friends that I know will stay with me for the rest of my life and being away from them for almost a month is going to be hard.

This weekend there will be perspective students here on campus so be sure to say hi if you see an ambassador giving a tour to a family. Good luck to the Wheelchair basketball team as they travel to Nebraska this weekend to compete. The Men’s and Women’s Basketball team will also be traveling to Nebraska as they take on Wayne State, so good luck to them as well. Also a good luck goes out to the Wrestling team as they head to Iowa for a tournament. Not only good luck to all of the Mustang athletes and coaches competing this weekend, but also safe travels as the snow continues to fall today and this weekend.

As always, Go Mustangs, and Go Pack Go! :)

Amanda Brunner
Sophomore - Arkansaw, WI