Kids 'N Sibs

Whew! I feel like it was just yesterday when I last posted! This week sure flew by.

This weekend at the 'Hurst, SAC held its annual Kids 'N Sibs weekend. Kids 'N Sibs is a weekend long event where SAC holds a variety of activities on both Friday and Saturday for Mercyhurst Students to do with their siblings. Most "kids" bring "sibs" or cousins, or just friends from other schools. Older, younger, or the same age, it doesn't matter! Though you do not need a sibling to attend, in fact I, personally, am an only child and have attended this event in the past with no one to claim as my "sib."
 
It was an "Under the Sea" theme this year, on Friday night we had a treasure scavenger hunt that lead groups around campus to find clues to where the hidden treasure was. We also had under the sea creatures at a build-a-bear station and the movie "Dolphin Tale" for all to enjoy. Also, notice the Kids 'N Sibs t-shirts in the pictures below, I designed them and they were a huge hit!

My favorite though, of the whole weekend, was Saturday! Saturday was set up with more under sea fun complete with an inflatable obstacle course, a shark slide (see below), more sea creature build-a-bears, face painting, balloon animals, Chick-fil-A, cotton candy, popcorn, and to top it off... Rita's Italian Ice – Swedish FISH flavored of course! Throughout the day on Saturday, there was also chances to win 2 iPads! This was a great event and more and more students come out every year. Maybe once you're a Laker too you'll be bringing up some brothers or sisters to our Kids 'N Sibs weekend, it's always a fun time filled with tons of free stuff!

Check out some of my SAC Board, a BIG shout out to Rosemary (blonde in the front, covering her mouth) and Megan (far right/twin with the headband and jeans) for co-planning this awesome event!

This is Louie the Laker, MU's mascot sneaking some cotton candy...

Next weekend we have the final Laker Spirit Club (LSC) event of the year, it's on Friday and it's a baseball game. Then on Friday night we have a Caribbean Night that we are sponsoring with the Multicultural Center and a Jamnesty concert on Saturday night. After next weekend we have one of the biggest events of the year – Spring Fest! I know I've been mentioning it a little here and there, but I'll be sure to give you the total run down on it next week, all I can say about it for now is that it's on Cinco de Mayo and I'll be meeting Sean Kingston!

Well I'm off to finish a little Sunday night homework, talk to you next time!
- Jenna

P.S. I just wanted to take a quick moment and thank you for taking the time to read my blog, if you ever have any questions or want to know more about SAC, LSC, or MSG or anything else here at the 'Hurst, feel free to comment or shoot me an email :)

Bingo and Mystery and Prizes, OH MY!

What a world wind of events have been going on since I've last posted!

Let me start off by bragging a little, as you know, I am currently the Student Activities Council Chair. This means I over see a board of 10 students and help put on events every weekend. But as the year comes closer, and closer to an end positions are changing. I applied for the Mercyhurst Student Government (MSG) Events Coordinator position, and I got it!

I'll still have some of the same responsibilities, like co-planning Hurst Fest, Spring Fest (which is 18 days away!!!), and all the dances, but I'll also get to organize Mercyhurst's annual Homecoming and Distinguished Speakers Series. I'm so excited! I'll continue to blog right here, but my gears will be shifting as I start in the new position... Still events, just the other side of our student organizations.

Representing the 'Burgh with some of these prizes!

But, until then, I have to tell you about this past weekend. Our Laker Spirit Club hosted a summer time themed booth at a home men's lacrosse game. We had Rita's Italian Ice by the bucket-fulls, leis, and beach balls. It was fun to see the crowd getting pumped in the stands, until it started to rain. But all in all, it was a great show of MU Laker Spirit!

Friday night SAC presented a "Rep Yo Hood" Bingo. It sounds crazy, I know, but tons of kids showed up to win hometown prizes like, Buffalo Wild Wing Sauce, and Primanti Bro.'s gift cards (that's from Pittsburgh, ;) my own hood). We had so many random things for prizes and it was funny to watch Lakers fight over them, like an American flag, or Welch's jelly (did you know Welch's farms are located in North East/Erie?). No matter what the theme of the bingo, the mix of free food and/or competition really seems to draw a big crowd here.

Me, acting a little silly with the iPad tickets...

Then on Saturday night, SAC got a little fancy and had a Murder Mystery Dinner! We had 160 students make reservations for a night of fun, laughter, an Italian style dinner, all with a little mystery. The theme of this particular murder mystery was "Very Desperate Housewives" so naturally, all the girls on SAC wore our cute dresses, high heels, and pearl earrings! In addition to bragging rights, winners of the mystery won gift cards. SAC also held raffles for 10 $25 gift cards to places like the Olive Garden, Valerio's (an Erie favorite that catered this dinner), and the Millcreek Mall to name a few. Also, one lucky Laker won an iPad that we raffled off!

This past weekend was full of fun, bingos are always a win here, and we're even getting feedback that students would love to have a murder mystery dinner come back to campus again!

It's weekends like this where students are so into the events we put on that makes my job all worth the while. I love it!

Well, next weekend we have our annual Kids 'N Sibs weekend, where lots of Lakers bring up a sibling to show them what a good time at the 'Hurst is all about... Talk to you then :)


Jenna

Hypnotists and Holidays!

Wow, what a weekend! It's been a crazy one here at Mercyhurst University.
 
This weekend in addition to our typical SAC events, it was also St. Patrick's Day. As you can imagine, it was a pretty big deal here at an Irish Catholic Institution. Different departments of Mercyhurst joined forces to create a St. Paddy's Day Extravaganza.
 

Keith in our Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center

To prep for this Saturday, SAC hosted a classic Mercyhurst event, Hypnotic Intoxication. It's a two-part program which lectured on the powers that alcohol and addictive drugs can play in our lives first, and then has volunteers on stage to really have some fun in the second portion. Keith Karkut hypnotizes participants and invites them to a sick party, in which any alcohol they ever wanted is there in unlimited amounts. For the alcohol is served through the powers of the mind, by serving MU students plain water, which they think is the most potent alcohol they have ever had. This allowed their friends in the audience to see what really happens when they involve themselves in a severe alcohol situation... It's a great educational session that lets students learn while being thoroughly entertained! Keith has been coming to Mercyhurst for years now, and normally puts on this show twice a year. Literally everyone laughs their pants off and makes memories that will last their entire college career (and beyond)!
 
On St. Paddy's Day there was a schedule of events to attend:
 
Noon - 2 p.m. the Laker Spirit Club sponsored the Women's Lacrosse Game
2 - 5 p.m. Residence Life put on an open skate in our Ice Center
5 - 7 p.m. a FREE traditional Irish Dinner was served in our Student Union
7 - 8 p.m. there was a Alcohol Awareness Jeopardy in the Student Union as well
8 - 10 p.m. SAC wrapped up the festivities with Deal Is Right Game Show which students participated to win cool prizes, like a brand new car! (Okay, it was a brand new remote control car... but $250 in cash and other prizes were given away!)
 
As students went to these events they were given a ticket, each ticket they had entered them into a raffle for a Nook Color eReader. It was a great day to celebrate our Irish heritage with friends and faculty!
 
Next weekend SAC has Dave Coleman (the movie Hitch was inspired off of him) and our Spring Charity Ball. This year our Spring Charity Ball is making a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in memory of a classmate of ours, Evann Parker who passed away earlier this year.
 
I'll post back next week and give you all of the fun details!

Music, Movies, and Mercy

Hello! It's been some time since I last posted. A lot has happened since then, SAC had their classic Food for Finals (the special food was Taco Bell tacos)! Mercyhurst University enjoyed their Spring Break, and we just got through our first week of classes of Spring Term.

To end the first week back, SAC a few easy-going events for students to attend. On Friday night, SAC hosted a Coffee House featuring Nelly's Echo (check him out on the right). He had a really great voice, and was funny! He played well off of the audience and mingled around before and after his performance. Along with his cool beats, SAC served some hot treats. We had coffee, tea, cookies, and cakes. It was a great way to spend a chill Friday night after a seemingly endless week of classes!
 
On Saturday night, SAC showed the movie The Help in our Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center. Although it wasn't the newest release we could have brought to campus, students seemed to really enjoyed the film because it was deemed the summer reading for this year's incoming freshman and it was a nice way to tie in our Mercy heritage. A little FYI about the month of March at Mercyhurst: it is officially named Mercy Month and SAC believes that The Helped paired extremely well with the overlying theme for the month. Students, faculty, and the community around campus strive to improve the lives around us during this month each and every year. March honors the history and the mission of the University by encouraging attendance to a variety of service opportunities throughout the month. Another way that SAC is giving back during Mercy Month is our Annual Spring Charity Ball that will occur in two weeks! I'll post more about it then, but until next time, make sure to get out in this beautiful weather we are having at the 'Hurst.

P.S. Next weekend is St. Patrick's Day, and since Mercyhurst is an Irish Catholic Institution, I'll of course be giving you the scoop on all of the festive fun happening around campus!

Hello Friends!

 

LSC and SAC had a crazy weekend of events. On Friday LSC attended a Men's Hockey game at 7:05 p.m. versus Robert Morris University. LSC gave the game a Wild, Wild, Western theme. The 130ish students that came out to the game got cowbells and trail mix to enjoy while they watched our boys take on RMU. Also on Friday, SAC and the Multicultural Center put on an event called the Old School Hip Hop Party in the Student Union. Some classic jams were played and snacks were served as students danced the night away.
  
  

Erin Jackson

On Saturday SAC was suppose to have the hilarious comedian Erin Jackson grace Weber Hall's Taylor Little Theatre. "Since first making a name for herself at colleges and comedy clubs, Erin's warm, conversational style and relatable humor have helped to propel her onto the national stage. She has performed on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and Comedy Central's Live at Githam, and she was a semifinalist on NBC's Last Comic Standing." However, due to recent weather... a.k.a. the little snow-storm that we and neighboring areas encountered, Erin was not able to make a flight in to perform. So instead SAC put on a Valentine's Day Bingo. Just as many students came out to enjoy a few rounds of bingo and win Valentine's Day themed prizes. Hopefully, we can reschedule a time that works with Erin, to have her come back to campus. To get a little peak at her website, or find out more info about her, click here.

  
Either way, snow or no snow, SAC was able to put on a great weekend of events for Mercyhurst students. As this Winter Term is ending, SAC is preparing for it's final event of the term... Food for Finals! I'll be sure to take pictures and blog about all the details. This term our "special item" is tacos!
  
 
Until then, stay warm!
 

Foodie Frenzie!

Hello everyone! I'm back again to blog about this past weekend's happenings at Mercyhurst with the Student Activities Council. This weekend, the 'Hurst was full of food, food, and more food!

On Friday, SAC and MSG (Mercyhurst Student Government) joined efforts and had a night with guest Chef Mary Sue Milliken. MSG brought her in as a part of their Distinguished Speaker's Series to talk about the journey she went through when becoming a chef. Chef Mary Sue was such an interesting person, and was a delight to listen to. She even gave out some super simply recipes for college students! After she spoke, she had a question and answer section where she let students ask everything and anything. She was a wonderful lady, and very inspiring.

After the speaker portion, Chef Mary Sue came over to our SAC event for the night, Chopped: MU Style. It was hosted in Egan Dining Hall, and I have a bunch of pictures that I'll post to show you how many students were there and participating. There were two rounds, an "anything goes" round where teams could create anything they wanted. Secret ingredients were chicken, iceberg lettuce, and a blood orange. After a round of judging, Chef Mary Sue and two other judges pulled the top four teams to the final round. A team of MSG senators (Amanda Kocent, Brian Lomardo, and Richard Molloy), the President (Meg Hess), and Events Coordinator (Shannon Kissel) signed up to compete and made it to this round! The final round was a dessert round and they were given strawberries, a Twinkie, and a Hershey's chocolate bar as secret ingredients that they must use. All the teams did really well, but a team of three girls one overall supreme with their crepes. Here are some pictures from the night!

The crazy first few minutes!

MSG's Amanda & Brian!

Madame President Meg Hess

MSG's 1st Round Dish

Chef Mary Sue Killiken

On Saturday, SAC continued the food theme and had a campus favorite, Grocery Bingo. It's as simple as it sounds, students play rounds of bingo to win groceries. We had popcorn, chips, candy, cereal, peanut butter, fruit snacks, cases of water, Red Bull, Starbuck's Frappuccinos, graham crackers, and much more! We were told by participants that this event came just in time because not only is today the Superbowl, but finals are creeping around the corner and their cabinets were looking a little bare.
  

Prize Table of Groceries

Overall, this weekend was awesome (and delicious)! We had over 100 students at each of the events. It was a blast, and I can't wait for next weekend when we'll have a Hip Hop Dance Party on Friday and Comedian: Erin Jackson on Saturday.

Until next week – Happy February :)

Winter Wonderland!

A biiig hello from the newly announced MERCYHURST UNIVERSITY!

SAC and LSC had a week packed with events. It all started on Thursday when LSC cheered on our Men's Wrestling team on against Gannon, our hometown rival. LSC had an army/camo theme in the cheering section. We had an obstacle course set up with a dirt pudding station to refuel. It was a great match to watch, and our boys won!
     

See the snowboard and snow globe?

SAC had a weekend full of winter weathered bliss! On Friday we had a classic SAC event, Winterfest. It happens every year, it's a traditional winter festival that celebrates all different winter activities. Chick-fil-A sandwiches are a signature item at most Winterfests, along with Tim Horton's hot chocolate, with tons of cookies, brownies, popcorn, and much more! At the event over 200 students showed up to grab a free t-shirt, make homemade lip balm, concoct gel creations (since we aren't allowed candles in our residence halls!), pose for a caricature, give it a go at virtual snowboarding and take a picture in a giant snow-globe! The event started at 7 p.m. in our Student Union and there was a line for activities starting around 6:30 p.m. It was so nice to see students excited for such a classic SAC tradition!
   
   

Matt and me!

On Saturday SAC hosted a Snowflake Ball. It was an occasion to dress up with friends and dance the night away! We had Erie's famous DJ Bill Page from local radio station STAR 104 supplying the beats for the dance. Our on campus dining service, Parkhurst, completed the night with mini desserts like chocolate covered strawberries, mini lemon and raspberry tarts, as well as chocolate covered cherry bites, to name a few. The Student Union was transformed, once again, into an icy looking winter wonderland... you hardly remembered you were even on campus! This was also a great opportunity for SAC to relax and dance the night away with all of our friends on campus. My boyfriend, Matt even came up to take me to the dance. He goes to school, back home in Pittsburgh, at a local university and every chance I get to see him is awesome! I know I had a fabulous time, as well as many other Lakers, and am excited to see if this is something that students would like SAC to continue to do annually.
    

¡Esta delicioso!

Now, I know I generally only post about SAC and LSC happenings, but I thought you might like to know what I do outside of studying, classes, and SAC/LSC events. Today (Sunday), I went to a delicious restaurant that is unique to Erie – El Canelo. It serves authentic Mexican cuisine that beats Taco Bell by a long shot! The service is pretty quick, and they seat you with a big basket of fresh tortilla chips and homemade salsa. I had a delicious taco salad while by boyfriend Matt over there enjoyed beef enchiladas and tacos. Another great thing about El Canelo is it's friendly to a college kid's budget. Matt and I ate until we were stuffed for about $13. It doesn't get much better than that!
  
 
    
Well, that's all I have for this week... Next weekend, we have Grocery Bingo – which every college kid loves! And "Chopped: MU Style" featuring celebrity chef Mary Sue Milliken. She's been on Top Chef, Oprah, and Iron Chef America to name a few and students will get to compete in culinary challenges with Mary Sue as a judge! Next weekend is making me hungry already... I'll be back next week to tell you all the tasty details!

Gannon, Giggles, and Greek!

This is Zach, the LSC programmer!

Hello All! SAC and LSC had a week full of events. They festivities all started with a Wednesday night double header basketball game against our big hometown rival, Gannon!

LSC had a luau themed event at both the men and women's games. Tons of Lakers showed up to the games to support classmates in their battle against the Gannon Knights. We had leis, sunglasses, and smoothies! It was nice to have a tropical feel in the middle of our Erie winter. Our smoothie names were pretty creative too, we had "Slay the Knights Strawberry" and "Make Gannon Black and Blueberry."

Unfortunately, our Lady Lakers lost 56 to 57, it was a great game though! And our boys won 62 to 61, both were intense games! 

 

Eric hugging Betty White!

On Friday night we had comedian Eric O'Shea. He was hysterical! He has over 4 million hits on his entertaining Youtube videos, one of my favorites being "TV Commercial Songs" (go ahead, click it! I added a link to his Youtube performance). He's performed at over 1,200 colleges and universities around the country and was nominated "National Comedy Performer of the Year" for 2010 and 2011.

He claims that "Thanks to a little A.D.D. and lack of segues, his show is guaranteed to get randomly wild!!! From surviving family, to surviving all 24 hours of the day – from original stories to celebrity impressions... including ELMO – Eric’s unique humor, expressions, and high-energy show is unlike anything you’ve ever heard…" Eric has even performed at the Creative Emmy Awards on E!

The Greek Week T-shirts!

Finally, on Saturday night, to wrap up the weekend SAC and LSC joined forces to put on a Greek Week themed Women's Hockey game versus Robert Morris University. This Greek themed game asked students to "pledge" ΛΣΧ to get a free t-shirt and show some Laker Love at the game. We even had a toga contest, the best dressed got a Kindle Fire... pretty cool, huh? Along with the t-shirts (see the right) we had golden laurel wreaths, foam lightning bolts, Greek candies, and of course, tons of pizza! It was a fun and festive night, however our Lady Lakers lost 2 to 3 that night. We should have had the event a day earlier, the first time they played RMU, we won – better luck next time!
  
  
Well, that's all for now...  I'll post back next week after our annual Winterfest event and a brand new tradition we're adding, Snowflake Ball!



 

Profs, Playing, and Puppies!

Happy MLK – We had the day off from classes at Mercyhurst today, so I thought I'd sit down and give you all a run down of the weekend we had at the 'Hurst!
 
  

Last Friday we had another game show type event. SAC co-sponsored the night with the Mercyhurst Honor Society with an event called, "Are You Smarter Than A Professor!" Sound familiar? The event ran just like the TV show "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader." We had teams of three to five students compete in random trivia against three of Mercyhurst's own profs: Dr. Ripley, Dr. Bourdreau, and Dr. McGurk. The answers that came out of the professors were absolutely hilarious and witty. It was an overall great event and winners received a $50 MC Bookstore gift card! There were prizes for other places as well which included $25 Fandango gift cards, and Jump the Line Passes for the end of term Food for Finals event. 

 

On Saturday we thought that everyone would be sick of being coped up in their dorms or apartments from all of this cold weather. So we decided to host a Glow-in-the-Dark Volleyball Night. Students showed up to play off in a giant volleyball match in our REC Center. The gym was transformed into a neon volleyball court, complete with black lights, strobe lights, glow sticks, and hot music! While students took a break from playing or while waiting for a new match, we also had these really cool glow tattoos. You sprayed them on and in the black lights you could see it, but then if you stepped out into the lobby where there was normal lighting, it vanished! This was a random idea we had during event planning and the event turned out well! We're interested in what other students thought of this event, or even you! Feel free to leave your comments about any of the events on here and we'll definitely use the feedback during our planning.
     
     

Isn't he precious?

Next weekend we have the HILARIOUS comedian Eric O'Shea and a "Greek Week" Themed Hockey Game vs. Robert Morris University... Stay tuned for all the details!
    
     
P.S. Check out this picture of me and this aaaadorable Akita puppy I played with at the Millcreek Mall this past Sunday on the left. I was totally ready to smuggle this dog back with me onto campus!
      
     
Well, seriously now... I have midterms to study for and more events to help plan! I'll post back here next week :)

Cupcakes and CA$H!

Hello Again! Does everyone else feel the January is flying right by? I sure do!

So last weekend at the 'Hurst the Student Activities Council put on two sweeeet events. 

Friday night we had a Roommate Game Show. If roomies knew the answer to various questions about their roommate they had a chance to win $150 cash! Some of the questions were:
  

   - What color are their eyes?

The super excited winners of Cupcake Wars!

   - What's the strangest habit your roomie had?

   - What reality show would they be on?
  

Some of them were really tough! But it was hilarious to hear what someone roommates had to share, and pretty funny when they even got answers wrong. 

On Saturday night SAC hosted a Cupcake War! If you're familiar with the tv show, it was kind of similar to that. Twelve teams competed against the clock to prove their tasty treats were supreme. Winners received a snazzy certificate and, again, a cash prize!

Next weekend SAC will have a co-sponsored event with the Honors Society, Are You Smarter Than A Professor (students are actually going to compete with Mercyhurst Profs!) and a Glow-in-the-Dark Volleyball match! 

I'll let you all know how those go next week, but until then... Stay warm!

Jenna

SAC Stole Christmas!

During the first week back from a break it is always the hardest to get back into the swing of things, that's not secret. But for the first weekend back, the Student Activities Council tried to spread a little holiday cheer throughout campus. In this post, I'm going to break down what SAC has been doing the past three weeks...

Grace and Mat Franco

Friday, December 2nd 
Magician Mat Franco (see left) stunned and awed everyone in Taylor Little Theatre! I know, I know... you're probably thinking, "Seriously a magician, you're in COLLEGE aren't you?" Well Mat showed us his unique magic and comedy act. In fact, the whole SAC board, including Grace were amazed and cracking up the whole time. He was great with the crowd and really got everyone involved with his whole show. And something to ease your mind... SAC hand selects each magician/comedian/singer/performer to ensure optimum enjoyment of the students. So fear not, SAC has got your back!

Saturday, December 3rd

The polar bears were so stinkin' cute!

SAC stole Christmas. Yup! We stole it and brought it right to our Student Union. We had about 200 students show up to participate in a variety of holiday activities. The activities included: watching ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas Count Down, eating Christmas cookies, drinking hot chocolate, making personalized stockings, building gingerbread houses, decorating ornaments, and the best thing at the event... stuffing your very own build-a-bear! Students lined up more than an hour before the event to ensure that they got the bear they wanted. It was a fantastic event that really kicked off the holiday season right.


Friday, December 9th
The Student Activities Council paired up with the Laker Spirit Club (LSC) to deck the halls at the Men's Club Hockey game. At the Ice Rink we supplied students with free t-shirts with LSC's winter schedule of athletic events, Santa hats, jingle bells, and all the sugar cookies and hot chocolate a little Laker could eat! After the hockey game, we opened the ice for an open skate. We rented out skates, turned on some tunes, and let students skate the night away until midnight. So many students showed up in the typical "ugly Christmas sweater" and others went all out and dressed up like elves and reindeer! I had a great time and was so excited to see that everyone else was having such a blast.

Saturday, December 10th
Okay, another issue that SAC truly understands is that all students are "poor college students." So SAC always tries to give out freebies like shirts, gift cards, sunglasses, frisbees, cups, or whatever else we can manage to get for students. We also love to show movies before they're released on DVD or at least the week they come out. Last Saturday we showed the hilarious sequel, The Hangover Part II. I suggest that any student totally take advantage of SAC Movie Nights and turn it into a date night! Not only is it free, it's a pre-released film so even the Red Box down the street doesn't have it yet. It's also ecofriendly, no need to waste the gas to drive to the movie theatre when SAC is showing it right on campus. It's a win, win, win in my eyes.

Well, that's all I have to report on for now. Keep your eyes open for my post after break and I can tell you all about The Roommate Game Show we're bringing to campus as well as Cup Cake Wars!

P.S. To get a sneak peak at all of our upcoming events check out our website at msg.mercyhurst.edu/sac ;)