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 ;)

Finals, Food, and Fun!

Finals, food, and fun? Crazy right? You're probably thinking that those are three words college students would never associate together... unless you're on Mercyhurst's campus!


Mercyhurst's Student Activities Council puts this event on once a term, which is three times a year. Food for Finals was a huge hit this past term, like always! We had a long line of students waiting for snacks, chicken wings, pizza, and donuts. Check out the back of my car once it was all packed up with food for the event – and that wasn't even with the pizza, wings, or donuts!

We also had a Spa and Relaxation Day the Friday before finals. From 12 to 4 p.m. students were invited to come out for a day of spinal relaxers, massage chairs, and an oxygen bar. A bunch of students showed up ready to take a break from their studies and relax with SAC. Though every station was full from start to end of the event, the massage chairs were definitely the most popular attraction, and my personal favorite too!

It was truly a great start to finals week, followed by a wonderful Thanksgiving Break at home... But I'm happy to be back on campus to help provide fun weekend activities for Mercyhurst Lakers to enjoy before our Holiday Break!

Ciao for now – I'll be back really soon to post about some other events that have happened on campus!