Campus Highlight: Students Educating and Empowering for Diversity at Johns Hopkins University

(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)

For the last Campus Highlight of the 2011-2012 academic year, I'm aiming the spotlight on Students Educating and Empowering for Diversity (SEED) at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD).

This admirable organization "is a group of carefully selected and dedicated students who are trained by professional staff to raise campus awareness of racism, sexism and other types of bigotry or intolerance." They facilitate everything from workshops to action plans in both a proactive and reactive approach to diversity awareness on campus. Awesome! Keep up the great work, SEED!

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Campus Highlight: Kansas University Men's Basketball Team

(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)

Even though I blogged about this topic a few weeks ago, I only did so generally -- and without mentioning Kansas University (Lawrence, KS).

For the third year in a row, the KU men's basketball team has reached the Final Four in the InsideHigherEd.com Academic Performance Tournament. (And, in fact, they won the entire thing this year and in 2010!) While the fun of the play-offs is increasing as the number of remaining teams dwindles, it's great to know that the KU team has maintained better-than-average academic standards for its men's basketball team. Way to go, guys!

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Campus Highlight: Students on Target at Louisiana State University

(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)

For this week's Campus Highlight, I'm focusing on Students on Target (SOT) at Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, LA), "a Student Government programming committee that is charged with the mission of promoting healthy lifestyle choices, such as eating right, exercising regularly, and acting responsibly." And while many campuses have student-run organizations that promote wellness, SOT does so by using "the medium of music and art to spread this message." How fun does that sound?!

On March 26, SOT hosted its "Groovin' on the Grounds" event. During the day, Groovin' featured "multiple booths with food and activities as well as large air inflatable slides and games." At night, everyone made way for the musical part of the event, which this year included Ludacris, Hunter Hayes, FreeSol, and Hazy Ray. The best part? The entire event was alcohol free -- and free to both the campus and the public.

It's always great to hear about fun spring events, like Groovin' on the Grounds, at any campus. But I thought SOT deserved a shout-out for having such a kickin' event that was free for those in attendance -- and free from alcohol. Keep up the great work!

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Campus Highlight: Student Crafters at Berea College

(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)

Berea College (Berea, KY) -- which provides all enrolled students with a 4-year tuition scholarship -- helps fund such scholarships through Berea College Crafts. Each student worker "delves into Appalachian artistic heritage, learns about materials and design, experiences the joy of creativity, and identifies the dignity of work well done" before creating wood crafts, furniture, ceramics, woven items, and/or brooms.

Lots of students on scholarship have to work during their time in college. But the students involved with Berea College Crafts are learning about the past, providing for the future, and earning money in the process. What a great combination. Congrats to all of those involved on their hard work -- and amazing products!

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Campus Highlight: Wabash College Mentors for Kids

(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)

Wabash College (located in Crawfordsville, IN) has the unique distinction of being one of a very-limited number of all-male liberal arts colleges. They define their mission as "excellence in teaching and learning within a community built on close and caring relationships among students, faculty, and staff." Part of that excellence apparently comes from how Wabash "challenges its students to appreciate the changing nature of the global society and prepares them for the responsibilities of leadership and service in it."

What better what to prepare one's self for leadership and service than to start in your own backyard? The Wabash College Mentors for Kids chapter was recognized in 2011 as the Chapter of the Year. The campus chapter was founded in 2006 and now mentors dozens of children in the surrounding community.

College Mentors for Kids is actually a larger organization that pairs college mentors with kids in grades 1-8. Chapters like the one at Wabash are clearly making a difference in the lives of today's young folks, and that always warrants a Campus Highlight in my book. Keep up the great work!

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Campus Highlight: The Social Entrepreneurs of Grinnell

(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)

The Campus Highlight this week is a cool one, if I do say so myself; I'm highlighting the Social Entrepreneurs of Grinnell (SEG) at Grinnell College (Grinnell, IA). SEG is "a microfinance organization made up of students and community members from the town of Grinnell, Iowa" that "implements microloans in communities around the world and provides microfinancing services to the local Grinnell community."

In addition to being a fantastic organization, SEG also received some prestigious accolades: They were recognized by the White House as one of the five winners in the "Campus Champions of Change Challenge." Additionally, several members of SEG traveled to the White House on March 15 for an official event and the organization itself will be featured in an upcoming segment of mtvU.

Is the recognition SEG is receiving amazing? You better believe it. But so is the work they're doing. Way to go!

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Campus Highlight: Student Staff at the Knox College Student Newspaper

(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)

This week's Campus Highlight beams down on The Knox Student, the student newspaper at Knox College (Galesburg, IL). The paper recently won "18 awards, the most in its division, in the annual Illinois College Press Association contest" according to a press release on the Knox website.

Although the paper was founded in 1878, it's great to see that students, over 130 years later, are continuing a tradition of excellent in leadership and journalism. Congrats to everyone on the staff for the great work (and recognition for it)!

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Campus Highlight: The University of Idaho International Friendship Association

(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)

This week's highlight is focusing on the International Friendship Association at the University of Idaho. Their upcoming program -- "Cruise the World" -- sounds fantastic. The annual program "gives campus and community members the opportunity to experience different cultures by trying on exotic clothing, writing in new scripts, playing games, learning traditional dances, and much more while visiting over 30 country booths." Additionally, live entertainment rotates every 30 minutes, with performances including "traditional folk dances from Ghana, Guatemala, Nepal, India and Mexico, as well as music from Japan, and Saudi Arabia." What a great way to give people a chance to expand their horizons in an active, interactive way.

Keep up the great work, IFA! Wish I could come to this event!

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Campus Highlight: Vermont Student Environmental Program at the University of Vermont

(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)

For this week's Campus Highlight, I'm featuring the Vermont Student Environmental Program (VSTEP) at the University of Vermont. Founded in 1988 and currently operating as a non-profit, private foundation run by students, VSTEP "is an organization of concerned individuals dedicated to coordinating environmental activities on Vermont campuses and throughout the general public." One of their more notable accomplishments has been to end the sale of bottled water on campus, which will go into effect in January of 2013. The university issued a press release that describes in more detail the way(s) VSTEP helped to implement such an important policy change.

As the press release notes, although VSTEP was able to reduce the amount of bottled water that was purchased on the campus, in 2010 alone approximately 235,000 bottles were sold. Congratulations to the students of VSTEP for their efforts in making such a drastic reduction in the amount of waste coming from one campus -- and for showing the rest of the country what solid student leadership looks like!

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Campus Highlight: Malcolm Burnley at Brown University

(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)

Although I usually highlight a student group or organization, this week I'm choosing to highlight one particular student: Malcolm Burnley at Brown University. His major accomplishment? He recently uncovered a long-forgotten speech by Malcolm X in his university archives. How's that for coming up with something new and exciting while doing research?!

As I've long complained about on this blog, college students often get a bad deal in the mass media. But Mr. Burnley's discovery has been picked up by several major media outlets, including MSNBC and The Huffington Post. Congrats, Mr. Burnley, not only on your discovery but for showing the amazing things college students do!

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Campus Highlight: University of Hawai'i at Manoa

(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)

For this week's Campus Highlight, I'm featuring the University of Hawai'i at Manoa for their "The Genteel Sabai" performance. The show features Randai, "a folk dance-drama form of entertainment originating in West Sumatra and performed by the Minangkabau ethnic group of that region" that "is rarely seen outside of Indonesia." In fact, the University of Hawai'i at Manoa is "the only university program in the West to offer Randai performances." Awesome!

You don't have to be at the UHM campus to learn more. You can find out about Randai folk dance from their web page or do a little research yourself. Either way, I wanted to send some props to everyone involved in the performance for bringing something new, educational, and downright interesting to their campus. Keep up the great work!

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Campus Highlight: Florida A & M Students

(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country. Now that classes are back in session for many college students, the Campus Highlight feature will resume for the spring semester.)

Florida A&M has been in the news lately because of the suspected hazing death of one of its band members. And while I'm glad that the university is immediately investigating and working to halt an unacceptable culture where hazing existed, I also want to acknowledge the students on campus who are working at Florida A&M to create positive change.

As noted in a January 4 press release, over 100 Florida A&M students went to New Orleans over the winter break to help families who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. For three days, they participated in community service work (such as helping to rebuild and repair buildings) and "gave away hundreds of toys that were donated by FAMU's student body." Way to go, guys! It's great to see the fantastic work that college students do that often goes unappreciated, especially when other, more unfortunate incidents are hitting the headlines.

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Anti-Valentine's Day On Campus

Being single -- and in college -- with Valentine's Day approaching can be a special kind of torture. Everyone else may seem like they have big plans in the works for how to spend the evening, whereas your big plans might involve facebook and some homework (if you're lucky). Instead of letting a college Valentine's Day get you cranky, try these 5 tips of what to do on campus to make the day tolerable -- if not fun.

1. Plan a movie fest. Invite some friends over and plan a movie marathon. You can spend the entire night eating funky snacks, watching great (or even horrible) movies, and catching up with friends. Why not let yourself relax and enjoy a night off? You don't necessarily need a boyfriend or girlfriend to make it happen.

2. Cook yourself a nice dinner. You can use the kitchen in your residence hall, the kitchen at a friend's house, or any kitchen that you have access to. After spending an hour or so putting together a nice meal for yourself or friends, it's practically impossible not to feel good afterward. (Check out 12 Easy Meal Ideas for College Students for some suggestions.)

3. Throw an anti-Valentine's Day party. Chances are, you aren't the only person on campus to not be thrilled about the holiday. Plan an Anti-Valentine's Day Party -- for just a few friends or the entire campus -- that shows that those without boyfriends or girlfriends can have a good (if not better) time, too.

4. Get yourself together. It may sound strange, but when was the last time you woke up feeling totally put together? Instead of moping about being single, use the free time you have Valentine's Day evening to get yourself organized. Clean up your calendar, catch up on laundry, plan ahead for major papers and midterms, and get a head start on those assignments you've been avoiding. It may sound lame (okay, totally lame) at first, but you might be surprised at how good you feel after you're done. Who needs a date to go to bed feeling like a rock star?

5. Set up an online dating profile. Alright, you may be single, and you may be at peace with it -- but you may also be interested in changing that single status. Spend some time at your computer, setting up an online dating profile. Who knows what might happen?!

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5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Returning to Campus

With the new year comes, of course, a new semester. But are you really prepared to head back to campus?

While some students are returning this week, many still have another week or two of vacation left. So just what can you do to make sure you return to campus prepared and ready to rock the spring semester? Consider spending some time finding answers to the following questions:

1. How was my time management last semester? Do I need a new system? If so, what do I need to do to get it implemented and become familiar with it before the first day of classes?
2. Are my books ordered? What can I do now to cut down on what I'll need to do once I arrive on campus?
3. What items that I brought home can I leave behind when I return to campus?
4. What was my biggest challenge last semester? How can I make it less of a challenge this semester?
5. How do my finances look? What do I need to do to make sure I stay on top of my money and spend wisely throughout the entire semester?

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Campus Highlight: University of Delaware Promoters of Wellness

(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)

With so many college students feeling the angst and stress of finals, I wanted to highlight a student group that focuses on something else: health and wellness. The Promoters of Wellness (Pow!) is a group of "peer educators from the Wellspring Health Education office at the University of Delaware. The mission of Pow! is to offer fellow students (1) information promoting wellness and (2) supportive resources for making informed health decisions. Pow! members carry out this mission with educational programs, individual peer consultations, and other services described in more detail on the Services page."

Pow! offers a range of programs for "you and a group of your friends, for your floor, or for your hall, class, or club," including a "Let's Talk About Sex" program this past November and a "Glow in the Dark Paint Party" on December 2. Students can request programs on topics like holistic wellness, substance awareness, healthy sexuality, stress management, massage, fitness and nutrition, disordered eating, positive body imagery, and quitting tobacco, among others. It's great to see a student group providing such an important resource for its campus community -- and planning important and fun events to boot! Keep up the great work, Pow!

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Campus Highlight: University of Connecticut LOVE146

(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)

As the holiday season approaches and we are all bombarded with advertising and images about buying gifts, it was refreshing to learn about the LOVE146 student organization at the University of Connecticut. Amidst the chaos and commercialism of this time of year, UConn LOVE146 is hosting a "Krispy Kreme fundraiser in order to raise money to prevent child sex trafficking." On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week, you can purchase a Krispy Kreme donut (helloooo, stress eating!) in the UConn Student Union while helping to support UConn LOVE146.

I wanted to feature this organization in this week's Campus Highlight because it is a great example of the kinds of good work that college students do each day, every day. A simple fundraiser in the student union to support an important social justice issue? It seems so common for many students, and yet these acts of kindness and generosity are what make college students so amazing -- and, really, are what the holiday season is all about. Best of luck this week, UConn LOVE146! Keep up the great work!

(More information on the larger LOVE146 organization can be found on their website.)

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Campus Highlight: The Colorado College Community Kitchen

(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)

I'm excited about this week's Campus Highlight because it focuses on an exciting organization. The Colorado College Community Kitchen (Colorado Springs, CO) claims to be "the only soup kitchen in the United States that actually operates on a college campus." Each Sunday, the Kitchen provides hot meals to community members in need and was started "by a student interest in serving the poor and hungry of Colorado Springs."

Community service work? Awesome. Community service work originating from student initiative? Even better. A community kitchen that operates on and utilizes a college campus -- and has been doing so for 16 years? Fantastic! Keep up the good (and I mean good) work, Tigers!

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Campus Highlight: University of San Francisco Thanksgiving Food Drive

(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)

I need to issue a disclaimer for this week's Campus Highlight: I used to work at the University of San Francisco and participated in their Thanksgiving Food Drive when I was there. That being said, while my experience at USF might have made me a little biased, it also provided me with a great insight into what a great event their Thanksgiving Food Drive is.

The drive aims to collect money from faculty, staff, students, and alumni to help provide "enough funds to buy food baskets for 130 families in the Western Addition neighborhood, near USF." (Storing food donations can get logistically complicated.) During a time when everyone on campus is busy preparing for the holiday themselves, the Thanksgiving Food Drive is a great way to give back to a neighboring community and a great reminder that, as stressed as you may be about, say, your paper, there's always time to give back to those who are less fortunate. The program does a great job, too, of bringing the entire community together for one cause; when I was a staff member there and volunteered, I drove my car while several students hopped out to deliver Thanksgiving dinners to several families on our delivery list. Talk about a community working together in all kinds of ways!

Keep up the great work, USF! You're doing a great job, with programs like these, to help change the world.

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Campus Highlight: MSU and UNC's Men's Basketball Teams

(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)

Given the tragic story that emerged from Penn. State last week, I wanted to use this week's Campus Highlight to focus on the positive and admirable aspects that college athletics has to offer. In honor of Veterans Day, the Michigan State University and University of North Carolina men's basketball teams played each other in a unique setting on November 11: on board the USS Carl Vinson in California.

The game highlighted some of the best aspects of college athletics: Teamwork. Sportsmanship. Pride. Leadership. Community connections. Even showmanship. As riots broke out at Penn. State, the hardworking men and women of the USS Carl Vinson prepared their ship for a major event. And the student athletes of MSU and UNC got ready to put on a great game. Thanks!

A very special thank you and acknowledgment, then, to the MSU and UNC men's basketball players. Even though the national spotlight was somewhere else, you played a great game and showed how awesome students can be in the amazing things they do every day.

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10 Ways to Spend Thanksgiving on Campus

Some college students can't go home over Thanksgiving break. Others don't want to. Regardless of your reason, spending Thanksgiving at school doesn't have to be a bummer. These 10 ways to spend Thanksgiving on campus can help turn a potentially lame weekend into a fantastic one.

10 Ways to Spend Thanksgiving on Campus

1. Catch up on sleep. Your roommate is probably gone. The residence halls are quiet. There aren't any classes. Make the most of the peace and quiet and catch up on some long-overdue zzzzzs!

2. Relax in the quiet. Once you're caught up on sleep, take some time to enjoy the quiet. And if you're really feeling wild, go read something just for pleasure in a place that usually serves as a homework study spot.

3. Catch up on laundry. Okay, fair enough, this isn't sexy or exciting. But how awesome will it feel to have all your clothes clean, put away, and ready to go once the weekend concludes? Added bonus: You probably won't have to wait for a washer or dryer since most people have left campus.

4. Meet new people. Chances are that there are not that many people on campus over Thanksgiving break. So try talking to someone new you see in the dining hall or even in your residence hall.

5. Clean your room. Similar to laundry, it sounds like a lame way to spend your break. But you do have four free days and a messy room. Cleaning your room? Lame. Having a clean room? Awesome. And, since no one else is really around, feel free to crank your music up and rock out while picking up.

6. Get ahead on your homework. Take a look at the next few weeks in your classes and what's due at the end of the semester: It's probably not pretty. Do what you can to get ahead so that the time between Thanksgiving and the end of the semester doesn't turn into four weeks of torture.

7. Book your holiday/vacation plans home. If you can't make it home for Thanksgiving, maybe you can make it home for the winter holidays. And if you don't want to go home, now can be a great time to make alternative arrangements.

8. Do something creative and fun. Many college students are so overloaded with homework and other responsibilities that they don't have time to be creative. Paint a new painting for your room, make something out of clay, or even begin making holiday gifts with some of the time you'll have on your hands over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

9. Volunteer. True, you may not be super happy with being on campus over Thanksgiving. But at least you have shelter, access to food, and a community to support you. Consider giving back by volunteering on Thanksgiving.

10. Leave campus for a day. When's the last time you left campus and hung out at a museum? Went to the beach? Went skiing? Went hiking? Went to a movie or did some shopping? Get yourself off campus and enjoy the break, both physical and mental, from the daily grind of campus life.

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