Month: April 2011

By Christina Burden, Contributing Writer. Published April 1, 2011 Every Tuesday night by nine ‘o clock I’ve climbed the seamlessly endless flight of stairs to the third floor of Old Main. I take this weekly journey in order to see my family, because that is what the members of Alpha Phi Omega have already become to me- family. I cannot say that I was expecting it last semester when I pledged, before I realized that one of the main components of APO is friendship. (more…)

By Kevin Schaefer, Associate Editor. Published April 1, 2011 The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Student Chapter at McKendree will be holding a technology workshop for high school teachers this summer as part of the outreach component of the Chapter. (more…)

By Kyle Hintz, Staff Writer. Published April 1, 2011 Battle: Los Angeles is a terrible title. It seems terrible titles are a trend in Hollywood these days. This one foreshadows the disappointment that this movie will be to its patrons. Sadly, it actually starts out fairly decent. Staff Sgt. Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) is preparing to retire, an incident in Afghanistan is eluded to in which he got several soldiers killed or something to that effect, several young gung ho soldiers are introduced in effective, if clichéd sequences, and this movie starts to show more promise than that of its alien invasion B-movie plot. (more…)

By Kyle Hintz, Staff Writer. Published April 1, 2011 Limitless is the new thriller starring Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, The A-Team) and Robert De Niro. Cooper plays Eddie Morra, a struggling writer in New York City who isn’t fulfilling his potential, until he runs into his ex-wife’s brother, and former drug dealer, Vernon (Johnny Whitworth). Eddie tells Vernon about his writer’s block. Vernon has just the cure for Eddie’s troubles: NZT-48, a new drug that allows the user to access 100% of their brain. (more…)

By Kyle Hintz, Staff Writer. Published April 1, 2011 Rango is the only animated film I’ve seen this year that actually lives up to that cliché of the animated movie that both kids and adults will love. Usually, that means a movie that kids will love and parents won’t hate to the degree that they question the whole child rearing enchilada. However, this is the real deal. (more…)

By Annie Bierman, Staff Writer. Published April 1, 2011 Preparing for Graduation is pretty easy. Have 128 credits to graduate. Sign up to graduate. Order the cap and gown. Show up on May 7th. Pretty simple. The question is, though, how do you mentally prepare to graduate? (more…)

To start with, my girlfriend is everything to me and we love each other. The only problem is that my parents hate her. I wouldn’t normally care what my parents think, but they’re funding my college expenses and have threatened to cut me off if I continue seeing her. I have a job, but it’s not nearly enough to pay my tuition and I’m not sure I’m smart enough for many scholarships. What should I do? (more…)

By Kat Studley, Contributing Writer. Published April 1, 2011 So you’ve made it through mid-term week and you’ve hopefully slept off your Spring Break fun, but now you may find yourself returning to yet another spring semester slump. I may not be able to speak for the entire McKendree population, but I am surrounded by many fellow students plagued with writer’s block and debilitating procrastination habits. Seriously, it’s been so perky outside (in between those lame cold fronts) that I’ve completely daydreamed my way through too many lectures and study times. When you’re freezing your butt off outside, it’s easy to stay focused on the warm and cozy classroom instead of the surrounding gloominess. (more…)

By Annie Bierman, Staff Writer. Published April 1, 2011 In the last issue, I chose new faculty on campus to interview. In this issue, I simply chose two professors I wanted to get to know better. The common threads between them, I found out later, are that they  were both living in the area already before taking jobs at McKendree, and they are both currently involved in lengthy, and interesting in my opinion, research projects besides teaching a full load at McKendree. I hope these short profiles will give you a glimpse of two awesome professors at McKendree! (more…)

By Annie Bierman, Staff Writer. Published April 1, 2011 This issue, I decided to profile Dr. Chris Bahr, the Provost and Dean of the University, and Dr. Tami Eggleston, Associate Dean of the University. These two women work everyday to make the academic experience for students better. From the interviews with these two women, I have come to appreciate how much focus McKendree has on enhancing both student learning and teacher effectiveness. (more…)