I was prompted to think about time because of the recent shift in hour, Daylight Savings Time. Last Saturday, I along with many others rejoiced in the fact that I would have one more hour to the day. With this hour I could look forward to more sleep, more time to spend with my friends, even more time to accomplish homework; the choice was mine. It being Saturday night I decided to spend this hour with my friends. As I sat in my room talking with them it was a somewhat liberating feeling to know that although the clock read 11 pm it was really 10 pm. The night was young.  There was a freedom and an ease to the conversation because we knew we had an extra hour that night.

I know some people complain about there not being enough time in the day, and I admit it, I am one of those offenders. The 24 hours in a day never seem to be enough for me. Not enough time for me to complete all of my assignments for class, attend my meetings, work, eat full meals, exercise, spend time with friends, and even sleep. I always seem to be saying to myself, “If I just had one more hour in the day…” Well last weekend I was awarded that gift, and for the first time in my life I realized it Daylight Savings Time is the one 25-hour day of the year. What’s funny though is that I really didn’t do anything different because of that extra hour. I still stayed up late with friends and had fun. So although I pine away for that 25th hour of the day all the time, it’s important for me to remember it wouldn’t change any of my poor time management skills.

The only thing that really changed for me was my peace of mind. I was in a good mood because I knew that in a way all of my friends and I were cheating time. I now have an understanding why some people always have their clocks set to either five or 10 minutes fast. They are reveling in the fact that in a way they are cheating time. Now this little gift doesn’t happen all of the time. In only happens in times of stress or panic, or forgetfulness. They may look at the clock and think that they are running late or they won’t get a certain task finished. But then they remember in a split second, that they actually have more time. They have a few extra minutes to complete some work, enjoy someone’s company, or even sleep.

I never could comprehend why anyone would set their clocks to a time other than the present hour. I’m not a huge fan of math and the constant mental subtraction of figuring the exact time irritates me. If not all of the time pieces were the same time how do you know which one is right? But after realizing the beauty of daylight savings time I kind of get it. I like the idea of cheating time.

The email was vague and even after reading it over a few times I didn’t know exactly what I was getting myself into, but looking back I think that was somewhat intentional. I signed up more out of curiosity and intrigue than concrete knowledge or excitement of what I would actually be doing on the retreat.

I have been on religious and spiritual retreats before. Some were in high school and I also attended Manresa 17 in the spring semester of my freshman year at John Carroll.

Every retreat I’ve experienced has brought something different, such as a new understanding about myself, a friend, or my faith. With my previous experiences I knew I would at least enjoy getting away for one night and just relax off campus. All the same I was still apprehensive about the trip. Those feelings were soon relieved.

As I walked to the pool desk to meet the group I was only expecting to know about three of the 20 students who were attending. To my surprise, once I arrived I saw more familiar faces. I may not have known everyone personally but I was able to recognize quite a few, something that I have grown to love about John Carroll over the past few years.

From the short conversations with the other retreatants, I soon learned that they didn’t have any idea about the  information on the agenda either. But sometimes you just have to go with it and see what happens.

Although the retreat was only an overnight experience, there was still great knowledge that I gained which I think everyone deserves to know. The four retreat leaders, alumni who were former Guidance retreatants, shared some valuable life lessons which served as guiding posts for the group’s future life paths.

The main lesson imparted to us was, identify what you are personally passionate about – and ask how you can use that passion to help others. When you wake up in the morning, apart from being very groggy and drowsy, are you excited with whom you’re going to see and what you’re going to do? Are you happy? Are you proud of yourself? Those are some very loaded questions – yet two very significant questions. As college students we are making decisions that have the potential to affect our future every day.

We need to be asking ourselves those questions. And who cares if the answer isn’t what you planned in high school, or what you promised your parents. What’s important is that you can identify what you love and figure out how you can use that to have a positive impact in the community. It can be small gestures of reaching out to an old friend, or dedicating an hour of your week to a worthy cause.

With the overwhelming schedule of our busy lives it’s easy to forget to stop and breathe, to stop and appreciate the blessings we have as students at this university. We forget about the opportunities that are at our fingertips or that are sometimes taken for granted. And sometimes we feel constrained with the path we’re on. We forget that we have the ability to change our attitudes, actions, or even our majors to make us happier.

Retreats like Guidance allow for a time of reflection which help us remember our blessings, opportunities, and our empowerment as people living. Whenever I go on a retreat I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes by Jonathan Swift, “May you live all the days of your life.”  To me this sums up the perspective I gained from the retreat.

We can choose to wake up every day and go through the motions, our schedules, our to do list. Or you can take time to laugh, relax, give thanks, and go out of your way to help people. That’s the life I’m trying to live. I’m not quite there yet, but I’m working on it. Are you with me?

For those of you who haven’t noticed the banners or windows in the atrium, and the large increase in matching shirts with strange lettering worn by fellow students, I’m here to tell you it’s Greek Week.

For some people not affiliated with a Greek organization and who may not be friends with one of 14 percent of the student body involved, you may think of this week as just an excuse for all the Greeks on campus to come together and be overly nice and competitive at the same time. You may get annoyed with the chants, cheers, vuvuzelas and the continued talk and drama of  the week’s events. But I’m here to assure you it’s all for a good cause.

I am a huge proponent of the Greek system here at Carroll. I should be, considering I’m president of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. Needless to say I look forward to the week’s events and the preparation that goes into it. The camaraderie, enthusiasm, pride, memories, and lack of sleep are what make Greek Week great.

And even though last Sunday’s opening ceremonies was one of the longest days of my life, and I have been getting on average about four hours of sleep per night because of put off homework and late Lip Sync practice, I know deep down I wouldn’t have it any other way. Although collectively as Greeks we may complain a little about attendance, argue the rules of certain events, or the fact that a few people tried to drown others in water polo on Tuesday, we are a close-knit community. We work together to accomplish service and promote a positive attitude for John Carroll and campus life through community engagement and service.

That’s what great about Carroll. You can make a difference with the things you’re involved in. And that doesn’t just include Greek Life. Lots of the varsity athletes do community service and business majors participated in the Boler Community day last Friday. The language clubs are always publicizing late night events and the student government and programming board try to make everyone engaged and happy. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you enjoy it and respect others in their efforts to have fun and make a difference as well.

In closing I would just like to say to my fellow Greeks, I hope you’ve had fun so far this week. To the rest of campus, and to anyone who is utterly annoyed with us, pay a few dollars to watch us make fools out of ourselves tomorrow night at Lip Sync. The doors open at 7:30 p.m. in Kulas and all proceeds go to Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospitals; it’ll be a good time. Go Beta, and go Greek Week.

However, these are just a few of the many reasons why Thanksgiving is so wonderful. I don’t know if you have ever thought about how awesome Thanksgiving truly is, but here is some of my top corroborating evidence. 

First of all, we get to eat. A lot.  There is nothing better than walking into Grandma’s house in the early afternoon to the smell of turkey and mashed potatoes. But, most importantly, we get to eat stuffing. Now, you may be a little offended that I’m more excited for a side-dish over the main bird, but hear me out. Yes, turkey is great, and I love sweet potatoes and corn. And green bean casserole is delicious as well; but I can get those dishes more than once a year. For some reason, the best part of the Thanksgiving meal, the stuffing, is one of those celebrity side dishes that only makes an appearance on Thanksgiving Day. I can’t wait. 

Second, we get to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the national dog show, followed by football. I don’t know if you can beat a TV line-up with Al Roker making cheesy float jokes, little terriers peeing on stage and America’s favorite sport. I don’t know about your family, but those staples of Thanksgiving Day television are always on in the background of whatever we’re doing. 

And third, Christmas music is now acceptable to play 24/7 until Dec. 25. I don’t know why 106.5 FM decided to break this rule by starting to play Christmas tunes so early, but after Thanksgiving I can no longer be annoyed by them. 

In all seriousness, Thanksgiving truly is my favorite holiday. I think it’s because of the true meaning behind it. It is a day scheduled into our calendars that is dedicated to refraining from activity and reflecting on the blessings that we have in our lives. 

Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be just once a year though. We should be thankful for life, good health and happiness every day. However, there’s something that can get in the way of that. That something is college expectation.

 As college students in the 21st century it’s expected of us (or at least I expect it of myself) to do well in class, stay active in sports and organizations and hold down a job, all the while maintaining a social life that I can be proud of. 

Those things can take work, which can cause a lot of anxiety and stress for some people. To combat this stress, it is imperative that more than once in a while we take a breather. 

Take a breather and look at the big picture – You are alive, you have friends that care about you, and you have the power to make a difference.

Try to take a moment every day, be it walking to class, waiting in line to swipe your card at the dining hall or while you’re getting ready to go out, to take a step back and give thanks for the blessings you’ve been given.

These changes have come from the direction of John Carfagno, the assistant vice president of integrated marketing and communications, who recently joined the University in April 2009.

“My first step was the homepage, because it is the most visited page,” Carfagno said. “It is the front door of JCU’s web presence. I wanted to improve the look and feel which would help the Web branding presence.”

Carfagno said that in the beginning of the upgrade he wanted to hire someone who had experience in higher education webpage design.

Mike Richwalsky, director of marketing services for Web, started in February 2010. Previously Richwalsky worked at Duquense University and Allegheny College doing web design.

Right away Richwalsky began to take questions and suggestions about the webpage.

“Mike got engaged with different content management systems (CMS),” he said.

CMS systems are webpage design tools. There are two types, open source systems which are free to use with a support community, or an “off the shelf” system which can range from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

After testing different open source systems, Richwalsky chose WordPress, an open source CMS. Throughout this year 32 different users have tested the system for the campus community.

A few of these testers include the sustainability committee and Office of Alumni Relations for the 2010 homecoming webpage.

Theresa Spada, assistant director of alumni relations, was in charge of the 2010 homecoming website which used WordPress.

Spada said her training consisted of 10 minutes of a tutorial and she did the rest.

“The new CMS is wonderful, it’s super user friendly and intuitive,” she said. “I do have some experience working with technology, but for the average person it is very easy to navigate.”

Previously, Spada used Dreamweaver, an “off-the-shelf” CMS system which many of the university pages use. Dreamweaver is more technical than WordPress which means users need to have some background with technology.

Carfagno sees the positives in WordPress for the entire campus community operating webpages.

“This changes the game,” he said. “Before, people on campus had to be techy to be able to handle their own web content. This editor looks a lot like Microsoft Word. It does the heavy lifting for you.”

WordPress takes care of the main design for its users.

This new CMS will save money as well and it is a free website to use. Also, according to Carfagno, because it’s simple and easy to use, salary hours will decrease for people spending time on the webpages. Carfagno estimated an instant $60,000 in savings.

Richwalksy said that the number of help calls have gone “way down” for the groups that have been using WordPress.

Sophomore Lauren Vine, thinks that the changes to the homepage have been positive.

“I think that the improvements to the homepage were needed,” she said. “I like how upcoming events are highlighted near the bottom and bigger events are near the top.”

Carfagno said that student input is what he likes to hear.

“We’re always trying to make [the website] better and more competitive,” Carfagno said.

Carfagno said it is important to have a strong and consistent web presence to attract students to the university. To do this, Richwalsky has linked different social medias like Facebook and Twitter to the homepage.

In the last year alone, the hits on John Carroll’s website have increased in Ohio by eight percent, in Pennsylvania by 12 percent, in New York by 31 percent, and in Illinois by 11 percent.

“The web has become the resource for finding out information, and we are trying to enhance the overall experience for students and families,” Carfagno said. “People are paying close attention and we’re taking actions to make the web better at John Carroll.”

Mark Hauserman, director of the Muldoon Center for Entrepreneurship said the center took a study of other universities with similar programs.

“We did a study of the top thirteen programs [for entrepreneurship] in the U.S.,” he said. “Belmont University in Tennessee had a program similar to the Hatchery.”

Hauserman said the area will virtually be open “24 hours a day.” Students can access the Hatchery through a key fob system.

Inside the Hatchery there will be resources like telephones, computers, fax machine, copier, conference area, internet phone system and white board.

Hauserman said one unique aspect will be the Voice Operated Internet Phones (VOIP) that will allow students to have their own business number that will be able to connect to their cell phones.

The construction and office supplies are all funded through donations from guests who attended the Muldoon Awards Dinner on Sept. 19.

Brian Sprafka, a member of the Entrepreneurs Association (EA), a group of about 200 business owners in the area, is in charge of the Student Entrepreneurship Liaison Committee.

Students will make an application to be in the Hatchery which will be reviewed and either approved or denied by the liaison committee.

“Submit a plan of action with [a] business plan or ideas and if [it] sounds like a reasonable venture then the application would be accepted,” Hauserman said.

After the student is accepted into the program they will be assigned a business coach from the entrepreneurship association. This mentor will be selected to help the student in specific areas, be it marketing, management or finance for one semester.

After a semester, the plan will be reviewed, a new mentor may be assigned, and the idea taken to reality bridge or dropped.

“The mentors are skilled in self proclaimed areas of business,” Hauserman said.

Seniors Corey Pender and Paul Merrill will be managers of the Hatchery office space. Currently both work in the Muldoon Center for Entrepreneurship through work study.

Merrill said that although he is not studying to receive the entrepreneurship minor, he still has participated in some of the other programs that are available like Idea Lab and Entrepreneurship Immersion Week (EIW).

“I think that the Hatchery will definitely bring awareness to the entrepreneurship program, Idea Lab and EIW which are all good experiences,” Merrill said.

Derek Soeder, a sophomore who is currently enrolled in the third class of the minor, said the lessons have been beneficial.

“The classes exceeded my expectation,” he said. “We learned things that not only will help us in entrepreneurship, but in any field.”

He thinks the Hatchery will lend to a more practical use for the knowledge gained in the classroom.

“I have a couple of ideas that were too complicated to be [implemented] in any classroom project so far,” he said. “I think the Hatchery will be the perfect outlet for screening my business products to see if any can actually happen.”

Not only is Merrill excited to help manage the Hatchery he also wants to be one of the first businesses involved in the process.

“I have a business, Carroll Cuts, a lawn care business for the surrounding community. I’m looking forward to being one of the guinea pig projects for the Hatchery,” he said.

As more details are set for when construction is to begin, Hauserman is seeing a vision become tangible and some goals being met. He said the Entrepreneurship program has three main objectives.

“One is to support the student; two, give EA members an opportunity to give back by mentoring the student and use their expertise to guide them; and three is to provide recognition to students and the program.”

The ultimate goal for the University program is to become one of the top 25 entrepreneurship programs in the country.

“This is another piece in the puzzle,” Hauserman said.

Presently this program is not tied to any academic project, so students won’t be able to receive credit for the work done in the Hatchery, but Hauserman said that he will be looking into that option in the future.

Participants included seniors Paul Merrill, Maria Perossa, Rosario Scibona III; junior Jeanniece Jackson; and Ashland University student Corey Barnett. Mark Hauserman, director of the Muldoon Center for Entrepreneurship, and economics professor John Soper, who pushed for an entrepreneurship minor to be available at John Carroll University, coached the team.

“We chose top students to represent John Carroll, but they’re also representing themselves,” Hauserman said. “It gives them a chance to spread their wings.”

EIW is a weeklong immersion into the study of entrepreneurship, put on by the Entrepreneurship Education Consortium. EEC works to provide students with education about entrepreneurship and allows them to express their ideas with hands-on experience. The schools involved include: University of Akron, Ashland University, Baldwin-Wallace College, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University, Hiram College, John Carroll University, Kent State University and Lake Erie College. John Carroll founded the EEC.

Scibona said that the week was fast-paced with learning and working.

“During the week we started off doing some team building exercises and activities,” said Scibona. “We also listened to some keynote speakers throughout the week. They were different people from the community who run their own business and are successful in certain areas.”

Hauserman said the lessons and classes taught at EIW were invaluable because the top teachers from different schools were leading the seminars.

“They got the best of different faculty from each school and their specialty,” he said.

Perossa said the week was strenuous and long hours, but would agree.

“It was a very beneficial experience,” she said. “It was a great way to make connections.”

The week ended with each team presenting a product idea to a panel of judges. The presentation had to cover marketing, management, finances, and a target market.

Going into the week, each group member came equipped with a few ideas for a business venture, however, once the week started the group went in a new direction.

“Everything happened during that week,” Scibona said. “None of the ideas we came in with were used.”

Instead, Menu 2.0 was a collaborative effort at the Indians game.

“Someone in the group said something, and someone else added this,” he said.

The idea didn’t come out of the blue, earlier in the week every group was asked to create a bother list, a list of things that bother an individual. From that list ideas were generated to help provide solutions for the problems.

“[The brainstorm went from] ‘how can we get our food faster?’ to ‘what if you could change your order or click on an ‘add healthy options’ button?’” Perossa said.

The JCU team’s idea, Menu 2.0, uses an iPad to replace menus at restaurants. The iPad would allow for customers to directly place their orders, increasing efficiency. With the iPad technology, the team said they could add a healthy options menu or dietary restrictions area. Customers could also use the iPad to play games or read the local newspaper while they waited for their food.

Hauserman said he and members of the John Carroll Entrepreneurs Association were impressed with the idea.

“It’s a really good idea,” he said.

Hauserman assures the Entrepreneurs Association will be involved to help the students in their future plans for Menu 2.0.

Two people approached the group after the presentation, inquiring about the business. One man prints paper menus and another works with Apple applications, said Scibona. The group is set to meet this evening to set dates to possibly meet with these business partners.

Perossa said that the EIW cemented her feelings of opening up a business of her own.

“I have some product ideas,” she said. “I’d like to open my own business; I have hopes and dreams of that in the future.”

Heather Losneck, director of residence life, said that although the board may be new to freshmen, it is not a new initiative.

“The board hasn’t stopped existing; it just has not met this semester,” Losneck said.

Once students return from winter break, Losneck plans for the board to reconvene.

She said the advisory board will consist of two students from each residence hall, two members of the Student Union ResLife committee, two members from the Organization of Resident Assistants, and two members of the Residence Hall Association.

In addition, two tour guides will be added to the board to ensure that any new residence life information is explained fully to incoming high school visitors.

The board is charged with the task of reviewing residence life initiatives.

“[We] review some policies and practices such as holiday break housing protocol and solicit feedback,” Losneck said.

Senior Amy Marchlen, chair of the residence life committee for the Student Union Senate, said the board works collectively to solve problems.

“The purpose of this group is to discuss problems from various perspectives of student life and to generate ideas for potential programming,” she said.

Junior resident assistant and Student Union President-elect Amanda Papa said that as of right now the Student Union only utilizes a small committee.

“We just have a committee of three student senators who correspond with student issues regarding student housing,” she said.

Papa thinks that the large number of the board will be a positive.

“As an RA, it’s good they’re reaching out to a wide variety of students,” she said. “I’m all for student participation and perspective.”

Freshman Sarah Baum said she thinks that having the board reconvene is a good idea.

“As a student living on campus, anything to improve residence life is a positive,” Baum said.

Baum lived in Murphy for the first few weeks of this semester, but she now resides in Pacelli. Living in two different freshman dorms, Baum has seen the type of problems that can occur in residence halls.

For Baum one of the issues that the board could address would be the bathrooms.

“The bathrooms are always filthy, not due to the lack of cleaning crew-they’re great, so nice,” Baum said. “It’s the fact that some people disrespect them and the facility. Stricter penalties or consequences could be enforced.”

Although Papa doesn’t know the exact problems the board will be addressing, she said that the diversity of the students will be a plus.

“They’re getting different perspectives,” Papa said. “I’m glad there will be a variety of students.”

Losneck said that the board will help her in various areas.

“Having the RLAB is really helpful to me in planning for our department and in making sure that the students understand why we do what we do,” she said. “It is really helpful to have students on the board who are comfortable asking questions and giving effective feedback.”

Chief Information Officer of ITS, Mike Bestul, said plans are in the works to switch from the current Mirapoint server to Gmail.

In a press release shared at the Oct. 6 Student Union meeting, ITS stated the student benefits of Gmail include more storage space, improved user interface and integration with Google Apps.

Discussions of the switch from Mirapoint to a newer server have been going on for more than a year in the ITS department, according to Jim Burke, associate chief information officer.

“We’ve used the Mirapoint server for student e-mail for at least seven years; it’s been a long time,” Burke said. “Gmail is a better option.”

According to Bestul, the Mirapoint server has been upgraded over the years. Despite these upgrades, however, the server still has some shortcomings.

“The current student e-mail system is aging, running out of space and costly,” he said.

The new Gmail server will provide students with 140 times more storage space in their inbox than Mirapoint allows.

Also changing will be the cost to the University. Under the contract between Google and JCU, it will not cost JCU anything to use the new server. This will be a change from the current Mirapoint server, which costs the University thousands of dollars to maintain.

“There are lower costs but improved services to students, that’s the sweet spot,” Bestul said.

Sophomore Bill Worms said he uses his e-mail every day, and the larger size of the interface would be beneficial.

“We do need more space,” Worms said. “I find myself deleting trash every day.”

Bestul explained that other universities have found Gmail to be a positive option.

“Many other institutions in the country and other Jesuit universities have moved to this system,” Bestul said. “We’re following the trend.”

Some of the schools that have already switched to the Gmail e-mail server include Boston College, Gonzaga University, Wheeling Jesuit University, Oberlin College and Case Western Reserve University.

Not only are other universities utilizing Gmail, but freshman Steph Fair said organizations use it as well.

“The crew team uses it because all announcements are through Gmail,” she said. “I’d be getting it all from the same place.”

According to Vice President and Executive Assistant to the President Jonathan Smith, the administration noticed that a change was needed at the end of the 2009 spring semester, during the annual review of systems.

“The greater storage feature [of the Gmail] was really an attractive option,” Smith said.

Other than more space and no cost, the Gmail account will also keep the www.jcu.edu address for students.

This feature will not only be convenient for current students but will also help alumni that are online. There are currently 11,000 active JCU e-mail accounts. All of these e-mail accounts will be converted to the Gmail server.

“It’s basically e-mail for life,” Bestul said.

Student Union Vice President of Communication Maura Jochum said that a vote concerning the e-mail server was not taken at the Student Union meeting on Oct. 6. The meeting instead was used as a forum for discussion as to when would be a good time to make the transition between systems.

The time frame for the switch is still under consideration. According to Burke, however, Thanksgiving break has thus far been the leading response for when the transition should take place.

According to Fair, changing the e-mail server as soon as Thanksgiving break would be the best option.

“During Thanksgiving break there would be enough time to fix any problems before we need to use it,” she said.

However, some students like Worms think waiting is the best option.

“Change to it next year since everyone’s accustomed to the current e-mail,” Worms said. “Transition to it easily during summer.”

Regardless of when it occurs Smith sees it as a positive change.

“We look forward to working with students to make this work,” Smith said. “We think there are long term advantages.”

Worms agrees, and thinks students will enjoy the extra space.

“I think it’s a good idea for a change if it there’s going to be more space and it helps us out,” Worms said.

ITS is not yet sure of how the change will be implemented. An e-mail will most likely be sent to the entire campus alerting students and faculty to the change.

In the big picture, Burke identifies two benefits to the Gmail change.

“We’re looking to exceed what we have to offer and the fact that it helps to drive out cost is a bonus,” he said.