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Slice of Life (Revised)

Not sure what to do with your kids when they get bored and start taking it out on you? The Children’s Museum of Siouxland is here to help (eventually).

The Children’s Museum’s purpose is, according to their website, “to provide an interactive learning environment that will serve the needs of our children, families, schools and community. Through hands-on participatory exhibits and innovative programs, the museum will seek to foster imagination and creativity while inspiring life-long learning.”

Through a service learning opportunity provided by the Public Relations course offered here at Morningside, I was able to contribute to raising awareness of this up-and-coming local, non-profit organization.

“Part of a students’ grade for this course was to develop a complete public relations campaign for a Siouxland nonprofit organization,” said the course’s instructor, Lesley Bartholomew.

“[Jordan’s] group chose to work with the Children’s Museum, and I thought that was an interesting opportunity.”

Divided into groups of three, the class’s mission was to generate and present a public relations campaign to the local non-profit organization that we chose. My group, which included two very attractive young women both recently wed –not to each other- and myself, planned to raise awareness to attract interest and donors for the museum.

Thousands of dollars have been donated to the museum, but it is still not yet in operation. The mildly anticipated opening day for the museum is set for some time in February of 2014.

“Our donors have been so generous to have gotten us this far. We’re hoping that around this time next year we will have a location built,” said the museum’s Human Resources Director, Kari Kellen.

“Plans for the museum have been in the works for a while, for a little over 10 years now.”

The Children’s Museum is a potential rec-sensation for the community of Sioux City but has had problems getting people informed of its existence, most likely because it has yet to break ground. That’s where my campaign group comes in. The importance of having a children’s museum as a part of the community is greater now that the population of Sioux City is projected to continually increase by hundreds each year.

“The Children’s Museum is a great place for parents to bring their young, even infant children for a wholesome day of family fun through hands-on activities and exhibits that kids just love,” said Kellen.

“With all of the cool stuff the museum is going to have, I think even I would have fun there and I’m 27 years old,” said Lindze Hass, one of my two fellow group members.

Our group strategy to help the museum was to have informational brochures or pamphlets available in 75% of local public schools and pre-schools. I even created a recorded PSA-style advertisement that could be submitted to local radio stations as the date to open the museum’s doors approaches.

“This place is going to be so cool when it finally opens,” said our third group member, Sarah Feuchtenberger. “It feels good to help the museum spread the word and be more recognized. I’m excited to check it out when they finally open their doors.”

Places like the Children’s Museum of Siouxland are underappreciated for the service that they provide a community. In a world dominated by technology and social media, do we want our children to grow up without the activities that sparked our imagination and creativity when we were kids? Imagine a childhood spent in front of a computer screen instead of finger-painting, petting zoos, and most of all physical contact with other children in your age group. Judging by how society has evolved to revolve around technology, places like the Children’s Museum of Siouxland will be few and far between.

Slice of Life

Service learning is a requirement each student who comes to Morningside College has to complete before they can receive their degree. Only one service learning class is required, and I have now completed three.

I took the Public Relations class offered by the college this fall not knowing the weight of service learning on the class. Don’t get me wrong, I was aware there would be service learning requirements, but what I didn’t know was that half of the class was riding on it.

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Divided into groups of three, our class’s mission was to generate and present a public relations campaign to a local non-profit organization of our choosing. My group, which included two very attractive young women both recently wed –not to each other- and myself, decided to join forces with the up-and-coming Children’s Museum.

The purpose of the Children’s Museum of Siouxland is, according to their website, “to provide an interactive learning environment that will serve the needs of our children, families, schools and community.” Thousands of dollars have been donated to the museum, yet it is still not yet in operation. The mildly anticipated opening day for the museum is set for sometime in February of 2014.

“Our donors have been so generous to have gotten us this far. We’re hoping that around this time next year we will have a location built,” said the museum’s Human Resources Director, Kari Kellen.

“Plans for the museum have been in the works for a while, for a little over 10 years now.”

The Children’s Museum is a priority for the community of Sioux City but has been having problems with people being informed of its existence, most likely because it has yet to break ground and create one. That’s where my campaign group comes in. The importance of having a children’s museum as a part of the community is greater now that the population of Sioux City is projected to continually increase by hundreds each year.

“The Children’s Museum is a great place for parents to bring their young, even infant children for a wholesome day of family fun through hands-on activities and exhibits that kids just love,” said Kellen.

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Our group strategy was to have brochures or pamphlets for the museum available in 70% of local public schools and pre-schools. Our professor requested equivalent to one arm and one leg on the project rubric. My group worked well together and constructed a plan that should really help the Children’s Museum of Siouxland draw more donors and raise local awareness. I even created a recorded PSA-style advertisement that could be submitted to local radio stations as the date to open the museum’s doors approaches.

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Places like the Children’s Museum of Siouxland are underappreciated for the service that they provide a community. In a world dominated by technology and social media, do we want our children to grow up without the activities that sparked our imagination and creativity when we were kids? Imagine a childhood spent in front of a computer screen instead of finger-painting, petting zoos, and most of all physical contact with other children your age. Judging by what society has become today, places like the Children’s Museum of Siouxland will be few and far between.

Text Review Number Two: “Into the Wild”

Into The Wild, set back in the early 1990’s. Shortly after finishing college in 1991, a young man from an upper-middle class family from Virginia named Christopher Johnson McCandless, hitchhiked his way to Alaska and disappears into the wilderness. McCandless leaves behind his car, his family, and all of civilized society and destroyed anything that was made by or could link him back to his previous life. His body was found several months later by a local moose huntsman. All of the in-between is filled in by Jon Krakauer’s vivid analysis of McCandless’s behavior and actions during his mysterious disappearance.

Krakauer does a great job of portraying McCandless complex personality through meticulous research based on interviews, letters and journal entries. He shows impressive journalistic passion to reveal every deep detail through anyone with a perspective on the story. Krakauer knew that for this book to be a success from an revealing standpoint, he would have to dig deep for the finer details that make this story so riveting.

Jon Krakauer is revered for his writing about the outdoors and is a 10-time New York Times Best Books of the Year winner and has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction. Among Krakauer’s his other books, Into Thin Air, Where Men Win Glory, and Under the Banner of Heaven –just to name a few– Into The Wild is quite possibly his most admired.

I believe Krakauer’s motivation for writing this story and shedding light on what happened to Christopher McCandless after he abandoned his family and identity was his strong personal interest in the story. Being a lover of the outdoors, perhaps Krakauer had once himself fantasized about dropping everything and facing the elements to discover himself. Krakauer’s wonderful research and enthusiasm received pleased appraisal.

This book had me fascinated in the story of Chris McCandless, a young man who left his family and friends, abandoned most of his material possessions, went to the Alaska wilderness and perished there. The writing is so engaging that although it is already clear from the beginning how McCandless’ story would end, I was hooked till the last page. Krakauer only strays when discussing his own high-risk responsibilities and those of unfortunate adventurers similar to McCandless — these parts offer comparison to McCandless’ character but I found myself getting impatient and wanting them to end quickly, to return to the main story itself which is much more compelling. If there is one thing I can take from McCandless story, it is this message: Be bold. Get out there. Do something. But don’t forget those who love you.

You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?

People judge one another every single day. It does not matter what is the context of the moment or the disposition of the person, each and every day, individuals are profiled by people who they have never seen or talked to before. I will admit, I have done my fair share of making harsh judgments towards people I do not know, but I have learned to treat people the way that I want to be treated. I will also admit that I have witnessed individuals being judged by others, including myself.

On one occasion, I find myself in the middle of a house party on the north side of Sioux City full of complete strangers. I am wearing a plain, black V-neck t-shirt, expensive jeans, a Bulova watch that my father gave me when I graduated from high school, and high-top Nike tennis shoes with my hair styled to one side. I notice a few people around the room staring at me, including a dude with a patchy beard, a flat-bill New York Yankees hat on backwards, and his pants almost down to his knees even though is wearing a belt.

We make eye contact and he begins to approach me.

“If I knew J-Biebs was comin’ I wouldn’ta brought my girlfriend,” he says, laughing and looking over his shoulder at his buddies sitting across the room. “Nice V-neck, faggot!”

It is pretty obvious he had had too much to drink and was looking to stir up some controversy to impress his posse.

“Thanks, brother,” I reply coolly and turn away from him to rejoin my friends.

It takes the tanked-up Derek Jeter a minute to realize that he wasn’t going to get a fight out of me before he turns and walks back to his friends. I can hear him making jokes to his boys about me over the noise of the party. I can pick out words like “faggot” and “douchebag” being peppered into almost every sentence.

While this is happening, the only thing I feel is frustration. How come this jerk and his friends have to antagonize me? What have I ever done to them to make them believe that I am something I am not? If I had thick facial hair would people still say the same things? What about if I wore a buzz cut? I could literally change one thing about my appearance and all of a sudden, opinions change.

I am tired of being the target of judgment each and every day. If someone takes the time to get to know me, a vast majority of the time they appreciate my personality. Some people say, “Do not judge the book by its cover.” Well, I say do not judge at all. People can say anything they want to say, but for me, cover does matter.

Profile: Jon Cripe

Jon Cripe stands in the cafeteria chatting with what looks like a member of the nighttime cleaning crew. The man is a larger fellow with thinning hair and thick-rimmed glasses wearing a baggy, grey t-shirt and navy blue pants. Jon stands across from him wearing a Morningside Campus Security issue jacket and slacks. He wears his hair parted to one side atop a boyish face, reminding me of the actor, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Their conversation comes to a climax as Jon heads for the cafeteria entrance where I stand waiting. “You should have bundled up a little more,” he tells me, keys jangling, as he walks across the lobby of the Student Center to the Campus Security office.

“Jon is a great guy and a great friend.” Tyler Loeslein, Jon’s temporary roommate last year, has gotten to know Jon pretty well as their friendship has built over the last year and a half at Morningside College. “Jon puts others’ needs before his own. He’s stepped up and taken care of me when I really needed it.”

“If he had to watch me for a night, he’d stay up and do it, just to make sure I was safe,” said Loeslein of Cripe. Jon’s passion of helping others led him to a job with Morningside campus security, which he has been working ever since the beginning of his first semester at Morningside in the fall of 2011.

Jon puts the pedal to the floor and takes off on his “rounds” around campus, where security personnel patrol campus, building by building. It’s a chilly first night of November. Jon is dressed for the weather, wearing a stocking cap and thick, North Face winter gloves to go with his maroon, Campus Security pullover jacket. The temperature doesn’t seem to bother him.

“I’m from Minneapolis, Minnesota, but I was born in Lugano, Switzerland, so I’m used to the cold. I think that if it’s going to be cold outside, there might as well be snow. Snow means that I can ski.” Jon goes on about his cross-country skiing career in high school, in which he at one point held the top varsity spot for his school.

Jon was born in Switzerland, and his family moved to the state of Maine shortly after. Not staying in Maine for very long, the Cripe family eventually settled down in Minnesota, where Jon attended grade school. Jon embraces his Swiss roots, however shallow they may be.

“My parents were teachers in the only American school in Switzerland, at like a private school,” says Jon. “Now they teach at Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis, where I went to high school.”

Jon talks about his interest in his major, which is psychology, but has always had another career in mind. “I wanted to major in criminal justice, but they don’t offer that here at Morningside. I’ve thought about getting into counseling and stuff, but I really want a career in something like executive protection. Like as a member of the secret service or something.”

A job with campus security is pretty routine: drive around campus touching a wand-like device with a sensor on the end to over one hundred small, circular sensors placed all around campus. The other requirements of the job are to answer any calls via walkie-talkie and lock up all the buildings on campus. Mid-way through locking up the HPER center, Jon gets a call from a woman who lives across from the library on Morningside Avenue and saw kids running and screaming across the campus mall. “Probably just a late Halloween prank. People call security, but people are normally gone by the time we show up,” says Jon with an annoyance in his voice.

Don’t let that fool you. The consensus among his friends is that Jon Cripe is a pretty swell guy. “He’s cool,” said friend and neighbor, Miguel Beltran, a junior at Morningside. “He’s pretty chill. He doesn’t really complain too much. I really like that about him.”

“He’s sort of the kind of person who has good intentions but things tend to blow up in his face instead,” said Jon’s girlfriend, Catherine “Cat” Ruddy. “He isn’t judgmental in the slightest. He is very accepting and understanding. I mean, I’m crazy, and it doesn’t bother him. No matter how crazy I am –hyper, silly, cranky, emotional for no reason— at the end of the day he’s still there.”

“Jon’s one of my best friends here. He’s really good at being a listener and helping people with their problems,” said sophomore, Taylor Starry. “He always tells it straight up and doesn’t sugar coat things. That’s my favorite quality of Jon’s.”

In addition to fighting crime, Jon can also be called an entrepreneur. “My real job is running Static Entertainment. We’re an arts & entertainment provider with a night club/rave theme with an open bar for people that are old enough to drink,” Cripe explains. “Genesis was our first event and it was a success, everyone had a great time. We’re planning another event that we’re calling ‘Winterfresh.’ That’s going down on December 8th.”

As the night gets longer and the wind from riding on the security golf cart starts to make my face feel “Winterfresh,” Jon drops me off in front of my dorm, Dimmitt Hall. After an exchange of thanks and a friendly handshake, Jon Cripe rides off into the night, his breath a visible cloud in the brisk, November air, no doubt on his way to make a difference and extend a helping hand to whoever may call.

Non-Fiction Text Review: Paper Lion

“Paper Lion” by George Plimpton is a true story about what it is like to be a professional football player. A writer for Sports Illustrated with the intention of writing a book about his experience, Plimpton convinces the staff of the Detroit Lions to bring him aboard so he can write about his experience for people who have always wondered what the life of a professional football player would be like. Pretending to be a rookie quarterback from Harvard, Plimpton takes part in the Lions’ training camp, and gets to know a lot of the players. When his number gets called during an exhibition game between the offense and the defense, Plimpton fumbles the ball on the first play from scrimmage and loses roughly 30 yards.

George Plimpton can be described as an innovator of journalism, writing about first hand experiences in a number of coveted careers, more specifically in professional sports. In addition to his short stint with the Detroit Lions in 1963, Plimpton tried his luck in professional baseball, pitching against 16 American and National league players including Willie Mays; as goaltender for the Boston Bruins; in boxing, being bloodied by renowned boxer Archie Moore; and golfing, losing badly with an 18 point handicap against Jack Nicklaus. Plimpton was one of the great writers of his time. He believed that it was better for a journalist to not just observe, but immerse themselves in what they were writing about to get a true understanding.

As a writer for Sports Illustrated, Plimpton took on the challenge to participate in training camp with the Detroit Lions so he could receive a first hand experience in the life of a professional football player. Plimpton believed in not just observing as a writer, but in participating. He understood that to truly understand everything about the life of a professional football player for his story, he had to become one. That was the only way to give the reader a better understanding of the finer details of being a professional football player.

Plimpton’s approach towards writing this book was a combination of a lot of observation and a dash of participation. He would bring a notebook out to the practice field to write down everything he saw from play formations and how the players carried themselves to the toothpicks Jake Greer chewed while running his routes. Plimpton would take notes during practice until his name was called to run a play with the offense.

Plimpton is mostly subjective in his book, but in a positive way. As the story progresses, Plimpton starts to build relationships with fellow teammates and acquires a slight, emotional involvement in the story. While he doesn’t actually say it in the story, it is clear that Plimpton sees a number of his teammates as friends near the end of the book. Plimpton is objective in some ways in the story, like while explaining the fundamentals of the game, for example, but for the most part his opinionated views are seen throughout.

“Paper Lion” was one of the best books about sports I have ever read. It definitely goes up there with John Madden’s autobiography, “Hey, Wait A Minute (I Wrote A Book)” and Brett Favre’s autobiography, “Brett Favre, For The Record,” my two favorites. Plimpton’s devotion to his craft is admirable. He doesn’t just observe, he participates. That’s not easy to do professionally or as an amateur. He sometimes puts his body on the line to get a full understanding of whatever his next story is about, including as goaltender for the Bruins when he caught a puck with his gloved hand and slicing it his flesh, and in a boxing match with Light Heavyweight Champion of the World, Archie Moore.

White Noise

Late on an ordinary school night in Dimmitt Hall, I lay sprawled out on the couch in my dorm room doing homework. The weather outside is windy to say the least, as it normally is during the late stages of autumn. I hear the whistling of each gust rolling though the cracks in the windowsill, like the high pitch scream of a young girl.

My roommate is also in the room, lying on his bed, also consumed by the allure or his laptop with his headphones on. He continually asks me random questions, distracting me from my studies. I hear the distant yelling of horseplay down the hall, surely the sound of the freshmen drinking during a weeknight simply because their parents aren’t around anymore to stop them.

Then, I hear it. A voice consumed in white noise. It was gone as soon as it came. But where did it come from? What did it say? I look around the room. My roommate doesn’t seem to have noticed, still jamming out to Linkin Park and playing games on Facebook.

Suddenly, an eerie feeling rolls over me, sending a chill down my spine. I tell myself it’s probably just my imagination playing tricks on me. Limbs from the trees blow in the wind, scratching the walls outside my window.

There’s the voice, again. Again, I cannot make out what it is saying. It sounds like it is coming from my roommate’s old television on the dresser beside me. The TV hasn’t been used since we moved in, collecting dust with its plug dangling over the edge of the dresser unplugged.

I get up from the couch to investigate. The television has seen better days. During its years of service, it lost a number of its buttons, including the power button. A cheap Bic pen sticks out of the empty hole where the power button once was so it can still be turned on and off without using the remote that was lost years ago.

When I put my ear close to the speakers, I can hear the faintest crackle of white noise. But how is this possible? The television is not only turned off, but it isn’t even plugged in! Could my imagination be playing tricks on me?

I get the attention of my roommate to see if he can hear to the noise, too. He gets up from his bed to take a look. With a quizzical look on his face, he shakes his head telling me he doesn’t hear a thing. He jumps back on his bed and plugs his headphones back in to his ears and cranks the volume so loud that I can make out every word.

Not believing him, I put my ear to the speakers again and it’s gone. Not even the faintest noise can be heard. My mind starts darting back and forth, trying to decipher what just happened. Maybe I need to catch up on sleep. Afterall, it has been a long last few days. That must be it, just my sleep-deprived mind playing tricks on me before bed.

As I lay down my head a couple of hours later, my roommate fast asleep on the other side of the room, I stare at the ceiling waiting for sleep to come over me. Just as I am in the state of hypnosis, so close to sleep, I hear the voice again. White noise buzzes from the old television, seemingly getting louder and louder.

I lay awake, my eyes darting around the room just waiting for a Paranormal Activity-like disturbance. It never comes as I fall asleep, the chilling sound of white noise eventually lulling me to sleep.

I never did hear that white noise or the voice again. Perhaps it was a spirit trying to make contact with the living, or just my imagination.

All’s Fair in Tests and Rest (Revised)

Many students experience radical changes in their sleeping patterns when they go off to college. Some students pull all-nighters, while others become early birds in pursuit of that ever-elusive worm.

According to Morningside Director of Student Health, Carol Garvey, sleep impacts a student’s performance in his/her classes even more than they think.

“Morning people, or ‘larks’, average a GPA of 3.18, versus ‘night owls’ who only average 2.84,” said Garvey.

Students who rarely sleep at night, or “night owls”, can develop sleeping patterns like studious vampires while barely getting to see the light of day.

“I get most of my sleep during the day because most nights I just have too much to do by the next morning,” said Morningside senior, Todd Carnes. “I only get about four or five hours of sleep a day, but I consider myself a freak of nature,” Carnes went on.

“I think college kids have trouble balancing their sleep because you have friends that are always trying to get you to stay awake. The difficulty of your major plays a big part, too. Being a computer science major, I don’t sleep much.”

While many –or most– struggle, some students are able get to bed at a decent hour, only to rise very early in the morning to commence their studies.

Take Morningside junior and varsity tennis player, Austin Grundy, for example. Each and every night, Austin tucks himself in no later than eleven o’clock. In the morning, Austin’s alarm on his iPhone sings “Riot”, by Three Days Grace, very shortly after sunrise, sometimes before, varying each semester. Then, Austin starts his day with a cold shower to shock him awake so he can hit the books.

“I go to bed pretty early most nights, said Grundy. “I like to get up early and study instead of staying up late to do it. I typically get up around six-thirty, sometimes earlier depending on how much I have to do. I feel more alert and energized in the morning than late at night after a long day of classes, work, and tennis.”

“Lack of non-REM sleep leads to physical fatigue. Obviously we all want to have stamina to get through our days of work and play,” said Garvey.

“Lack of REM, which is the deep sleep that lengthens in duration the longer we stay asleep at one time, leads to emotional fatigue,” Garvey continued. “That means students are possibly less able to be resilient and patient and even empathetic to others. Lack of these REM can also lead to the development of depression.”

Though uncommon for most college students, oversleep can also generate health problems. According to WebMD, sleeping too much on a consistent basis has been linked to medical problems like diabetes, heart disease, obesity, headaches, and even an increased risk of death.

“The not-quite-fully-an-adult brain needs eight and one half to nine and three quarters hours of sleep per night. When it comes to napping, it is best to take a short nap for about 20 minutes, but not longer than one hour,” Garvey went on. “Remember, the rule of eight does not mean three hours of sleep and five Red Bulls.”

According to Garvey, it is better to take a nap before sleep deprivation sets in, as opposed to after. Many people believe that they can “make up” for lost sleep by sleeping longer on the weekends. This is a common misconception, because lost sleep is lost forever and cannot be “made up”.

For anyone having problems getting enough sleep on average, Morningside’s Nurse Practitioner had a couple of tricks up her sleeve to share.

“Turn off your television before you go to bed. Blue light screens interfere with sleep,” said Garvey. “Also, simply powering down their phones at bedtime would help a college student get better sleep.”

With careful time management, there really is a way for us college students to have our cake and eat it, too. The tricky part is careful time management, which is easier said than done, with deadlines everywhere we look.

All’s Fair in Tests and Rest

A successful college career on one hand, or a good night’s sleep on the other. Some would say you can only have one when you go to college.

Some students do a good job of managing their sleeping patterns while balancing homework while others struggle greatly. I myself, being a junior at Morningside College, have a very difficult time balancing the two.

Introducing one’s self to the college lifestyle when starting freshmen year can be a bit of a shock to many students’ sleeping habits.

“A lot of people told me I would do a lot more napping than I did in high school when I came to college. It’s definitely a big change,” said Morningside freshmen, Taylor Woods.

“I used to go to bed around nine-thirty, ten at night in high school. Now it’s more like eleven or twelve. I only get about six to seven hours of sleep every day.”

Some students rarely sleep at night, developing sleeping patterns like studious vampires and barely seeing the light of day.

“I get most of my sleep during the day because most nights I just have too much to do by the next morning,” said Morningside senior, Todd Carnes. “I only get about four or five hours of sleep a day, but I consider myself a freak of nature,” Carnes went on.

“I think college kids have trouble balancing their sleep because you have friends that are always trying to get you to stay awake. The difficulty of your major plays a big part, too. Being a computer science major, I don’t sleep much.”

While many –or most– struggle, some students are able get to bed at a decent hour, only to rise very early in the morning to commence their studies.

Take Morningside junior and varsity tennis player, Austin Grundy, for example. Every morning, Austin’s alarm on his iPhone sounds very shortly after sunrise. Then Austin jumps down from his loft and starts his day with no problem, regardless of how many hours he slept that night.

“I go to bed pretty early most nights, said Grundy. “I like to get up early and study instead of staying up late to do it. I typically get up around six-thirty, sometimes earlier depending on how much I have to do. I feel more alert and energized in the morning than late at night after a long day of classes, work, and tennis.”

“I probably get about six or seven hours of sleep a night and try to get at least one nap in during the day, sometimes only fifteen minutes, sometimes a few hours,” Grundy went on. “It depends on how much of a break I have in my schedule that day.”

Though uncommon for most college students, oversleep can also generate health problems. According to WebMD, sleeping too much on a consistent basis has been linked to medical problems like diabetes, heart disease, obesity, headaches, and even an increased risk of death.

“Lack of non-REM sleep leads to physical fatigue.  Obviously we all want to have stamina to get through our days of work and play,” said Morningside Director of Student Health, Carol Garvey.

“Lack of REM, which is the deep sleep that lengthens in duration the longer we stay asleep at one time, leads to emotional fatigue,” Garvey continued. “That means students are possibly less able to be resilient and patient and even empathetic to others. Lack of these REM can also lead to the development of depression.”

According to Garvey, on top of your health, sleep impacts a student’s performance in his/her classes more than they think.

“Morning people, or “larks”, average a GPA of 3.18, versus night “owls” who only average 2.84,” said Garvey.

“The not-quite-fully-an-adult brain needs eight and one half to nine and three quarters hours of sleep per night. When it comes to napping, it is best to take a short nap for like 20 minutes, but not longer than one hour,” Garvey went on.

“It’s better to nap BEFORE sleep deprivation as opposed to after. You can’t make up lost sleep on the weekends.”

For anyone having problems getting enough sleep on average, Garvey had a couple tricks up her sleeve to share.

“Turn off your television before you go to bed. Blue light screens interfere with sleep,” said Garvey. “Also, simply powering down their phones at bedtime would help a college student get better sleep. Also, when it comes to alcohol, one can help, but more can disturb your sleep patterns,”

“Remember, the rule of 8 means eight hours of sleep, it does not mean 3 hours of sleep and 5 red bulls.”

With careful time management, there really is a way for us college students to have our cake and eat it, too. The tricky part is careful time management, which is easier said than done, with deadlines everywhere we look.

Film Analysis: Venus

For anyone who has not seen the film, “Venus” starring Peter O’Toole, I highly recommend it. I have to admit, I was skeptical at first, but after the first 10 minutes, I was absorbed in the dry and slightly crude humor.

Written by Hanif Kureishi, and directed by Roger Michell, the setting of the film is in rural London, England. Peter O’Toole plays an elderly actor named Maurice. Leslie Phillips, Jodie Whittaker, Richard Griffiths, Vanessa Redgrave, and Cathryn Bradshaw. “Venus” is rated R for language, sexual content and brief nudity.

The film starts with Maurice and his good friend, Ian, popping an assortment of prescription pills over coffee in a café somewhere downtown. Ian is excited about hosting his great-niece, Jessie –played by Jodie Whittaker –only to find out she is poor company and quite rude. Maurice takes a liking to her and the film revolves around their friendship/relationship as it develops through the story.

When Maurice asks Jessie what she is doing in London, she tells him she is looking for a modeling job. Maurice later arranges for Jessie to do some nude modeling for an art class. Shortly after this, Maurice gives Jessie the nickname “Venus” based on his favorite painting called, “Rokeby Venus”. Maurice later finds out he has prostate cancer and does not have a long time to live. The message behind the story is Maurice attempting to find love before his death of cancer. However, Jessie continually rejects Maurice’s attempts at intimacy while sometimes allowing them.

Jessie starts to get involved with a boy while using Maurice to buy her presents, drinks at bars and restaurants, and also later on in the story to have sex with her new male friend in Maurice’s flat. Maurice comes back from his walk and an argument ensues when Maurice catches them. This results in Jessie pushing Maurice to the ground and hurting him, and Jessie and her boy toy flee the scene. The next day, Jessie comes back to check on Maurice and finds that Maurice did not rat her out to the paramedics, claiming he could not remember who had attacked him. Jessie takes responsibility for Maurice and is put in charge to bring him back to health, and the story continues with Maurice falling in love with “Venus”.

Overall, I really enjoyed the film. From a distance, the thought of a movie about an elderly man falling for a young woman in her 20’s sounded a little disturbing. Peter O’Toole is a great actor and was deservedly nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for this film. He alone is the reason why this is a touching love story instead of a creepy, dirty old man searching for a bucket list booty-call. Many of us can relate to the feeling of having feelings for another, but not receiving the same feelings in return. I think because I have, too, been there, I was able to relate to the main character, making it easier to appreciate O’Toole’s depiction of the emotion in his acting.

I also thought Jodie Whittaker played the part well, except for her dialogue in a couple of scenes. For example, when Maurice and Jessie were first getting to know each other, I thought Whittaker’s dialogue was very dry. I understand she was trying to play the part of an ungrateful brat, but she did not try to do anything with her lines early in the story. It’s almost as if she plays two separate characters: Jessie before Maurice, and Jessie after Maurice.

The biggest disappointment of the film for me was the lighting. The cinematography was poor at certain parts of the film and that made it difficult to see the entire scene. This is a big movie pet peeve of mine, so it bothered me.

I give the film 3 out of 4 stars, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys drama and love stories. I could see this film attracting a predominately mature audience. “Venus” is an unusual twist on a traditional love story and has all the great aspects of an entertaining drama film.