In Gone we meet Sam, Astrid, Cain, and several other characters trying to figure out what has happened to Perdido Beach. The story starts out as any other normal day as the students of Perdido Beach attend school. Sam is sitting in class, when all of a sudden, silence befalls the noisy halls. Sam searches the halls and soon he and the younger inhabitants of Perdido Beach realize everyone over the age of 14 has disappeared. As everyone left in Perdido scrambles to grab whatever food and shelter they can, Sam’s mind begins to wander and question why this has happened. Sam starts to believe that it has something to do with his secret. A secret that no one, not even his mother knows. Sam fears that this all his fault, that this phenomenon has occurred because of what he can do. But as those left behind soon realize, things are changing in Perdido Beach, and they realize that the trees, animals, insects, and even the other kids are no longer the same.
Some begin to look to Sam for instruction, while others turn to Cain, who is a dictator that emerged from the reforms in the academy outside of Perdido Beach. Cain will not give up the power that this change has given him. Some characters develop the power of speed, others the power to read minds, some super strength, and others are yet to realize what powers may come their way. As the storyline continues you see the characters trying to take up a normal life and act as any normal person would, only their main concern Is survival. These young people are now forced to grow up and assume responsibility and a role in this town, as they start to realize this could be a permanent situation. But soon kids are turning fifteen, and those left start to wonder what will happen to them when they are no longer fourteen. Will they disappear like everyone else did, or will they just “FAYZ” out?
This book entraps the reader in a world where they want to keep turning the pages to see what new power or mutated creature is discovered next. The book leaves the reader anticipating the ultimate battle between good and evil, and wanting to figure out what the darkness is that lies in the cave in the woods outside Perdido beach.
I strongly recommend this novel to all those that like suspense and horror themes. The novel is graphic and does depict a lot of violence and some images that might not necessarily agree with everyone’s imagination. However, the book does keep the reader’s attention as Michael Grant continues this fantastic series with Hunger, Lies, and his newest book Plague.The Student Government Union (SGU) at Saint Leo University has gone through a lot of reforms this semester with the institution of their new constitution. One of which is the allocation process. To find out more on this subject the Vice President of Finance, Devan Jones, spoke on the topic.
The unreformed process had two classifications of allocations; the classifications were an event or conference. To allocate for an event there was a form that had to be turned in to the treasure 14 days before the event. If an allocation for a conference was needed, the paperwork was to be turned in 45 days prior to the conference. After the forms were turned in, then a meeting with the finance committee was needed. In the meeting they heard the case and decided whether the event or conference was beneficial to Saint Leo and if so, they would pay 100 percent of what was asked for.
With the new process, every organization and club has a set budget amount that the vice president of finance writes. He or she can only give clubs and organizations up to 25 percent of the budget. Then the appropriation’s board, which replaced the finance committee, approves or disapproves the amount for the budget. The money that is given is for the clubs and organizations to do whatever they want with. Keeping in mind, it has to follow Saint Leo’s and SGU’s guidelines. With the budget that is given, the clubs and organizations have to plan a program, educational, or social, to get extra funds. Once completing the extra requirements they can go to the new appropriations committee and allocate. It now takes 35 days for anything past the total budget amount to be given. This new process has been effective since Feb. 1.
To file for an allocation there is paperwork in the SGU office and either the vice president of finance or the chair of the appropriations board will sit down and help students fill out the forms. The papers are then due to the SGU office on Monday, no later than 5 p.m. Everyone is a part of Student Government Union and pays an activity fee, in order to get access to these funds you need to be a member of a club or organization, and the money needs to benefit to the whole campus. When Devan was asked what the limit was that an organization can allocate for, he answered, “It doesn’t hurt to ask”. The appropriations board will find out what someone is asking for and why they need that amount. Then the board will base a decision off of that. As for what the funds can be allocated for, it can either be an event or conference. An event is open to the whole campus while a conference is just open to the organization itself; an example of this is a leadership retreat. This new process makes it easier to receive money rather than go to the board for every nickel and dime. With this budget, organizations will be able to spend money, with the appropriate guidelines, while the vice president of finance makes sure everything is in line before they get reimbursed.
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