On Monday, April 9, the U.S. Poet Laureate for 2011-2012, Philip Levine, visited Saint Leo University to give a poetry reading in the Greenfelder-Denlinger Boardrooms. This event was sponsored by the Department of English, Fine Arts, and the Humanities as well as the Cannon-Memorial Library and Student Services. Members of Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society, acted as ushers and greeters.
Graduation day is rapidly approaching and for the majority, if not all of the seniors, this means that they are overjoyed with the completion of their four-year degree and have a decision to make. The decision consists of two choices of what they have the ability to do after they finish their time at Saint Leo. The first choice is that they can immediately try to go into the workforce and find a job that is compatible with their degree, which is a great option to choose. The second choice consists of two words that are ominous: “graduate school,” or grad school as it is most commonly referred to. Grad school can be an overwhelming process, but it is one that is manageable with the correct information and guidance from an advisor and the Career Planning Center.
As the semester is wrapping up the biggest buzz on campus is still about all the construction. However, not everything about the construction is a complaint or concern. There are many students expressing excitement as the new dorms will be opening soon. Many of the incoming freshmen will not be seeing these for the first time until the campus tours over the summer and quite possibly not until they have moved on campus at the beginning of next semester. While many of the students are still expressing their concerns about the campus constriction affecting parking, the noise disturbances others still like forward to the completion as it draws closer. “I cannot wait to walk through the halls and see this new building, and finally see the end product”, says Nick Davis, a sophomore. Many of the students who have just gotten their room assignments in the new dorms are already excited to be experiencing the newest rooms and furniture on campus. Many of the students are already planning on their new dorm room being the hang-out spot, while others are planning the posters and decorations that will adorn their new home next semester.
Despite signing a five-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts prior to the 2011 season, Peyton Manning finds himself with a new team heading into 2012. Manning signed a new five-year deal with the Denver Broncos, ending one of the most interesting free agency sagas since Brett Favre came out of retirement.
The field for this weekend’s Final Four in New Orleans has been set after some entertaining games in this past weekend’s Elite Eight. In the West Regional Final Louisville (30-9) knocked off Florida to advance to the Final Four for the ninth time in school history and its first since 2005. The Big East champions have now won eight games in a row with their last loss coming Mar. 3 against Syracuse. Rick Pitino’s squad beat No. 1 seed Michigan State on Mar. 22 to advance to the Elite Eight, then beat the No. 7 seed Florida Gators to earn their trip to the Final Four. The Cardinals will face off against in-state rival Kentucky in the national semi-finals on Mar. 31. The two teams did play each other in Lexington back in December and the Wildcats got the better of that game beating Louisville 69-62.
How did the Tampa Bay Lightning go from playoff contender, and what many viewed as a Stanley Cup contender this pre-season, to a team nine points out of the last playoff spot on March 26? The answer has a few parts: first the Lightning do not have a goaltender in the top 30 Goals Against Average Leaders or GAA but St. Louis, Boston, Minnesota, Colorado, Vancouver, and New Jersey all have two goalies in the top 30 GAA. The Lightning’s two goalies this year rank at 39 (Mathieu Garon) and dead last at 46 (Dwayne Roloson).
Act of Valor is easily the most realistic combat film ever produced – nothing compares. The movie centers on a sequence of missions conducted by one team of the elite forces of the United States, the best of the best, the damn few Navy SEALs. To execute this film, directors Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh employed active duty Navy SEALs, incorporated real battle strategies, fired live rounds, and utilized current technology and weaponry in use today. Although the plot itself is not a reenactment of real events, writer Kurt Johnstad fabricated the plot from five true stories lived by these SEALs.
Whether you are aware or not, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was the first of a trilogy of novels by the late Swedish writer Stieg Larsson, which has now become a worldwide publishing phenomenon, and sparked a series of international films based on the trilogy.
As an outgoing senior, I have been asked many times by my professors about the changes that have been made to Saint Leo University and what my opinion is on the improvements of my school, the School of Arts and Sciences. My answer is: I cannot help, but be worried and baffled at what is going on around campus.
On March 20, in the Greenfelder-Denlinger Boardroom, a dialogue was held between representatives of Catholicism, Judaism and Islam.