A new edition of The Collegian, the student newspaper at the University, came out on Thursday. If you want to read the latest news from around campus, check out their Web site at www.hbucollegian.com.

Highlights:
* Campus mourns 'beloved' Grotfeldt
* Music students perform opera despite new financial setbacks
* Golf takes 11th at Rice

Posted by Daniel at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today I joined an exclusive club that includes Pres. Barack Obama, Britney Spears, Kevin Rose, among others, when I signed up for a Twitter account.

Twitter is a social networking Web site where members briefly tell what they are doing in 140 character updates. It is very similar to Status Updates on Facebook.

I have never used Twitter for an extended amount of time, but I hope this works out well.

Check out my profile at https://twitter.com/DanielCadis.

Posted by Daniel at 1:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This blog is really not about me. It is about the readers, most of whom are interested in what student life is like at the University. But if I don't receive any feedback from the readers, then I am like a ship without a rudder.

I need your help. If you have any questions about the University or student life, please ask. If you want to know about classes, professors or anything else, feel free to ask. I am available to answer your questions, and if I do not know the answers, I will find them.

You can contact me through my e-mail or by commenting on this blog. I want to help.

My e-mail is cadisdp@hbu.edu.

Posted by Daniel at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last Thursday I joined four other Honors College students and Dr. David Capes, interim dean of the Honors College, in attending a lecture by Edward P. Djerejian, a former U.S. diplomat who served eight presidents and is the founding director of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.

The lecture was hosted by the Gulen Institute, a non-profit organization and a joint initiative of the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work and the Institute of Interfaith Dialog, at the Turquoise Center, part of the Raindrop Turkish House organization.

Ambassador Djerejian briefly outlined his book, "Danger and Opportunity: An American Ambassador's Journey Through the Middle East," and discussed some of his key points, including a letter to the new president that he wrote in Sept., 2008. His speech only lasted around 15 minutes, but the Ambassador was kind enough to sign our copies of his book.

For someone interested in the foreign service, meeting the Ambassador and visiting the Turquoise Center was an irreplaceable experience. I am immensely grateful to the Honors College for providing me with this opportunity.

Posted by Daniel at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the highlights of last week was Pie a Phi Psi. For $3, students could pie any member of Phi Kappa Psi -- one of the largest fraternities on campus. My older brother is in the fraternity. I would have pied him, but he was in class.

Even though the event was rained out, it still was a lot of fun.

Photo courtesy of Sarita Smalley

Photo by Sarita Smalley

Photo by Sarita Smalley

Photo by Sarita Smalley

Posted by Daniel at 9:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A new edition of The Collegian, the student newspaper at the University, came out on Thursday. If you want to read the latest news from around campus, check out their Web site at www.hbucollegian.com (they have videos).

Posted by Daniel at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A friend of mine informed me that today is Friday the 13th. I am no fan of the movie, but I do think the day is fun, especially for superstitious people, like baseball players.

Baseball season is about to start, and I am excited about seeing the Huskies play. Now that the court case is over, our teams need to prepare as fast as they can to be ready to play in the NCAA Division I.

The 2009 season schedule was just released. I read through it and noticed that most of the team's games are played at different universities, and not the University. With only a few opportunities to cheer for the Huskies, the student body should go out in force to watch the games and support their team.

I have never had the opportunity to watch a Husky Baseball game, but I do plan on going to as many home games as I can.

Posted by Daniel at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last night I caught the sickness that has been going around campus. I went to bed at 9:00 pm, and woke up at 8:30 am. No change. Unfortunately, I missed class today. I also missed the first day of deadline -- a five day long spree of writing, editing and designing at The Collegian, the University student newspaper. I am the editorial editor for the Collegian, and spend a lot of my time working for the paper, which I don't mind.

Today, the other editors kicked me out of the office. Not to help me, rather to protect themselves from the sickness. But before the door shut, they handed gave me soup. If you have ever been sick, then you understand how important this simple gesture can be. What made it even more special was the phone calls, text messages and Facebook comments I received the rest of the day from everyone on staff. And then it hit me after I read the fifteenth text message asking me how I was feeling: this is not a newspaper, it is a family.

Families are so much more important than just an organization you participate in. They are there for you, long-distance anyway, when you are down and pick you up when you need a hand.

I hate to use this site to plug an organization, but I would encourage everyone to check out The Collegian. This is one of the greatest groups on campus, and I am glad to be a part of it.

Posted by Daniel at 11:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I joined many University students in donating blood to St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital Blood Center today.

The Center took over the Morris Cultural Arts Center for most of the day. Metallic beds were positioned in rows in the middle of the hall, reminiscent of WWII hospital beds. I did not know what to expect and, I'll admit, was slightly nervous about the whole idea. Luckily, helpful students from Alpha Epsilon Delta, the pre-health professional honor society on campus, and nurses from the Center assisted myself and other students during the screening process.

I was almost deferred multiple times because a) I am taking an antibiotic and b) I grew up overseas. However, I was cleared and joined several other students in donating.

I felt fine when it was over and immediately left, feeling supercharged from doing a good deed (saving three lives).

This evening I talked to my roommate about the experience and how interesting it was. Right at the end of our conversation, he drops a bomb on my parade: he is one of the top blood givers in Houston. I was blown away, shook his hand, and thanked him for possibly saving my own life.

My roommate may be a human blood factory, but he can't save everyone by himself. Do your part and save lives.

*Title explained: In the middle ages, medical professionals used leaches to release "bad" blood from the body.

Posted by Daniel at 7:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)