Homecoming - Rider Universitycomm.rider.edu/ridernews/oldsite/10172003p08.pdf · A s many students...
1
A s many students didn’t know, Homecoming was last weekend. Go ahead and ask pretty much any student on campus and you will get the same confused look. Most could probably tell you what Homecoming was in high school. Usually it consisted of electing a Homecoming king and queen and a big football game sometime around Thanksgiving. Maybe some students went to the game, but even if they didn’t they could at least tell you what was going on that day. But as for last weekend, the purpose of Homecoming remains a subject of con- fusion. Chalk scribbles all over the campus show that there was some type of voting going on for a king and queen, but what exactly do the king and queen do? There is no football game to attend, for obvious reasons, but what other activities were going on? And why on earth are alumni invited back? What do they have to do with anything? In case you missed it, the Foam Dance Party was the Homecoming kickoff. Daly’s had a few giveaways and a trivia contest. The Bronc Bowl Finals were on Saturday and there was a dance in the Cavalla Room, though tickets were limited. Most people did not even realize that the Foam Dance Party was part of the Homecoming events. How could Rider have made Homecoming a little more exciting and geared towards students? The thing that really worked in high school was having the football game and making the football players try to get people involved. Since Rider does not have a football team, it would have to make other arrangements. Maybe one of the sports teams could play against Princeton or another big rival. That would bring out school spirit. In order to have a more exciting Homecoming, Rider should either move it to the spring and revolve it around a popular spring sport or somehow work it into the fall sports. Maybe asking the students what they would like to see happen would be helpful. If they make the decision about what is going on, they are more likely to attend and have an interest. They may even get involved. And what about the alumni? It’s great that they come back, but could somebody please explain why they do? If we used the idea of having a big sports game, they could attend that and attempt to relive their days at Rider. If Rider wants a big turnout and involvement in Homecoming, they should con- sider making it much more appealing to students. Homecoming this year seemed to revolve predominantly around the alumni coming back to the campus. Involving a sports team would really increase the turnout because it affects not only the players, but their friends as well. One can only hope that next year’s Homecoming will be a little more interesting. Recently the Dalai Lama, who is one of the highest-ranking lamas of the Buddhist religion, gave talks in various U.S. cities where hundreds of thousands came to listen to him. His title, translated, means “ocean of wisdom,” and it is no wonder that people flock from all over to hear what he has to say. But the public does not need his specific direction to benefit from Buddhist teachings. Nor do they need to make any drastic life changes. By employing some simple prin- ciples, we too can become oceans of wisdom. While Buddhism is certainly a religion, it is often interpreted as a phi- losophy used as a guide to life. Those who live with the Buddhist influence look for serenity, balance and harmony in all aspects of life. We cannot always control our circumstances, but we can control our reactions and attitudes toward any- thing that may arise, and it is in this way that we reclaim power over our own lives. This is such a straightforward tactic that many seem to have trouble with, but the key is to transform the mind into what you want it to be. Weak thoughts equal a weak mind and vice versa. Fortunately, we have the absolute ability to control our thoughts without any excuses. For example, looking for the simple joys in life will make them more apparent or refusing to let little annoyances get to you will make them disappear. For Buddhists, a constant search for pleasure is regarded as being as addictive as a drug—it is a desire that cannot be completely satisfied. Even though a plea- sure might be satisfied for a brief time, it only produces the desire for more. Rather than seek out specific feel- ings (good or bad), let each feeling pass through you while enjoying it for what it is. This is the principle of letting go and resisting attachment. Everything in life should be seen only as a moment in time that is here and will soon pass. At first glance this seems a little discouraging; why acknowledge that happiness will escape us? But this is balanced by the fact that pain and suffering will also disentangle them- selves from us. The acknowledgment of these two opposites creates the harmony we should aim for. Integrity is knowing ourselves and being true to that self with our actions. Our authenticity helps us remain consistent with our highest intentions that should be the establishment of this serenity, balance and harmony. These principles are great to think about, but we should realize that tak- ing action leads to understanding and action turns knowledge into wisdom. Only action will bring poten- tial to life, and experience will gain us the wisdom and insight we seek. Remember: All transformation begins with awareness. Editorial: Homecoming This weekly editorial expresses the majority opinion of The Rider News editorial board and is written by the Opinion Editor. “The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool.” — Jane Wagner EDITORIAL & MANAGERIAL BOARD Letters to the Editor: The Rider News welcomes letters on all subjects of interest to the campus community. Letters must be typed and include the name, address, phone number and signature of the author for verification. Send to The Rider News via e-mail ([email protected]), campus mail or hand deliver to Centennial House. All letters must be received by midnight the Monday preceding publication. The Rider News reserves the right to edit all letters for space and clarity. Alexandra Alazio EXECUTIVE EDITOR Laura Sass MANAGING EDITOR Vincent Civitillo NEWS EDITOR David Maccar FEATURES EDITOR Lacey Korevec ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Lacey Korevec OPINION EDITOR Nancy Wilensky SPORTS EDITOR Jared Vichko PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Jennifer Kuhn ADVERTISING MANAGER Nicole Santore LAYOUT & DESIGN MANAGER Haley Ross BUSINESS MANAGER Jaclyn Oceanak METRO EDITOR David Maccar SPECIAL SECTION EDITOR Jennifer Kuhn WEB EDITOR Vincent Civitillo ASSISTANT WEB EDITOR Allen Huang ENTERPRISE REPORTER Tim Green DELIVERY MANAGER Frank Yuchymiw CO-ADVISERS Dr. E. Graham McKinley Dr.Thomas Simonet Quote of the Week: Brush Your Hair: Maintaining harmony
Transcript of Homecoming - Rider Universitycomm.rider.edu/ridernews/oldsite/10172003p08.pdf · A s many students...
As many students didn’t know, Homecoming was last weekend. Go ahead and ask pretty much any student on campus and you will get the same confused look. Most could probably tell you what Homecoming was in high school.
Usually it consisted of electing a Homecoming king and queen and a big football game sometime around Thanksgiving. Maybe some students went to the game, but even if they didn’t they could at least tell you what was going on that day. But as for last weekend, the purpose of Homecoming remains a subject of con-fusion. Chalk scribbles all over the campus show that there was some type of voting going on for a king and queen, but what exactly do the king and queen do? There is no football game to attend, for obvious reasons, but what other activities were going on? And why on earth are alumni invited back? What do they have to do with anything? In case you missed it, the Foam Dance Party was the Homecoming kickoff. Daly’s had a few giveaways and a trivia contest. The Bronc Bowl Finals were on Saturday and there was a dance in the Cavalla Room, though tickets were limited. Most people did not even realize that the Foam Dance Party was part of the Homecoming events. How could Rider have made Homecoming a little more exciting and geared towards students? The thing that really worked in high school was having the football game and making the football players try to get people involved. Since Rider does not have a football team, it would have to make other arrangements. Maybe one of the sports teams could play against Princeton or another big rival. That would bring out school spirit. In order to have a more exciting Homecoming, Rider should either move it to the spring and revolve it around a popular spring sport or somehow work it into the fall sports. Maybe asking the students what they would like to see happen would be helpful. If they make the decision about what is going on, they are more likely to attend and have an interest. They may even get involved. And what about the alumni? It’s great that they come back, but could somebody please explain why they do? If we used the idea of having a big sports game, they could attend that and attempt to relive their days at Rider. If Rider wants a big turnout and involvement in Homecoming, they should con-sider making it much more appealing to students. Homecoming this year seemed to revolve predominantly around the alumni coming back to the campus. Involving a sports team would really increase the turnout because it affects not only the players, but their friends as well. One can only hope that next year’s Homecoming will be a little more interesting.
Recently the Dalai Lama, who is one of the highest-ranking lamas of the Buddhist religion, gave talks in various U.S. cities where hundreds of thousands came to listen to him. His title, translated, means “ocean of wisdom,” and it is no wonder that people flock from all over to hear what he has to say. But the public does not need his specific direction to benefit from Buddhist teachings. Nor do they need to make any drastic life changes. By employing some simple prin-ciples, we too can become oceans of wisdom. While Buddhism is certainly a religion, it is often interpreted as a phi-losophy used as a guide to life. Those who live with the Buddhist influence look for serenity, balance and harmony in all aspects of life. We cannot always control our circumstances, but we can control our reactions and attitudes toward any-thing that may arise, and it is in this way that we reclaim power over our own lives. This is such a straightforward tactic that many seem to have trouble with, but the key is to transform the mind into what you want it to be. Weak thoughts equal a weak mind and vice versa. Fortunately, we have the absolute ability to control our thoughts without any excuses. For example, looking for the simple joys in life will make them more apparent or refusing to let little annoyances get to you will make them disappear. For Buddhists, a constant search for pleasure is regarded as being as
addictive as a drug—it is a desire that cannot be c o m p l e t e l y satisfied. Even though a plea-sure might be satisfied for a brief time, it only produces the desire for more. Rather than seek out specific feel-ings (good or bad), let each feeling pass through you while enjoying it for what it is. This is the principle of letting go and resisting attachment. Everything in life should be seen only as a moment in time that is here and will soon pass. At first glance this seems a little discouraging; why acknowledge that happiness will escape us? But this is balanced by the fact that pain and suffering will also disentangle them-selves from us. The acknowledgment of these two opposites creates the harmony we should aim for. Integrity is knowing ourselves and being true to that self with our actions. Our authenticity helps us remain consistent with our highest intentions that should be the establishment of this serenity, balance and harmony. These principles are great to think about, but we should realize that tak-ing action leads to understanding and action turns knowledge into wisdom. Only action will bring poten-tial to life, and experience will gain us the wisdom and insight we seek. Remember: All transformation begins with awareness.
Page 8 Friday, October 17, 2003
Editorial:Homecoming
This weekly editorial expresses the majority opinion of The Rider News editorial board and is written by the Opinion Editor.
“The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool.”
— Jane Wagner
EDITORIAL & MANAGERIAL BOARD
Letters to the Editor: The Rider News welcomes letters on all subjects of interest to the campus community. Letters must be typed and include the name, address, phone number and signature of the author for verification. Send to The Rider News via e-mail ([email protected]), campus mail or hand deliver to Centennial House. All letters must be received by midnight the Monday preceding publication. The Rider News reserves the right to edit all letters for space and clarity.
AlexandraAlazio
EXECUTIVE EDITORLaura Sass
MANAGING EDITORVincent Civitillo
NEWS EDITORDavid Maccar
FEATURES EDITORLacey Korevec
ENTERTAINMENT EDITORLacey Korevec
OPINION EDITORNancy Wilensky
SPORTS EDITORJared Vichko
PHOTOGRAPHY EDITORJennifer Kuhn
ADVERTISING MANAGERNicole Santore
LAYOUT & DESIGN MANAGERHaley Ross
BUSINESS MANAGERJaclyn Oceanak
METRO EDITORDavid Maccar
SPECIAL SECTION EDITORJennifer Kuhn
WEB EDITORVincent Civitillo
ASSISTANT WEB EDITORAllen Huang
ENTERPRISE REPORTERTim Green
DELIVERY MANAGERFrank Yuchymiw
CO-ADVISERSDr. E. Graham McKinleyDr. Thomas Simonet
Quote of the Week:
Brush Your Hair:Maintaining harmony
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