#10 – Follow-Up on the Death of Kean Weaver: Kean Weaver was a trustee for the college, who passed away in the Spring of 2009.  This article was mostly just a link to a story by the Marietta Times.

#9 -UPDATE: MC Student Faces Up To 10 Years for Alleged Stabbing: One of the bigger story lines this Fall was the case of Thomas Robison, who allegedly attempted to rob, then stabbed a Marietta resident.  He had followed the man from a downtown bar all the way up Pike St. to near where the man lived.  The man survived, but suffered injuries to his stomach and hand.  For those looking for an update, the case still hasn’t progressed much since he waived his preliminary hearing in October.  He faces felony charges with up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

#8 – Marietta College Campus Police Take Heat From Locals: What started out with a series of articles by the Marietta Times led to this article, which strayed off topic severely, and ended up not really going anywhere.  The Times series had been published as a precursor to Doo Dah Day, in which there are lots of violations and citations handed out.  Some questioned the need for basically having two police departments in one city.  The complains never really went anywhere.

#7 – Relay for Life is the 13th: Apparently the Relay For Life team sign-up announcement got a lot of attention.  Relay went really well this year, even if my coverage was lacking due to falling asleep.

#6 – Marietta College Statement on the Loss of Caleb White: One of the more sad stories of the year.  Caleb White, a student at Marietta College, passed away after being in a hospital for two weeks.  He was in a single motorcycle accident on Interstate 77 near Charleston, WV.  This article included the message sent out by President Jean Scott regarding his loss.  He will be missed by many.

#5 – Rankings Time: Forbes Ranks Marietta College #112: Forbes, which is one of the many magazines to rank colleges against each other, ranked Marietta #112 in the country.  That puts Marietta ahead of many other colleges in the area.  For further analysis, check out the article.

#4 – Blood Drive Today – Give ‘Til It Hurts: The Spring Blood Drive announcement seemed to be very popular with readers, netting the #4 spot on our list.  We made special note of the fact you received flip flops for giving blood.

#3 – Live Blog:  Student Senate Townhall Meeting: This meeting was a chance for students to ask candidates about what they would do with Student Senate.  This was Writing on the Mall’s first big event, and a lot of people started reading the blog because of this article.  We continued to cover Student Senate throughout the year, including a meeting or two, and its Student Speak-Out in the Fall.

#2 – Book Buying Tips: One of the first articles I wrote for Writing on the Mall, and sometimes still cite, was an article about saving money on textbooks.  More people are using services away from the college bookstore to save money, which is good.  Digital textbooks are trying to catch on, but are still expensive and have no resale value.  We’ll have an updated article for the Spring book-buying season here soon.

#1 – Top 10: MC Stories of 2008: Ironically, the #1 most-read story of 2009 was…the College’s Top 10 stories of 2008.

According to the HazingPrevention.Org, 55% of  students involved in clubs or organizations experienced some level of hazing.  40% of athletes reported that their coach knew of hazing happening, with 22% responding that the coach was directly involved.  More frighteningly, nine out of ten students have experienced some sort of hazing, but feel they were not hazed.

This week, Greek Council is sponsoring National Hazing Prevention Week and  National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week (although I think most college students are well aware of alcohol…poor choice for a name), with support from Student Activities and Greek Life.  Here is the week’s events:

• Monday, Oct. 19: “Happy Hour” with Bernie McGrenahan, Alma McDonough Auditorium, 8 p.m. Enjoy a comedy and inspirational message about alcohol, hazing and its effects.
• Tuesday, Oct. 20: Participate in saving a life. Blood Drive at The Gathering Place 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Click this link to sign-up to donate blood, save a life: www.givelife.org. Type in mariettac for the sponsor code. Or contact Greek Council President Zohare Khan via email at zhk001 at marietta dot edu.
• Wednesday, Oct. 21: Banners designed by each Greek chapters on hazing prevention.
• Thursday, Oct. 22: Greek Council members will be at a table outside Gilman with pamphlets and information on Hazing Prevention and Alcohol Awareness.
• Friday, Oct. 23: T-shirt Day.

I know some people will ask about this, so I’ll answer it now.  They are looking for Double-Red donors.  And the other inevitable question?  All donors will receive flip flops (while supplies last).