Posts Tagged ‘Relay for Life’

Writing on the Mall's Top 10 Most Read Stories of 2009

So, we’re doing two Top 10 lists here at Writing on the Mall.  Here’s the first, which is the Top 10 most read stories of 2009.  Here’s the list:

#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.

Read more…

Live from Relay for Life!

Writing on the Mall will be live from Relay for Life at Marietta College from 8 PM until 2 AM.  Watch our Facebook Page, either @WriteOnTheMall or @PatrickHahe for Twitter action, Our YouTube page for videos, or our Flickr page for photo uploads.  There may be the occasional update on here, as well.  STAY TUNED!

Odds and Ends

Things have kind of fallen into a lull, so there are a lot of little news items…

• McDonalds, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Gathering Place??? – The Gathering Place now offers snacks that you can purchase.  Items include Buffalo Chicken Tenders, Mini Corn Dogs, Pizza Bagel Bites, Beef and Cheese Chimichangas.  Supposedly more items will be offered, as well.  No prices were announced.  The food options are now available after 10 PM.  It is currently cash only, but declining balance may become an option.
• Appropriations Round 2: The Sequel – Looking for money from Student Senate for your organization?  The second chance to reclaim money from the college is next week.  Forms are due to the student life office by 1 pm on Monday, November 9th. The two-day circus begins November 10th at 7 pm, and continues November 11th at 7 pm.
• Fenton Glass is Dirty – Dirty Jobs (personal favorite TV show) taped an episode at Fenton Glass, a staple of Williamstown, WV (the city opposite of Marietta).  Host Mike Rowe learned the craft of glass making, and attempted to create versions of famous Fenton works.  According to the site, he didn’t do so well, so this should be interesting to watch.  The episode runs November 10th at 9 pm on Discovery.
• Community Service Update – I was told today that food drive efforts so far (not counting the recently wrapped-up North American Food Drive) have raised nearly 4,000 cans of food for the local food bank.  We should hear the total poundage from Lambda Chi Alpha’s food drive sometime soon.
• Relay for Life Deadline – Remember that forms for all teams that want to be a part of Relay for Life are due on Monday.  Registration Fee is also required at that time, and is $5 a member.  Relay for Life is November 13th from 8 pm until 2 am.  Writing on the Mall will be covering the event.
• Fall Fest – Greek Council is sponsoring the first ever Fall Fest, a chance to enjoy typical fall snacks from 7 to 9 pm at the Kremer Amphitheater.  I know I’m looking forward to having my picture taken in front of a fall background they’ve created.  Probably moreso the Cider, Hot Chocolate, and Pumpkin Pie.  They will have Cornhole (hold on, forgot we have to be politically correct, Corn Toss) to play as well.

Relay For Life is the 13th!

Get your teams together for another annual MC tradition of giving:  Relay for Life.

November 13th from 8 PM until 2 AM, teams will be walking around the Dyson-Baudo Recreation Center to help raise money to find cures to the many cancers that plague our world.

There will be many opportunities to win prizes and have fun, so get your team together and put on your walking shoes.

Writing on the Mall will be covering the event (and not falling asleep this time, hopefully), so stop by and say hello.

Marietta College Needs To Dance For Charity

This has probably been one of the hardest things I’ve had to write for this site.  Not due to the subject matter, but due to the fact that I wanted to word this so that it may drive those who read it to action.  So please, if you don’t read another article this week, read this one.

Philanthropy is a major part of Marietta College’s beliefs.  We do Make a Difference Day, Community Service Day, Relay for Life, Up ’til Dawn, and many other individual organization related projects.  Without Marietta College, this city would find itself with many opportunities for service, but very few people to actually work them.

However, maybe we do too much for national efforts?  I mean, don’t get me wrong here…I enjoy Up ’til Dawn and Relay for Life…they are great causes.  However, I feel that now is the time to come together and create something new…something never seen before at Marietta College.  Something that would create a large-scale philanthropy event for the Spring semester, where we currently only have Community Service Day.  Something that has been established elsewhere and has proven immensely popular.  That event is the Dance Marathon.

THON, as it’s better known at Penn State, has been around since the early 70′s, and has since raised over $60 million dollars for the fight against pediatric cancer at a local hospital.  Money is raised all throughout the Fall and Winter by each of the participating groups.  Then in mid February, they hold a two day long dance party, celebrating the money they’ve raised and the children that they have helped over the years.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THON 2010′S PROMOTIONAL VIDEO

I’m not suggesting that we try to create an event that massive at Marietta College.  Not by a longshot.  Penn State is probably 30 to 40 times larger than us.  But if we were to take the idea of the dance marathon and have it contribute a local cause, it could be highly successful.  Have one Dance Marathon Fundraiser for each sport throughout the year, organize one or two cannings (walking around the town with cans asking for donations) a year, have side events to raise money, get organizations both on and off campus to participate, and get companies to support the cause and underwrite costs.  Then have a 12 hour dance marathon that started at, say, 2 PM on a Saturday afternoon and went until 2 AM at the Gathering Place (or Fenton Court if demand required).  Have a great DJ play music the entire time, make it fun, interactive, share stories from the charity we choose to support, and have a good time.

It would take a lot of support to get rolling, but if the campus could pull together for this one event and work in harmony, I think we could all do a lot of good for the community.

What do you think?  Let us know in the Comments section.