March 8th, 2009

One of CHC’s most popular annual events is the Date Auction.
Yes, a date auction at a Catholic college.

This isn’t like some of those fraternity or sorority sponsored date auctions you hear about, though, for a few key reasons…
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Tagged As: Annual, Date auction, SGA, Tradition
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February 13th, 2009

Every year, just before Valentine’s Day, CHC’s Student Activities hosts a Create-a-Creature event. You know those Build-a-Bear stores in the mall? Yeah, it’s just like that, except on-campus and FREE.

This year, Create-a-Creature was held on Thursday, February 12, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. in the Mask Corridor (St. Joseph’s Hall). There were 200 animals to stuff, in 8 different varieties: moose, lion, elephant, giraffe, koala bear, black bear, monkey, and cow. Each year, the animals get snatched up more quickly than the last; this year, the Mask Corridor was packed by 12:45 p.m. and the animals were gone by 2:30 p.m.

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Tagged As: Annual, SGA, Student Activities, Super Fun Times Week
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December 14th, 2008

Every finals week at CHC, in both the fall and spring semesters, the Academic Affairs committee of the Student Government Association hosts a pancake dinner. Since I’m the vice president for Academic Affairs, I was in charge of the whole shindig this semester, which we held on Wednesday, December 10, at 7:30 p.m. I’ll admit there was a little bit of stress involved, a combination of finals week and the event itself, but we pulled it off in the end. And it was a great success, if I do say so myself.

Faculty and staff cook and serve all the food—pancakes and bacon, sometimes sausage, too. They often pick a theme and wear corresponding hats and other festive gear. This year, they chose Harry Potter (perhaps inspired by our recent Quidditch events) and decked themselves out in wizarding hats, Harry glasses, and wands.

During the course of the dinner, we were even treated to an impromptu performance by Dr. Jessica Kahn, Fr. Rick Malloy, and Prof. Saul Senders!

For the Academic Affairs committee, the pancake dinner is an opportunity to check in with students each semester on academic issues. Because the event falls during finals week, when students are wrapping up their courses and filling out evaluations, it’s the perfect time to get a feel for their opinions on all things academic. We distributed surveys while students were eating to give them time to read the questions and respond honestly. It was a quick and painless survey, and thus almost everyone was willing to fill one out. I’ve been wading through the survey data and haven’t quite finished it yet, but I’m estimating there are at least 105 completed surveys. Not bad at all, considering our undergrad enrollment is somewhere around 800 students.

Just 5 more months ‘til the next batch of pancakes!

Tagged As: Annual, finals, Food, pancakes, professors
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October 26th, 2008

At CHC, you know Halloween is almost here when the ghost hunters arrive on campus.

Every year, Student Activities hosts a lecture on ghosts and the paranormal, which is followed by a ghost hunt around the campus. In past years, we’ve welcomed Patti Starr (certified ghost hunter) and Chip Coffey(of Paranormal State and Psychic Kids on A&E). This past Wednesday, renowned demonologist John Zaffis visited CHC to present a lecture on the paranormal, from “possessed possessions” to ghosts and exorcisms, and to tour campus looking for paranormal activity.

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Tagged As: Annual, buildings, campus, campus event, ghosts, paranormal, photos, tour
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July 30th, 2008

It’s funny to think that so many students would actually volunteer to wait tables all night—since so many of us do toil away at the tables in the summer and whatnot—but with the chance to make a difference at the Empty Bowl Dinner, we’re more than happy to add an extra shift.

Every year, Chestnut Hill College hosts the Empty Bowl Dinner in the Arena to benefit the Northwest Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network (NPIHN), a non profit organization whose mission is to provide food and shelter to local homeless families. Empty Bowl brings in more than 1,000 volunteers, including Chestnut Hill College students, faculty and staff, people of the Chestnut Hill community at large—and even many formerly homeless people who have benefited from Empty Bowl and want to pay it forward.

Here’s how Empty Bowl works: Local businesses, schools, and potters donate clay bowls, while local restaurants donate soups, breads, and desserts. For a small fee, diners can select a hand-crafted bowl and enjoy fare from over 56 restaurants and bakeries in the Philadelphia area. At the end of the evening, diners take home their empty bowl as a reminder of those who face hunger every day (I don’t think the symbolism is lost on anybody.) All proceeds from the event are donated to NPIHN.

Last year’s Dinner attracted over 700 attendees and raised over $9,000. Not to mention, reminded a bunch of students that seemingly small good works can make a real difference in the lives of other people.

Tagged As: Annual, Community Service, Food
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