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A slice of campus life written by an MTU student

Queen coronation was last weekend. For my talent presentation I played “Stars and Stripes Forever” on the piccolo.

Winter Carnival Begins!

Well, it is official—Winter Carnival 2006 has begun! Special events such as ice bowling, broomball, snow volleyball, human sled dog racing, cross country skiing, skating, and curling that organizations compete in have already taken place this past week, and will continue to take place all this week. Saturday was the big day for the ice fishing tournament and queen coronation.

As excited as I was for queen coronation last week, it actually ended up being only slightly disappointing for me. I did win the student vote for queens by almost 90 votes! I tried my hardest and enjoyed the overall event. Circle K had never sponsored a queen finalist before, so I was honored to represent them.

Coronation consisted of a questioning period where each finalist was asked three questions that we didn’t know ahead of time, then our talent presentations, and then side entertainment from comedian Ben Bailey and Miss Teen Houghton County. We were asked what our favorite cartoon was (since this year’s theme is “Cartoon Art for the Young at Heart”), what we would do to improve Michigan Tech if we were given unlimited resources, and then what our favorite part of Winter Carnival was.

For my talent presentation I played “Stars and Stripes Forever” on the piccolo. Coronation entailed a wide variety of talent presentations with singing, instruments, baton twirling, salsa dancing, stand-up comedy, and even a “How to” speech. I would like to congratulate the queen and the girls who won special recognition. I know we were all proud of each other. We have actually been preparing since December for coronation, so all of the girls have put in many hours of work. It was a rewarding experience overall just in the fact that I got to sharpen my interviewing and communication skills, and improve my confidence by doing public speaking and entertaining. The Rozsa Center was pretty full as I looked out into the audience, so I was very impressed (and somewhat overwhelmed!) with the turnout.

With the queen coronation aside, it is now time to look forward to all of the other fun times that Winter Carnival brings. Most students look forward to the fact that we also get Thursday and Friday off of class! Wednesday night is the most exciting with the “All Nighter” event. This is the night when the month long statues must be finished and the smaller organizations must construct a smaller statue in one night. The All Nighter is best known for the carnival-like atmosphere with the all-nighter pancake breakfast hosted by the MTU ROTC Air Force, the food vendors, music, outdoor games, the chili van, student organization booths, and the crowds of people that gather to help out or even just walk around and take it all in.

Statues are then judged early Thursday morning. All of us queen finalists get to take a sleigh ride through campus at Noon, and then Stage Revue takes place in the evening at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the Rozsa Center. Stage Revue is always a guaranteed fun time as different student organizations act out hilarious skits. Then there is women's basketball vs. Ferris State at 5:30 p.m. and men's basketball vs. Ferris State at 7:30 p.m.

On Friday, special events continue with tug-o-war, downhill skiing, and snowboarding. Then there is the hockey game vs. Minnesota at 7:07 p.m. Winter Carnival ends on Saturday with women's basketball vs. Lake State at 1:00pm, and then men's basketball vs. Lake State at 3:00 p.m. The Winter Carnival Awards Ceremony also takes place at 3:00 p.m. in the MUB Ballroom A. Then there is the hockey game vs. Minnesota at 5:07 p.m., the torchlight parade at 8:30 p.m. on Mont Ripley, fireworks at 8:45 p.m., and then the Sno-Ball dance at 9:00 p.m. to conclude the evening.

Until next week,

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