of getting ready for finals week!

Hello Everybody!

It's that time of they year again! Finals week is approaching and will be here before we know it. Whether you're a Panther now or will soon be joining the Panther Family, it is never too late to get a routine for studying. Here is a short video on what I do to prepare for finals week!

-Jill, STAR

Latino Ball 2014

The Hispanic Latino Student Union hosts the Latino Ball every year. The purpose of this event is to express the Hispanic Culture across campus by providing music from different Hispanic countries and overall just having a great time. Here are some pictures from the 2014 Latino Ball.

-Star Javi

...Of a Surprising Talent

¡Hola Panteras!

As you've read in some of our other STARs' posts, once you leave for college you get really close with your family!  My mom and I have always had a great friendship, but once I left for college we jam-packed my visits home with bonding time.  This spring break, my mom invited me to a super fun event that I am excited to share with my friends in the future and you guys, of course!

Have you ever wished you could draw/paint/have any artistic bone in your body? Yes? Me too! I often feel as though everyone else around me is super talented and I am just here like, "I am really good at sending emails..."

Well, whether you are going to be the next Picasso or you're like me, you can paint a very beautiful picture! Don't believe me? Well:

Yupp, I drew that mysterious woman walking away on a raining day and so did my mom and her friends! Also, yes, I spend my time home with my mom and her friends - they are a ton of fun and it is guaranteed a great time! You will soon experience this too.

Are you still wondering how this works? It is called Vino Van Gogh, and no, you do not have to be 21 to do it! I am underage and I had a great mother/daughter bonding time! Anywho, you start off with a blank canvas and are given an "inspiration painting" to use as a reference.

My mom and I getting a look at the inspiration painting.

There is an artist there that will take you step-by-step through the process.  We started by just painting blue/green streaks on the canvas to get the background.  Then, to draw the woman, the artist literally said "draw a line at this point on the campus."  With those types of instructions, we all made our masterpieces!

What I love about this event is seeing the differences between everyone's paintings! We all were given the same instruction and the same materials, yet each of our paintings are unique.

 

Vino Van Gogh has artists in several locations around the nation, they even have a spot in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area! I suggest you look them up the next time you want to go on an adventure with your new college friends or spend some valuable time with your lovely momma!

 

~STAR Joslyn

... Of a Greek God and Goddess!

Hello future panthers!

It's that time of year again! What in the world am I talking about might you ask?! GREEK WEEK TIME!

Being a part of the Fraternity Sorority Life community, this is an extremely exciting time for everyone involved in Fraternity Sorority Life. Greek Week is one week each year that we dedicate to being a very tight knit community with some friendly competition in the mix. Each year, there is a theme; this year it is "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Greek Life" or American themed for lack of a better term. Each day, there is a different event that is worth a certain amount of points. At the end of the week, there is a banquet to recognize the seniors within the community as well as to announce the overall winners for the week! All of the groups are usually sporting their best America wear throughout the week to support the theme and show their patriotism! 

The men of Pi Kappa Alpha shakin' it!

Some of the events include a Lip Sync competition, Family Feud, a God and Goddess competition similar to a pageant, Greek Olympics, and a group community service day! Depending on how many events each member chooses to attend, they and their chapter will rack up more points in hopes of winning the overall week. There are superlatives or "class best" awards given out, and chapters are recognized for their individual achievements throughout the year.

Some ladies of Alpha Delta Pi at Lip Sync

Greek Week is a great way to wrap up the school year in bringing all of these members together as one big community and always proves to be a huge success! We all have so much fun with it, and it really is my personal favorite time of the year.

Women from Alpha Phi at the kick off BBQ!

The winning cake for the bake off!

Thanks for reading, friends! 

STAR Molly

...of Warmer Weather!

Hey Future Panthers!
Spring has finally Sprung here in Cedar Falls! Watch this video to see what the UNI students like to do when the weather is nice!

STAR, Megan 

...of Being Live & On the Air!

Hello, hello Future Panthers!

For the past month and a half now, my sister Carly and I have had the opportunity of co-hosting a radio show on the UNI radio station, 94.5 KULT! Since my sister is an Electronic Media major (a totally cool major that I definitely encourage you all to look into), she had the hook-ups and was able to interview/audition for a position as a DJ for the station. Once she got it, she asked me to be her lovely co-host, an offer I couldn't refuse!

Carly getting her DJ on.

KULT is entirely student-run and has been on the up & up the past year. Many students have shows at designated time slots that deal with a variety of themes. My sister and I's show is every Thursday from 9:00 to midnight, and it has definitely been my favorite night of the week each time we've broadcasted. 

Since the station is looking to change its sound as a whole in order to distinguish itself from the other radio stations in the area, and since Carly and I have a pretty eclectic taste in music, we play mostly Alternative Rock/Indie/Punk tunes. Basically, stuff you don't hear on the Top 40 or Country stations. Some of our current favorite artists are Kimbra, The Temper Trap, Arctic Monkeys, Washed Out, and lots more.

In addition to music, we also get to chat about basically whatever we want, from activities on campus and in the community to current events in politics and pop culture. Listeners can call in and request songs or give their opinions on our current topic of discussion, and can tweet at us as well (we're both hopelessly addicted to twitter, so we love hearing from everyone!). We also have guests come on, typically our friends, so it's like having a little party in the sound booth, which is incredibly fun.

Carly, myself, STAR Molly and our friend Madison during a show!

Don't live in the Cedar Valley quite yet? Don't worry, people across the country can tune in by visiting the KULT website, http://www.uni.edu/kult/, and click the "Listen Live" tab, which downloads our RealPlayer. You can listen to KULT 24/7 from any location! Pretty cool, right? Oh, and did I mention? KULT is 100% commercial-free!!

Being a DJ and co-hosting Carly's show has been a blast and I'm excited to see everything the future has in store for us at KULT. Not only is it a great resume booster, but it's become the highlight of my week. Tune in Thursdays from 9:00 to 12:00 and check us out!

Until next time, keep rocking out Future Panthers!

-Emily (STAR)