Blog Archives

From Ceiling to Floor: Spooking Up the Doors

10/31/2014

In preparation for the upcoming holiday, some DeHority residents got into the Halloween spirit and decorated their doors. Whether because Halloween is their favorite holiday or they just wanted to spice up the halls, these residents livened the living-learning community with their creative doors.

Interviews and Photos by Sophie Gordon

Madison Yingling, Fourth floor, sophomore, Elementary Education and Spanish major

How would you describe your door?
Spooky, in the spirit of Halloween.

Why did you decide to decorate it?
Because I love the holidays, and I actually saw somebody else’s room. They wrapped caution tape around it, and I was like, ‘Oh, I have a spider web, I could totally do something like that!

What do you think is unique about your decorations?
I haven’t seen anyone else’s door like that. I mean, I just wish I had those spider rings, that’s the only downfall.

What kind of reactions have you gotten?
My friends usually get caught in it when they walk through the door, so it’s doing its job.

What are you most looking forward to this Halloween?
Dressing up in my group costume with my friends and going trick-or-treating for Dance Marathon. Well, trick-or-canning, I guess is what it’s called.

Editors' Note: This is the sixth and final piece in a series of features about students' door decorations.

From Ceiling to Floor: Spooking Up the Doors

10/31/2014

In preparation for the upcoming holiday, some DeHority residents got into the Halloween spirit and decorated their doors. Whether because Halloween is their favorite holiday or they just wanted to spice up the halls, these residents livened the living-learning community with their creative doors.

Interviews and Photos by Sophie Gordon

Alison Pfeiffer, third floor, sophomore, Elementary Education major

How would you describe your door?
I would say it’s very festive and really encompasses the spirit of Halloween.

Why did you decide to decorate it?
Because decorations are fun, and I think they put a smile on people’s faces.

What do you think is unique about your decorations?
Well, not a lot of people put up decorations, and I think the garland added a nice touch. We drew some cool pictures on the whiteboard, so that was pretty unique.

What kind of reactions have you gotten?
I haven’t really seen any reactions yet. I guess people just smile? I don’t know. I haven’t really looked.

What are you most looking forward to this Halloween?
I’m really excited to dress up and see everybody else’s costumes.

Editors' Note: This is the fifth in a series of features about students' door decorations. Come back later this afternoon to see the sixth and final door featured this year.

From Ceiling to Floor: Spooking Up the Doors

10/30/2014

In preparation for the upcoming holiday, some DeHority residents got into the Halloween spirit and decorated their doors. Whether because Halloween is their favorite holiday or they just wanted to spice up the halls, these residents livened the living-learning community with their creative doors.

Interviews and Photos by Sophie Gordon

Hannah Wiley, second floor, sophomore, Elementary Education major

Why did you decide to decorate it?
I just got bored one day, and I have a lot of construction paper, so I just kind of went with it.

What do you think is unique about your decorations?
No one else has decorations like this. Ours is very homemade and a lot people have store-bought stuff, and I didn’t really want to spend money on anything, so I just kind of used things that I had already owned.

What kind of reactions have you gotten?
People really like it. They say it’s cute, it’s fun. They want me to do their doors or whatnot. [My suitemates] like it. They think it’s cool.

What are you most looking forward to this Halloween?
Helping the kids trick-or-treat. I’m one of the helpers, so I’ll get to walk the kids around and stuff, and it’ll be fun.

Editors' Note: This is the fourth in a series of features about students' door decorations. Check out a new door and its decorator(s) each day leading up to Halloween.

From Ceiling to Floor: Spooking Up the Doors

10/30/2014

In preparation for the upcoming holiday, some DeHority residents got into the Halloween spirit and decorated their doors. Whether because Halloween is their favorite holiday or they just wanted to spice up the halls, these residents livened the living-learning community with their creative doors.

Interviews and Photos by Sophie Gordon

Kelly Eby, First floor, freshman, psychology major

How would you describe your door?
Probably the embodiment of my love of Halloween. And one of those decorations is from the middle school class I used to take care of. So, for me, it’s kind of like the embodiment of taking those experiences with me to college. That’s really deep, but that’s literally what it is. I decorated it in the exact same way.

Why did you decide to decorate it?
Honestly, [my roommate] Stephanie said it was okay. I saw some stuff at the Dollar Store; I had the other decorations; I felt really inspired and just went for it. And I had a lot of extra time. And by extra time, I mean: time to procrastinate.

What do you think is unique about your decorations?
I feel like, in a way, they do reflect my personality and Stephanie’s because we’re both organizers and task-makers, so we made everything in a specific format, and it was all interpreted to make someone feel welcome when they enter our room.

What kind of reactions have you gotten?
Lots of "Were you trying to scare me?" Basically just a lot of thumbs up. We’ve had comments written on our whiteboard about how they like the creativity, they thought it was interesting. "Thanks for something that’s not an eyesore," basically, because we’re right here when you walk in.

What are you most looking forward to this Halloween?
The ability to get that one time of year when you can finally be somebody other than yourself and not be criticized for it, unless you’re being really racist or bigoted.

Editors' Note: This is the third piece in a series of features about students' door decorations. Check out a new door and its decorator(s) each day leading up to Halloween.

From Ceiling to Floor: Spooking Up the Doors

10/29/2014

In preparation for the upcoming holiday, some DeHority residents got into the Halloween spirit and decorated their doors. Whether because Halloween is their favorite holiday or they just wanted to spice up the halls, these residents livened the living-learning community with their creative doors.

Interviews and Photos by Sophie Gordon

Meara Delaney, first floor, freshman, social work major

How would you describe your door?
Halloween-y.

Why did you decide to decorate it?
We both really like Halloween, so we actually picked stuff in, like, September and decorated it on October 1.

What do you think is unique about your decorations?
I haven’t seen this caution tape anywhere, and I appreciated that we were able to decorate without using tape on the door since we can’t. It was a challenge, but it was fun.

What kind of reactions have you gotten?
People tend to write on the board and just say that it’s cool. And I have a friend who is afraid of spiders, so she won’t come in our room.

What are you most looking forward to this Halloween?
Everything. I still have to get a costume, but I just bought some Halloween contacts that came in the mail, so that’s probably what I’m most excited about.

Editors' Note: This is the first of a series of features about students' door decorations. Check out a new door and its decorator(s) each day leading up to Halloween.

Annual Honors Halloween Party Tonight

10/29/2014

By Noah Patterson

The Honors House of Horrors Halloween Party features a Murder Mystery that will thrill those who dare to enter with a new twist on the Haunted House tonight. Hosted by the Student Honors Council, festivities kick off at 8 p.m. in the Park Hall Multi-Purpose Room.

“The theme of the Haunted House this year is Clue-based,” Brandon Longenberger, an executive member of Student Honors Council, said. “Participants will try to figure out who killed them as they make their way through the house.”

There will be a multitude of games, including a donut-eating contest, a mummy-wrapping contest, a pre-decorated pumpkin contest and even a Costume Contest, with categories ranging from Funniest, Classic, Scariest, DIY, and Best Group or Duo.

The Honors House of Horrors also features some “terrorific” treats and beats. The menu will include sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate pretzel bites, chips, and red sherbet punch, as well as spooky music that will be sure to entertain.

A murder mystery, music, dancing, treats without the tricks, and games galore will all be fixtures of this year’s Honors House of Horrors Halloween Party. Open to all Honors students, the party aims to scare up a good time.

From Ceiling to Floor: Spooking Up the Doors

10/28/2014

In preparation for the upcoming holiday, some DeHority residents got into the Halloween spirit and decorated their doors. Whether because Halloween is their favorite holiday or they just wanted to spice up the halls, these residents livened the living-learning community with their creative doors.

Interviews and Photos by Sophie Gordon

Tayler Pennington, first floor, freshman, pre-business major

How would you describe your door?
At first, [my roommate] Liz kinda made most of these [drawings] and colored them. And I was like, “I want it to say ‘Happy Halloween.’" But, we realized we couldn't do it all the way around. And then I just decided to do movies, like some of my favorite movies. I don’t really like horror movies, so these are like family Halloween movies. So that’s kind of what our theme was for that.

Why did you decide to decorate it?
I think it was because my roommate was coloring this [Ball State logo], and I was like, "Let’s decorate our door!" And it was like Halloween, and we were bored; it was a Sunday. We felt festive, so we were like, "Let’s just decorate our door. Let’s just go for it."

What do you think is unique about your decorations?
I think the movies make it unique because a lot of people have Halloween, like the cobwebs and stuff. We actually have the letters.

What kind of reactions have you gotten?
Everyone’s pretty much loved it. When we first did it, everyone was like, "Aww. Wish we’d thought of that,” or something. We’ve gotten pretty good reactions. Everyone seems to like it. Everyone stops by.

What are you most looking forward to this Halloween?
Seeing all the costumes.

Editors' Note: This is the first piece in a series of six features about students' door decorations. Check out a new door and its decorator(s) each day leading up to Halloween.

Missed Air Jam?

10/23/2014

DeHority's team prepares for the 2014 Air Jam competition.

Video by Lan Franczek

Late Nite Recess: A Blast in the Past

10/16/2014

By Kristin Wietecha

Recess: a time in which elementary-schoolers forget their ABCs and 123s to let their little hearts create havoc.

Late Nite’s October 4 event, Recess, rekindled the child in the hearts of all of the college students that attended. The event promoted recess as both the outside pastime and Saturday morning cartoon.

DeHority resident Mary Cox was patiently waiting in line to enter the event when she was asked about her opinion regarding the theme.

“I think it’s a good idea and is going to draw people in because it’s a TV show that people our age watched and loved when they were kids,” Cox said, “I think it works because of the double meaning. Everyone, regardless of if they’ve seen the show or not, can relate to recess and has experienced recess.”

Another DeHority resident standing beside Mary, Sandy Davis, said, “I didn’t watch the TV show as a kid…but I agree the majority of kids our age watched it…It’s a great idea.”

There were plenty of activities that accompanied the showing of the movie Recess: School’s Out. Parachute tag, board games, scooter races, fort building, and pudding tasting were just a few of the many recreational diversions that occupied the Student Center on Saturday.

Both Cox and Davis’s activity was the parachute tag, a game in which a parachute divided into colored portions is used. Each game participant holds onto a portion of the parachute. When a person’s color is called, the parachute is lifted and the people have to alternate places with a person sharing their same color before the parachute touches the ground.

Late Nite is a free event that happens every Saturday night at the Student Center 9 p.m. to midnight. There is always a theme involved, which is emulated through a movie and fun tasks. So: for everyone that hated recess in elementary school, there are plenty of other opportunities to find the perfect Late Nite.

Honors Week

10/16/2014

By Noah Patterson

Students of the Honors College ushered in the fall season with Honors Week from Monday, Sept. 22 to Friday, Sept. 26. Put on by the Student Honors Council, Honors Week offers several evenings of entertainment and activities for many students to take a break from the usual academic rigor and enjoy the social side of college.

The activities, which all took place in DeHority or the Honors House, included a Backyard Bake-Off on Monday, Trivia Tuesday, Which Craft Wednesday, Fall in One Minute, a night of Minute to Win It-style games on Thursday, and an Open Mic Night on Friday.

Which Craft Wednesday allowed students to make door decorations, watch movies, and enjoy cookies and apple cider from 4-8 p.m. in the Exhibition Hall. Student Honors Council member Katie Norman was the chairperson for Wednesday’s committee.

“Which Craft Wednesday this year is following a fall theme,” Norman said. “We have templates for pumpkins, scarecrows and fall leaves, but everyone can make whatever they want. People can come to do something relaxing. It’s free, so it won’t bust the budget, and it gets everyone into the season.”

Stephanie Kailey, a freshman at the Honors College, said she came down after receiving a Snapchat from a friend and seeing the signs around DeHo.

“I thought it would be fun, and that I could make something for the roommate and I,” Kailey said.

Adam Borchers, a freshman, got a little more creative than the templates offered at Which Craft Wednesday.

“I made the Wicked Witch of the West. It’s been fun, and I’ve enjoyed the crafts,” Borchers said.

As Student Honors Council members, Borchers and Kailey both worked on the committee for the Backyard Bake-Off as well.

“The food was great Monday. The Cherry Dump Cake, which won, was delicious,” Borchers said.

Kailey agreed and explained that the treat’s baker won the grand prize, a fall oven mitt.

Honors Week ended Friday, Sept. 26, closing a week of food, fun, crafts, games and talents.

Which Craft Wednesday’s handmade sign adorns the walkway by DeHority’s entrance.

Adam Borchers’ nearly completed Wicked Witch of the West highlights the creative potential of Which Craft Wednesday.

Stephanie Kailey’s Candy Corn marks yet another original Which Craft Wednesday
creation.