ASL: Pizza Party & UWM Drag Show

Hello Everyone!

We have had an amazing start to the semester! We kicked things off with a pizza party on February 15th to get everyone out in the lounge and excited for the rest of the year. What I didn't know was that another RA and a few of the residents hijacked the event and threw me a surprise birthday party. They had nearly 100 balloons and there were streamers everywhere. It was so cute and we all had a lot of fun! 

Then on February 24th we went to The UWM Annual Drag Show! I planned ahead and reserved seats for the LLC near the front by the interpreters so that the floor could see what show interpreters are like and if that is a career choice they would like to look into. The show was spectacular and although we had to wait an hour and a half for the shuttle on the way back it flew by. 

Every spring the ASL LLC hosts a huge event called See What I'm Signing. This year it will take place on April 11th. Right now all of our efforts are going into planning that event and the residents are looking forward to volunteering and showing University Housing what the ASL LLC is all about. 

Surprise party and pizza!

The cake! The babies are on there because they thought it was creepy and hilarious (It was).

Group photo from the Drag Show. There were a few camera shy people that took the picture instead of being in it. 

The video is of one of the interpreters at the Drag Show. Look at the facial expression and attitude added into the interpretation of the song! 

Social Justice: UWM Drag Show

This is a picture from the UWM Drag Show. It was amazing!!! The Drag Show was this past Saturday night and we had a ball! I had an event before the drag show which consisted on me putting pizza out in the lounge and giving residents the history of drag. It was meant to give the residents more cultural understanding of how drag came about. People came and went then we went to the Drag Show. The performances were great! We had an awesome time and enjoyed the performances and the photo booth. The Drag Show is always a 10 out of 10! The people involved shares knowledge with the audience as well as entertaining us. I can't wait for next year!

Honors 1: Honors Olympics & Black Panther

As the beginning of the second semester has gotten underway the Honors 1 LLC welcomed back residents with a variety of events! To take a break from classes, on a calm weeknight, Honors 1 and 2 residents participated in the second annual Honors Olympics. Four teams of residents competed against one another, at the Honors College, in a variety of winter style games in order to gain the right to take home a trophy. Last year a team represented by members of the Honors 1 LLC gained the right to take home the trophy but this year a team from Honors 2 took the crown. The games were heated as residents tried their hands at a frozen t-shirt contest, a frozen bubble gum bubble blowing competition, and a pie eating contest. Even though his team did not take the Honors Olympics crown Greg gained his title back, for the second year in a row, as the Honors pie eating king.

Another event that was well attended by Honors 1 LLC residents was a movie premiere night of the movie “Black Panther” which was organized by UWM’s CAB organization. The event was planned to take 250 UWM students to a movie theater to see the movie “Black Panther.” A group of residents from the LLC were able to attend the event together and see the acclaimed movie. Many of the Honors 1 residents wanted to see the movie together because of their shared love for Marvel superhero movies. This event organized by CAB was well attended by the LLC because it peaked the interests of social issues and also science fiction that Honors 1 residents share.

As the rest of the semester unwinds residents will be thinking about housing plans for next year. The Honors 2 LLC provides a close-knit housing experience tailored for Honors College upperclassman looking to still live in Sandburg. Many Honors 1 LLC residents will utilize the opportunity to live in Honors 2 next year in Sandburg East Tower.

Local Host: Great semester ahead

This semester the Local Host LLC got a new RA, Blake. This semester seems to be off to a great start for everyone! As their Peer Mentor, I have been meeting with some of the students recently and asking how they have been doing and they seem to be very engaged within all of their classes. They had their kickoff event on January 21st with Blake which they talked about creating an app that would benefit college students. There will be a follow up event at the end of the semester where we will all get together and talk about their ideas and then will reward someone who was able to persuade Blake and I about their awesome idea! Blake has also planned on getting the LLC together during Geek Week to attend an event on March 7th called University IT Service Carnival with games where they can learn about the school more! I hope to also attend that event as well to learn more about their major and school to hopefully be able to direct them to the right resources to be successful within their major! Another event we are talking about bringing them to is called DiversITy. Here they will be able to learn about diversity within the IT field with snacks and they will also have the opportunity to network with people around campus. 

Honors 2: Honors Olympics & Valentine's Day

The Honors 2 LLC is off to a great start this semester! We’ve had a ton of events and have even more planned to keep the connections forming from last semester. We have also been utilizing our common area for studying and some much needed relaxing movie nights.

The first event of the semester was the traditional Honors Olympics. Members from both the Honors 1 LLC, Honors 2 LLC, and Honors College in general came together for the second year in a row to form teams and fight for redemption and the very unique trophy to keep. The teams participated in winter themed events like snowman making, luge racing, snowball toss, and a bonus pie eating contest to battle it out for the gold. They all can’t wait for next year’s competition!

On Valentine’s Day, the floor took a break from academics and work and participated in eating some pizza, decorating cookies, and making some valentines. What a nice night to spend some time with friends! Members of the floor also went to an open mic night at the Honors College. Here, they saw their professors and fellow peers perform to raise funds for the alternative spring break trip.

Coming up, the floor will be going to a trivia night to test their skills on TV/movies. Once it gets a bit warmer, we will be going to a ropes course facility to do some team building exercises and problem solve together! This event will be a great opportunity to use trust and communication within the community.