Global Di-VERSE-ity: New year, new people!

I've been on campus pretty much every day this past summer. At least, every weekday. And from the start of July til the end of August, I've gone to school as early as 6am and stayed as late as 8pm (only once though!).  I felt like I owned the place- got the first parking spot in the SSB lot, was one of the first and last people at school, there were no geese around, I knew who all the people who were there doing research, and the halls weren't crowded at all. It was FABULOUS. I felt like I was in my own home and I made the rules and that I had the keys to the kingdom.

Then all of a sudden it's September 5th. And SCHOOL STARTS. And there are LOTS of PEOPLE. And there are so many CARS and people DRIVING and the lots are FULL. And people ask you for directions to the Science Building. And people are reading the campus MAPS. I tried doing that freshman year and couldn't for the life of me figure it out. And there are GEESE. How do the geese know that school started?! They were gone all summer then, bam! first day of classes and there are all these geese EVERYWHERE.

Campus is not the sleepy, quiet, quaint little place it was over the summer. It's full of people and noises and stuff going on and full parking lots and I can check out a billion books from the library again and there are long lines at the McKinley Cafe. Speaking of the MKC, did you know that there's now a TOASTER in Subway! A whole slew of new things happened this summer in prepping for the new year - the TOASTER, the library was PAINTED, its computers were UPGRADED, there's a new RECYCLING system, a FLAG MURAL was installed, the BOOKSTORE got a makeover (if you look up!), the SAO became the Office of Student Engagement, there's a new cell phone charging station in the UC, and there are SO MANY NEW PEOPLE. 

The League has spent the sleepy and hot summer preparing for this new year, the new crowd, and these new changes. We want to match the diversity of our campus community by celebrating the diversity that exists in the world of poetry. Hence: Global Di-VERSE-ity! It's brilliant, isn't it? We'll be exploring diversity in poetry in multiple REGIONS of the world, in different TIME periods, by looking at how various THEMES are treated in poetic works, by looking at cultural TRADITIONS, and by FOOD. Always the food.

We have so much planned and in the works that we'll be unveiling and talking about each week, and of COURSE you can join us whenever and however you'd like! We're on here, Facebook, Twitter, CTools, and Tumblr. And we have meetings and stuff too with SECRET PUNCH. You might need a passport to join us, though. I'm not sure.

This is my 5th (and final!) year on campus, but with so many of my friends gone and so many new faces around here, it almost feels like freshman year all over again. I'm excited for everything this year has in store, and I'm really excited that all of you will be there to share it with us!

- LEP Viscountess of Affairs