Spring Flowers

Iron Bronco

The Iron Bronco Triathlon began today and will continue until May 10th. Hosted by the Malley Center participants are to run 26.2 miles, bike 112 miles and swim 2.4 miles within the two week period. In the year 2007 246 out of the 342 participants completed the triathlon. So if you are up for the challenge sign up with a few friends or individually. It costs five dollars and you receive an Iron Bronco t-shirt if you successfully complete all the mileage. 

Michelle Chun-Hoon

Happy Birthday, Earth.

So it's Earth Day, and though our school is not celebrating this day until next week, I still wanted to commemorate it. I think every day should be Earth Day. It is our home, for goodness sake. I think the video below, which is my all-time favorite environmental ad, sums up the beauty of life and the earth. It presents Earth's natural resources in a creative way and its important connection to our lives. I'll stop blabbering, but really, watch it. It'll make you smile...



Cara Uy

Island in the Sun

We truly live on our own little Santa Clara island and we have the palm trees to prove it. Do you ever wonder how many pretty pennies it costs to purchase and plant one of them? I sure do. I've heard 2 rumors regarding the palm trees. 1. It cost $10,000 to insure one palm tree. 2. We were given our first palm trees from University of Southern California to change our initials from U.S.C. to S.C.U.

I have no idea if either one is true. What I do know is that we are spoiled by the beautiful upkeep of our campus. With the wonderful spring weather we're having, this is the best time to stop looking out the window and enjoy our island, especially if the palms cost $10,000 each.

Cara Uy

Photo Credit: http://www.scu.edu/ugrad/location/images/nobili-mission-gardens-lg.jpg

Leaves of Paper

Sustainability on campus has been a vital and growing trend. People do think it is important to care and respect the earth. However, behavior shows otherwise. Though we like trees and their pretty green leaves, we sometimes don't think twice about printing 20+ pages double-sided and remembering to recycle the papers after we're done. Here's an account of the lingering unsustainability on campus:



Cara Uy
Michelle Chun-Hoon

Nutty Squirrel Facts

You have seen more than one while strolling to class, they live on campus, but don't pay tuition. Who are they you ask? The squirrels of course! Hiding among the trees and eating leftover Benson meals they share the beautiful Santa Clara atmosphere with us. I am afraid we don't know much about them though and since they can't introduce themselves take the time to check out some nutty facts.

Michelle Chun-Hoon

Random Acts of Sustainability

Happy Trails to You

Spring is a great time to enjoy the outdoors and with the nice weather we've been having there is no excuse to stay locked up in the dorms. Besides swimming, jogging and tanning right here at Santa Clara there are plenty of outdoor places to visit off campus. I recently went hiking at Mission Peak, which was gorgeous, a great source of exercise, and I even got a nice tan line. Within about a 30 minute drive off campus you can reach a numerous amount of hiking trails. I have also been to Alameda County Park more than once and it has several trails offering different lengths. So, if you want to get in shape, enjoy nature or just get a tan hiking may be a great activity for you. Another plus side to enjoying the outdoors is — it costs nothing! And if you're anything like me you will be looking for ways to keep money in your wallet.

Michelle Chun-Hoon

Squid Row

Here is a video of baby squid being born. It is oddly inspirational.

Omaha

Nebraska is the happiest state in the country. I'm not sure by the depictions in this video.

Hoppy Easter

What are your Easter traditions? Tomorrow I am heading back to my hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, where hopefully we will have our annual Easter egg hunt in my backyard. Over the years, the hunt has grown increasingly competitive, then not so competitive, then competitive once again. There's egg snatching, basket throwing, and you may even have to look out for a basket being swung at your head. The eggs are cleverly hidden throughout my yard- something both my mother and father take great pride in- and usually there's over 100. Last year I won. There's money in the good ones...

What will happen this year?

Stay tuned.

Hopefully it's not too muddy and dreary in Omaha. It snowed last weekend. How odd.

Spring Break

Those two words, SPRING BREAK, can only mean three things for the typical college student: sleep, sun, and alcohol (and lots of it). While I may be generalizing or stereotyping, it seemed like most students were headed south, toward the equator, and to areas where alcohol could be accessible. Nevertheless, an island-in-the-sun location was not the destination on everybody's plane ticket. For some, alcohol was not on the agenda, and neither was sun or much sleep. Whereas some may have gone home to catch up on some Zzz's, others were all about maximizing their leisure time in the most productive and beneficial way possible.


Name: Miriam Rodriguez, 2011
For your college spring break, why did you choose someplace other than a typical beach location?
Mostly I wanted to spend my spring break showing my closest friends my part of the country. Living on the east coast, I know that I could show all of my friends something different than what they are used to, considering that living in Philadelphia, I'm only two hours away from most of the historical landmarks of our country. Being able to share my life outside of college with my friends was very exciting and better than any beach location. This is also because I hardly drink; so for me, the typical spring break would not be any fun.

Tired of Benson food?

It is Spring Quarter now and we have all had our share of Benson meals. You don't have to spend a whole lot of money eating at restaurants though. Why not prepare a meal yourself? Don't jump to conclusions and think that making your own meal will be too much work- it can be simple, cheap and fun! For one thing, Safeway is just across the street from our campus; full of ingredients just waiting to be made into something delicious! Also, the resident buildings offer kitchen workspace along with pots, pans and other cooking materials you can check out. All you need is some pasta, tomato sauce and some veggies for a healthy and filling meal. There are endless amounts of recipes and ideas out there available at the click of a mouse. Websites such as allrecipes or tastespotting offer recipes from lasagna, pizza and brownies to egg rolls, pad thai and crem brulee. You don't have to drain your points at Benson or clean out your wallet, just grab some friends and make your own gourmet meal!

Here are a few students who share their experiences outside of Benson and in the kitchen...

Name and year: Mateus Moitinho de Almeida, 2010

On those days you don't want Benson food, what is your favorite meal to make?

When I don't want to eat at Benson, I try to cook something that isn't too expensive, but is also worth the time to make. My home-cooked meals usually consisted of rice dishes, so that is what I would go for. I like to make anything from sushi to asian curries. The beauty of this is that a bag of rice is cheap and will last you a long time, and your dishes don't always have to be fancy. But now and again, it's a nice change to have something special.

Name and year: Justine Macauley, 2010

On those days you don't want Benson food, what is your favorite meal to make?

I love making eggs because they are so easy and I don't get to have them very often. I also make Annie's pasta from Cellar Market a lot, and Easy Mac when I'm being very lazy.