By: Seth Johnson and Christina Laird
Before second semester causes you to hole up in your favorite study spot and not leave for days, The Collegian staff wanted to give a little perspective on how the rest of the academic year looks. Daniel Kim and Tori Conover, the Student Leadership Council men’s and women’s student body presidents, recently gave us a bird’s eye view of the semester.
Kim and Conover both said they hope to emphasize the SLC’s theme of gratitude even more second semester. While the SLC did put on several events concerning this theme last semester, such as the Give Thanks, Give Pie event, they want to focus on it further. “We want to make [the theme] more intentional,” Kim said. “This theme of gratitude is a lot bigger than we think it is.” Kim mentioned 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 as an important verse about gratitude. “I really wish by the end of this semester that students would be able to rejoice in God, daily be in prayer . . .and be grateful in all circumstances.”
Conover said the SLC intends to provide students with more opportunities to show their gratitude in specific ways. “We want to make it tangible and provide students with opportunities to put feet to their gratitude,” she said. The first student body chapel, on Jan. 31, will also focus on gratitude.
Ignite will continue to be a major event this semester. For the first Ignite last semester, Kim said he expected maybe 50 people to show up for the night of games and singing praises to God. Instead, over 200 people ended up attending. “The Lord blew my mind with what He can do,” Kim said. “So I’m actually really pumped for [Ignite].” The first Ignite this semester will be on Jan. 25 at 10 p.m. on the Athletic Fields.
Bible Conference is another big event in the life of the student body. With a few days off from classes, students will be able to hear from a variety of speakers on the subject of prayer and will also be able to relax a bit. Conover said there are also a lot of events students can participate in for the year’s Bible Conference fundraiser. “A lot of student body events will be through society fundraisers,” she said. Some fundraisers double as society activities that students can enjoy while also raising money for this year’s cause.
Another event the SLC is looking forward to is the Bruins Daze, which happens every other year at BJU. The Bruins Daze is a week-long celebration packed full of exciting activities for the students. Bruins Daze, scheduled about halfway between Bible Conference and spring break, gives students a chance to connect with other societies and have fun through competitions. Conover said the last Bruins Daze two years ago was probably her favorite part of that whole school year. “There are Olympic-style competitions, there was a fireworks show, and they did battleship in the pool,” Conover said. “It’s just a very exciting, big week.”
While this year’s Bruins Daze won’t be exactly the same, societies will divide into teams and compete against each other in the “Greek Games.” In addition, Conover said there will be plenty of exciting opportunities for students. This year, the Bruins Daze will be March 4-8.
Conover said the University calendar is a lot more crowded second semester compared to first semester. “I feel like the spring semester is harder academically for people,” she said. With several Ignite events, Bible Conference, Bruins Daze, spring break, and more, the semester will definitely be a lot busier. But hopefully, it will also fly by.
