Service for Sight

February 1st-3rd was Anchor Splash, which is the philanthropy of Delta Gamma. The proceeds go to Service for Sight Foundation. This year, Delta Gamma has decided to purchase a special tandem bicycle for a young girl who is visually impaired. She is a Hattiesburg native, and would love to ride a bicycle. The bike allows for an adult to sit behind the child and assist in steering and pedaling. It is a safe, yet still fun way for visually impaired children to have the experience of riding a bike. It helps them socialize and get physically active. It is very rewarding to know that you are helping a very worthy cause.

Anchor Splash is a yearly event that consists of different fundraising activities. This year we had three McAlister's nights where 10% of the proceeds went to our philanthropy. Also, there is a Mr. and Miss Eyes competition where each student organization that is competing in the Anchor Splash competition submits a photo of a member's eyes. We set up a board with these pictures outside of the Hub, along with buckets with the organization's names on them. Students could put money, box tops for education, Campbell's Soup labels for education, or eyeglasses in the buckets. At the end, all of these are counted and we have a Mr. and Miss Eyes winner. There is also King Neptune, which is a dance competition among male organizations. The actual Anchor Splash is the last event, and it has a synchronized swimming competition and several water relay competitions. At the end, and overall male and female winner is announced.

It is a great way to raise money for our philanthropy and everyone loves to get involved. To learn more about Delta Gamma's national philanthropy click here.

Umphrey's Mcgee

This weekend was a very busy weekend for me. I went to Nashville, TN to see two of my favorite bands play. Moon Taxi was the opener, and I have listened to their music for a while now, and I am very glad they are getting more popular. The headliner was Umphrey's Mcgee, who is my favorite band. They did a great set, and even saxophonist Jeff Coffin made an appearance, and Futureman came out for the encore. It was a great show, and I hope I'll be able to see one that's even better one day. The concert was at War Memorial Auditorium. It was the nicest venue I have been to. The architecture was beautiful, and very unique. According to nashville.citysearch.com, it seats 1,668 people. The venue also had awesome acoustics. These are some photos I took:

I wish I had a better camera, but this is the best I could do!

If you're interested, here are the links for Moon Taxi's website and Umphrey's Mcgee's website.

De Grummond Collection

The De Grummond Collection was founded in 1966 by Lena de Grummond, who obviously had a passion for literature. The collection is composed of American and British children's literature from different times. There are several original manuscripts and illustrations in the De Grummond Collection, which gives it a very authentic quality. Seeing an exhibit, such as this one, is a very rewarding experience because it is like seeing a part of history. Seeing these manuscripts and drawings bring back childhood memories of reading stories, especially the Little Golden Books like "The Poky Little Puppy." I remember that being one of my favorite books as a child. I probably read it almost everything single day in elementary school.
Everyone has heard about Curious George, who is a very important asset to the De Grummond Collection. Curious George was created by H.A. and Margret Rey - a couple who escaped Nazi Germany with their literary creation. Most of the Rey's remaining original works were donated to the De Grummond Collection. Also, according to the Collection's Web site, parts of the exhibit travel around the country so that the unique experience can be shared with others who have a love for literature. This exhibit has a nostalgic quality for many people since the collection comes from several different generations of children's literature. It is a unique exhibit that not all major universities can say that they have. I am proud that the University of Southern Mississippi has such a prized collection of art.

Take a look at the De Grummond website: http://www.lib.usm.edu/~degrum/