Paintball team reaches out to students
The NMU paintball team is selling concessions at Campus Cinema this month in order to have a larger presence on campus and allow students to ask any questions they might have about paintball. Nick Boyle, paintball team captain and junior business management major, hopes that students of any experience level who are interested will feel free to approach the table and find out more information about getting involved. The paintball team often practices amongst themselves, although opportunities at the end of this semester and at the beginning of next have arisen for the team to play in various tournaments. This Halloween, the paintball team will be giving people the opportunity to paintball when they go down to Wallace, Mich. to their sponsored field. Anyone can join regardless of experience, or they can come along to watch. Those interested in joining can reserve a spot on the bus for $10. Boyle said that this event and becoming known by selling concessions will hopefully help to bust misconceptions that paintball is a dangerous game. “You’re not playing a sport that can hurt someone,” Boyle said. “It’s all just for fun.” For Boyle, the best part of paintball is the fast-paced nature of the matches, the adrenaline rush, and the way the matches make one think. Students interested in participating in the Halloween event or getting more information on the paintball team can e-mail [email protected] or stop by the group’s table at Campus Cinema.
Annual volunteer day this weekend
Make a Difference Day is happening this Saturday, Oct. 24, giving Northern students the opportunity to help members of the community by raking leaves. This is a nationwide event that Northern participates in, and this year there are 1,117 registered volunteers. “The amount of praise we get from people who call up asking for help, saying how helpful it was last year, it definitely makes Northern students look really good,” said Victoria Leonhardt, a junior marketing major the assistant coordinator of the NMU Volunteer Center. What makes this Make a Difference Day different than other years is that registration has been opened up to the community so that girl scout troops and other local organizations can participate as well. The Volunteer Center, which is hosting the event, will provide breakfast at the Wildcat Den for participants and will cover the cost of materials needed like rakes and bags. Leonhardt said that this is a great opportunity to connect Northern with the city of Marquette, which echoes the title of the event: Communities Helping Communities. “Northern is kind of a community in itself so it’s good to go out and help the community that houses us,” Leonhardt said. Make a Difference Day starts at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday in the University Center.
Student-directed shows at Northern
This weekend from Oct. 21 to Oct. 24, student directed plays will be put on in the Black Box Theatre free to students. The two plays are “Controlling Interest” written by Wayne S. Rawley and directed by senior theater major Jackie Bordak, and “The Question House” written by Tara Dairman and directed by graduate student Jen Henry. Though Bordak concentrates more on technical theater with her major, she said that she has enjoyed directing the show, a necessary element to graduating with a theater major.
Her 15-20 minute play is about children in a business setting. “I love the fact that it’s about eight year olds because you can actually be a kid in the show,” Bordak said. “I fell in love with it because it has a lot of comedy.” She said that organization was one of the most crucial aspects of directing. She felt working with the actors and trying to get them to understand her vision for the piece was one of the more interesting aspects of working on the play. “I really enjoyed working with the cast. We’ve had a lot of fun playing different improv games.” Bordak said that students should consider going to the plays, not only because they are free, but because they are also very comical. “I think that as long as the casts all keep up their energy, it will be a good time,” Bordak said. The shows started Wednesday, Oct. 21 and will continue every night until Saturday; all shows start at 7:30 p.m.
