Yoo-hoo! Hiya! Howdy-do! Hello! Hullo! Salutations! What cheer? How doust thou? Peace, friend! And Greetings to All!

Hopefully, all of you out there had a brilliant winter break filled with memorable stories and minimum attempts at solving the mystery of who gave you the flu. Some of you may have even decided to brave the cold mornings and complete a few credits during the Winter semester, while others had to work during the break. Personally, I envy those who got to simply relax and read.

For some, this semester is a fresh beginning filled with high hopes, naive misconceptions, and stressful thoughts. For others – the final chapter of their undergraduate degree packed with LSATs, MCATs, graduate school application and thesis deadlines, and a gradually increasing sense of dread (Congrats to you all!).

United by still unresolved financial aid and course registration issues, confusing syllabi and wandering classroom locations, most of us are unprepared to tackle the next semester. However, it is important to remember that everyone, including random peer mentors and professors, various offices and centers, and even other college students, such as yourselves – are all more than willing to help you settle in and clue you in on the in’s and out’s of navigating college life. And we, the writers of this blog wish to welcome you, dear reader, and offer you our assistance and support through funny memes, interesting discussions on numerous topics, our take on select news, and helpful announcements, which can be found immediately below.

If you are an aspiring writer or simply one of those people who like entering random contests:

The Bristol Short Story Prize, an annual international writing competition open to all published and unpublished, UK and non-UK based writers, is accepting entries via online or by post till the 1st of May, 2019. For full details of rules and prizes follow this link: www.bristolprize.co.uk/rules

We at the English Counselling Office are also accepting submissions from students for publication in our literary magazine – the Junction. If you are (or know of) an artist, writer, or poet interested in showing off your (their) work, please send your submissions to bczinesubmissions@gmail.com. For more information come by our office @3416 Boylan Hall.

For those of you who prefer to plan or prepare in advance –  the Open Mic this semester will be held on March 14th.

I am also happy to announce that the Writer’s Circle meets every Thursday during common hours at 12:30-1:30pm @2307 Boylan Hall.

If you are interested in any International Education programs, you should definitely visit the Study Abroad office at Brooklyn College for one of their General Information Sessions, held every Tuesday at 1p.m @1212 Boylan Hall.

You can also keep track of the Magner Center’s helpful workshops, such as the Job Search 101 Workshop, by clicking on this link or by checking out Brooklyn College’s Event Calendar (found here).

This February, check out a BC Theater Production:

Erin Courtney’s “I Will Be Gone,” directed by Christina Roussos, will be playing at the Don Buchwald Theater at the Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts from February 15th to February 23rd.

Tickets can be bought here. Students – 12$ with a valid I.D.

Check out this link to see a comprehensive listing of institutions with free or suggested admission prices for CUNY ID holders.

Students can also enjoy free tapings of live shows filmed all over the city by simply going to the websites of their favorite shows and checking out ticket availability and age restrictions for the taping. Shows include The Daily Show with Trevor Noah & The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Please be advised that Brooklyn College will be CLOSED on these days:

Tuesday, February 12;

Monday, February 18;

Lastly, other important dates to keep in mind are:

Thursday, February 7 – Last day to drop for 50% tuition refund;

Monday, February 11 – Last day for students to submit requests for change, deletion of, or declaration of a major/minor/concentration to be effective for Spring 2019;

Thursday, February 14 – Last day to drop for 25% tuition refund;

Friday, February 15 – Last day to file for Spring 2019/June 1, 2019 graduation;

Good luck to you all this semester! And remember:

-L.L.L.