Butler University Student Foundation

Click here to check out our very first BUSF Video Blog – all about Blue II’s Birthday and Bulldog Jog!

The Blue III (Trip) sensation is upon us. Although the hype isn’t as big as Linsanity in New York, Trip certainly is making headlines within the Indianapolis metropolitan area. Just a few weeks ago, Butler University announced the arrival of Blue II’s understudy. Within days, a media frenzy arose from a Trip twitter account to a Facebook page, even photo galleries of the husky bulldog on most of the local television and news networks.

There was no question Butler University was proud to unveil the photogenic pup at the men’s basketball game on February 18^th in historic Hinkle Field House. A record selling crowd packed in to cheer on the dawgs in hopes of another run in an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament, but many more came to catch a glimpse at Butler’s new top dog. If you haven’t been following Butler’s new family addition, be sure to catch up at the following links.

To follow Trip on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ButlerBlue3

To like Trip on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Butler-Blue-III/344497095578675

Blue II and Blue III

BUSF Love and Go DAWGS!

Morgan Lively

Finals.

It’s the most dreaded five-letter word for a college student. The fact that you have a test that is potentially cumulative for a whole semester in a given class, not to mention that you take multiple classes. Sometimes finals week can be easy, depending on your major and what grade you’re in. Some students only have one or two finals, or maybe even none if you’re lucky. Most people aren’t that lucky and usually end up with a few tests during the last week.

While most people paint finals week to be the most miserable time of their lives, with all nighters fueled by RedBull or countless 5 Hour Energy drinks, this is definitely not the case. What some people forget about is that they don’t have classes during finals week. You can wake up whenever you want, so long as you don’t have a test that day, and start studying whenever you’d like to. Now does this mean that you should study all day just cause you have the free time? Of course not, enjoy your day, work out, go to lunch, spend some time with friends. The more you can do to relieve stress for short periods of time the better off you’ll be. Butler even offers ways to take a step back and slow down the whirlwind going through your mind during finals week. They offer a late night breakfast for any student at the dining hall and they gave away a free iPad. The university has brought in puppies for a couple hours to the HRC for students to play with another day during the week if they’d like to. If none of this sounds too appealing to you to relieve stress, think of it like this. Let’s say you’re real ambitious (and I’m saying real ambitious for a college student), you could start studying at 8 am and before lunch you may have studied for 4 hours already. If you take an hour lunch break and start back up at 1 pm, and then study until dinner at 6, that’s another 5 hours. You would have already studied 9 hours in one day, and if you need more time than that to study for a final you still have the evening.

While finals can be stressful, especially when all you want to do is go on winter break, they really aren’t as bad as they seem. Be sure to take the time to have some fun and do things for yourself in order to make the week a little more bearable.

BUSF Love

Ryan Medas

It’s pretty cool being a freshman BUSF member. The whole experience of getting in is definitely something spectacular. To get into BUSF, you have to first fill out an application. Pretty simple.  Then, hopefully you get to an interview. The personal interview (one on one) is pretty simple, all you have to do is just relax and be comfortable and you’ll do fine.  Not to scare you but its the group interview that will shake you up a little… just because there are four interviewers.  But, it’s a good thing that all the attention is not all on you and at least you’re greeted with a bunch of friendly smiles when you get there.  If you’re lucky, sometimes you have a good friend sitting right there next to you in the interview.

But overall,  its just great being a part of the organization. I got to meet some great young alums at Rejoice a couple of Saturdays ago.  Now, I really feel like I’m a part of Butler since I’m in BUSF!

Shout out to Ryan Love for telling me about the organization. Everybody have an awesome year of 2012!

BUSF Love

Jordan Patterson

When I was a freshman last year, I always heard about how awesome the 2010 Final Four team was, all of the stories from camping outside of Lucas Oil, and the party on Hampton. I thought I had missed out on the highest point in Butler basketball history. I was wrong! Last year was the year we truly won over the heart of the nation. I attended every home game and cheered in the Dawg Pound. Hinkle Fieldhouse has to be one of the best places in the nation to watch basketball in general, not just college basketball. I love the old-school atmosphere without the big mega boards and illegal NCAA recruiting violations. We do things the way they were meant to be done, with honesty and hard work. That is why I love this school and this basketball program.

We have one of the most lovable mascots in the nation with Blue II. However, I honestly don’t like the appearance of Hink. He looks outdated and a little sloppy. The athletic department should consider a Hink makeover, but that is probably the only negative thing I can say about this school.

Brad Stevens should be in contention for coach of the year every year. Although there are some high quality players on his squad, he doesn’t bring in 5-star, ESPN 100, McDonald’s All-Americans that leave for the NBA after their freshman year. He brings in hardworking guys that our school can be proud of. His preparation for every game is so complex, but it proves worthwhile when we can compete with anyone in the nation. His composure on the sideline shows humility, one of the core values of “The Butler Way”. He doesn’t make the game all about him by screaming up and down the court, although it is quite funny when he gets mad.

I can go on and on about this school and basketball program, but it is hard to filter my thoughts. I thought this went really well for a first-time blogger. Stay tuned for future blogs! I’ll be writing about the Dawg Pound, my 2011 Final Four Houston trip (the things I can actually talk about ), and this year’s adventure with this team.

BUSF Love and Go Dawgs!

Joey Przybylinski

You know Thanksgiving Break is over when you can hear “Dominick the Donkey” being blasted all over campus. I can remember living in Schwitzer Hall my freshman year and being able to hear the song through the cement walls of my dorm room. Even though the song is played on repeat all hours of the day, without it campus would not be the same. “Dominick the Donkey” is just one of the many traditions that can be found on the Butler University campus during the holiday season.

Another lovely tradition that we have here on campus is the lights and decorations that can be found everywhere. When walking through the mall most of the trees are adorned with lights that look amazing when it snows. The fraternities and sororities also decorate their lawns and houses with lights and tons of holiday decorations. These decorations set a fun and festive mood all over campus and get both the students and faculty excited for the long awaited Christmas break.

Some more fun traditions are the holiday concerts and activities that occur during that time of year. If you want to take a break from studying for finals there are Christmas carol concerts or ugly sweater parties that can always be attended. All in all, Butler’s campus is such a fun place to be during the holiday season, that the students do not mind studying for finals. Just kidding!

BUSF Love and Christmas everywhere…

Grace Frank

This past semester I had the opportunity to participate in the President’s Inauguration.  I have always been a proud Butler student, so when I was asked to participate in the festivities I was thrilled.  A student representative from each college would speak at the Inauguration Gala.  To prepare for the big night, the wonderful Miss Meg Haggerty took a group of girls shopping for dresses.  We had a blast that day getting to know one another and finished the perfect day at Chik-fil-a.  The group met a few more times to practice our speeches and try to relieve our jitters.

When the big night arrived, I was so nervous!  I had practiced my speech so many times, but what if I messed it up during the one time it counted?  I was accompanied by my date and BUSF member, Alex Snyder, who eased my nerves.  We arrived to a packed house at the Indiana Museum of Art, which is right down the road from campus.  Everyone was decked out in beautiful dresses and tuxes.  I had the opportunity to meet many Butler Alumni, faculty, and staff.   Later that night, we were escorted to dinner.  It was absolutely gorgeous and there was an amazing blue fountain that was the backdrop for the podium.   Our table was very energetic and entertaining and included University Vice President, Levester Johnson, faculty members, and a board member.   It was refreshing hearing about how excited they were for Butler’s future.  After an amazing dinner, I was pulled away right before dessert.  The six of us were placed in our spots throughout the room until it was our moment.  When it came to us, Kyle Inskeep was the first to speak.  He spoke so well that it gave me the confidence and reassurance that I could do the same.  I did not glance at my note card and the words flowed better than I could have hoped.

I will never forget this unbelievable night filled with so many wonderful individuals.  It was such an honor to be included in such a wonderful group of Butler students that had done so much for the University.  I could not have come up with a better way to wrap up my college career at Butler.  President Danko will continue to lead Butler in a positive direction, and I could not have been more thrilled to be a part of such a momentous occasion!

BUSF Love and all dressed up…

Kyler Clark

Orientation week is by far one of the best weeks at Butler, whether you are a freshman or an upper classmen.  Being at Butler for almost a full week before classes start and either beginning new friendships and relationships or catching up with old ones is such a sweet way to start the new school year.  I remember that as a freshman I was pretty intimidated by the whole prospect of leaving behind everything that was ‘comfortable’ and what I knew for a completely unknown experience. It took me all of two days of welcome week to realize that

• A) College is far and away better than high school and
• B) Butler was already home.

Because my orientation week/Butler experience was so great I decided that I wanted to be an orientation guide to give back to upcoming Butler classes.  Just as I can rave about welcome week, being involved in welcome week as a SOG (Student Orientation Guide) was equally as awesome.  As an SOG I was able to show up early to school and hang out with my close friends all the while learning how to lead an effective orientation session for two days.  From my experience as an SOG I can say that two things make welcome week as a freshman and will shape your career at Butler: a willingness to be bold/outgoing and a desire to actually take something away from Welcome Week and apply it to the first semester at Butler.  I absolutely loved Welcome Week as a freshman for these reasons and as an SOG this past fall I was able to see other freshman make or break their Butler experience because of this week.  Be adventurous and attentive during this week before classes and you will not be disappointed.  Classes and your college lay beyond this half week of games, making friends, and getting into the groove, be sure not to let it pass you up. I promise, if you do that then you will LOVE Butler.

BUSF Love

David Korb

It is hard to believe that this year’s CASE ASAP Conference is over. Steph, Ciera, Katie, Jennie and I have really enjoyed our time in Nashville. We are currently traveling highway 41 and have been able to pass through Evansville, Ciera’s home town, as well as be educated on the lifestyle of southern Indiana from Steph. I feel so happy to have been able to go on this trip with both Jennie and the Exec.  It was a wonderful bonding experience and we have become pumped for this upcoming year.

As we have been traveling home today, it has been fun to recap our favorite memories from conference as well as what we have gained from attending other schools’ sessions. Everyone left excited about different ways to make our organization stronger.  Katie is pumped about traditions, Steph is ready to put her marketing skills to the test, and Ciera has already begun to prepare for the new members we hope to gain this year!

As for me, I was fortunate enough to attend a session by Mizzou on a tradition on their campus called Beat Week.  Which is a week leading up to their big rival game against KU.  I left the session pumped to pass on some wonderful ideas to the lovely Sarah Wesp and her spirit committee to add to our already thriving spirit week!

Seeing a different part of the country was a wonderful way to wrap up this summer.  I hope to bring the Southern hospitality back to Butler with me! Thanks for following our travels we hope you have enjoyed reading about our 2011 CASE ASAP trip!

BUSF LOVE and a million thanks to Jennie who made this weekend possible for us,

- Bridget McGrath