'Sibs 'n' kids': fun for all ages

Fifty miles in Pennsylvania could measure almost the distance from Philadelphia to the Lehigh Valley. For the troops pushing towards the Iraqi city of Bahgdad, 50 miles means the difference between victory or defeat. On Tuesday April 1, the decision was made to push those 50 miles.

From the start of the war, prior to the ground attacks, the United States stunned Iraq with its "shock and awe'' campaign. "The U.S. has virtually total air superiority. Air is critical. The United States enjoys this:' history and political science professor Jolyon Girard said.

The American people, as well as the civilian levels of government, feel that the war was going to be a ''cake-walk" according to Dr. James Hedtke, chair of the history political science department. "Bottom line, I do not think the U.S. military ever thought it would as they led to people to believe," Hedtke said,

"The lraqi regime is very dangerous, not only to its own citizens, but to its neighboring nations as well The American people should now support their troops who are working to succeed in eliminating this terror," senior history political science major, William Murphy said.

According to Hedtke, as the United States moves towards its goal of liberating the people of Iraq. they must also convince the ~es natives that this war is not for invasi~ but for the true meaning of ftceing the people from the dangcrou Iraqi regime. aftermath. of this war is veryimportant, according to Ginud. 'Wtll the Iraqi peoplerise andsupp<nttheactions as a lib,. eratioo.or•will tbey see it as an invasion •andresistthe conquest," Girardsaid.~wmn.iasthiswaris theea$Ypart.whathappensafter is what is doitcUlt, .. Hedtkesaid.

Spring has arrived to our, once snow-covered, campus and given students a chance to take a breather and act like kids again. The first weekend of_spring could not have come at a better time.

The warm sun and the cool breeze set the stage for Cabrini College's "Sibs 'n' Kids" weekend. In order to accommodate more children who are involved with Cabrini students, the name of the -event was changed from "Siblings Weekend" to "Sibs 'n' Kids" weekend. Senior John Verdi, co-chair of the event, said that they wanted to make the weekend more appealing to everyone involved. Verdi is in his second year of coordinating the event.

The weekend kicked off on Friday night with the first-ever Cabrini Idol where attendance included parents, students, sibs andkids alike. Saturdayboasteda carnival from 2-5 at the Dixon Center. The events included a moonbounce,challenginggames, free food, and karaokefor kids of all ages.Over200 peopleattended the carnival,makingit one of the biggest •events of the weekend. The kids continuedtheirweekend at Cabrini College with a screening of the animated Disney hit, "Monsters, Inc." Saturday night concluded with a "sleepover'' for kids and students sponsored by Residence Life in the New Residence Hall. There was roughly 25 people who attended the sleepover. The kids set up a station to play video games and another area to play "beauty salon."

Sunday concluded the weekend with another showing of "Monsters, Inc." and a dessert treat of "Sunday Sundaes," all which were free.

Verdi said that because the CAP board was away at a conference for the weekend, they were vecy short-staffed. However, they were bmµbarded with people who were eager to volunteer their time and staff many of the events. "We had a lot of siblings stay on campus," Verdi said, "those all the way from Xavier to the CAC. A lot of commuters also came up for the events. There was even a family in house 5 that had a huge family dinner that they celebrated with their Cabrini student."

Sophomore John Mathis had his IO year old brother Jimmy up Friday night through Saturday. Friday night, Mathis took his brother to see "The Lion King" on the IMAX. They took part in the carnival on Saturday as well. It was clear that Jimmy had a great time during his first weekend at college. "He said he couldn't wait to go to college because it looked like so much fun. I took him home on Saturday night and he didn't talk to me the whole way because he didn't want to leave. He was so mad" Mathis said. His brother even loved the cafeteria food; he thought it was the best buffet ever.

Sophomore Michelle Murray volunteered for the weekend and helped out with the popcorn and cotton candy. Murray felt as though they had a great turnout for the weekend; so great that many of the kids didn't want to leave. "It was nice to see everyone that came out having a good time. I'm glad I had the chance to be a part of that," Murray said.

Overall, the turnout for the weeke.nd seems to have been much better then anticipated. "We couldn't thank Kymber Lovett, resident director of Woodcrest, enough for co-advising the event. She is amazing! And of course, we couldn't forget Jason Bozzone for his impeccable advising," Verdi said. With the success of this year's "Sibs 'n' Kids" weekend, next years should be just as good.