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Minnesota State University, Mankato
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The academic Turning the pages on balancing act 50 years of Greek Life
How to manage school, work when life gets in the way MADELYN PUNG
staff writer
College life can be a time when the lines between balancing work and play become a little blurry. The demanding life of a college student may consist of harmonizing the rigorous coursework, an active social life, participation in extracurricular activities, the balancing act of finances and much more. All these combined while trying to adapt to a new and fluid environment where change seems to be relentless are enough to stress any young college student out. Everything is competing for a student’s attention. Juggling these demanding responsibilities can cause students to build up an unhealthy amount of stress, due to the lack of equilibrium in their priorities. The key, however, is to discover opportunities to revive energy and ensure a sense of balance between obligations and accountabilities. Without stability, students are more susceptible to crashing and burning. In order to avoid an offset, students must learn to manage their time in an effective manner. Successful time management may require saying “no” to anything of unimportance, whether it’s the heap of laundry to be washed or the demand for a Skype session with friends or family. Determine what can wait by prioritizing and eliminating what is not critical. “Focus your time and attention on things you can control,” psychologist and co-author of “The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence, and Personal Strength in Your Life” Robert Brooks told webmd.com. In addition, sharing the load and asking for help may also
promote balance. If students are finding themselves sinking into a puddle of confusion, they shouldn’t hold back, but rather request assistance. Professors and counselors are there for that precise reason, waiting to be utilized. While college can be a time of mass chaos and stressful nights, it is important to stay physically and psychologically healthy and take time for yourself. Students typically come from a place where their basic needs are taken care of. Now that such rudimentary responsibilities have been added to their plates, it is crucial to take a proactive approach to ones health. When students find themselves overwhelmed with responsibilities, sometimes exercising or walking away and grabbing a snack can help. In particular, natural green foods are proven to boost a person’s mood. If a student needs an energy enhancement or a reduction in their feelings of exhaustion and tiredness, they should opt for a glass of ice-cold water with a twist of lemon, versus caffeinated beverages. Green tea is also a good choice because it doesn’t dehydrate your body and cause shaking, like coffee and energy drinks do. It can help students stay awake, improve their immune systems and increase their metabolism. In the book “Active Wellness” author Gayle Reichler examines how coffee actually causes stress. “The caffeine begins to stimulate your central nervous system, triggering the release of stress hormones in your body, causing a stress ‘fight or flight’ response,” Reichler said.“If you are simply sitting at your desk, you may feel a short charge of alertness, quickly followed by feelings of
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Creative writing graduate tributes Greek Life in new book
• courtesy of the integrated marketing office Ashley Portra is a creative writing graduate and is a Graduate Assistant of the Greek Community and Off-Campus Housing at MSU. ERIC PERRINE
staff writer
A new book celebrating Minnesota State University, Mankato’s 50 years of Greek Life is now available for purchase online and at the Barnes & Noble Centennial Student Union location. The book, titled “Our Chapters, Celebrating 50 years of Leadership, Scholarship, Service and Friendship,” was written by MSU graduate student, Ashley Portra, a Master of Fine Arts
– creative writing degree candidate. Portra also serves as the graduate advisor for the Greek Life organization. After a year in the graduate advisor position, Portra, a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority, was approached by John Bulcock, assistant director of Student Activities for Greek Life and Off-Campus Housing, to write a book celebrating the 50th anniversary of MSU fraternities and sororities. “I think that he recognized that a 50th anniversary
HOW TO SPEND YOUR SUMMER INFOOTBALL MANKATOGAME MAVERICKS DOMINATE AT HOMECOMING PAGE 5 9
is a good time to do something like this,” Portra said. “And, so, after a year in this position he approached me and asked if I wanted [the] opportunity and really, it was something I couldn’t pass up. I saw it as a pretty important opportunity, so I jumped at it.” “Our Chapters” is Portra’s first endeavor into a full-f ledged book. However, she was hired partly for her “considerable writing skill,” which she has demonstrated through short stories, essays, TV commercials and scripts as the director of a small sports company in North Dakota, according to Portra. The book focuses on four core values: leadership, scholarship, service and friendship, which are mentioned in the title. Choosing these values made it easier for Portra to focus on the personal stories she wanted to intertwine with the historical narrative, which would represent what the fraternities and sororities have built up to and demonstrated over the past 50 years. Fifty years of MSU fraternities and sororities has demonstrated “resilience within the community,” according to Portra. Starting small as any other university club or organization would, the fraternities and sororities had to show others what they were all about in order to recruit members. The recruitment and eventual expansion of the fraternities and sororities wasn’t immune to backlash. The backlash was present in the ’60s and ’70s during the Vietnam War and women’s liberal movement, which created “dissention among the students,” according to Portra. Those sepa-
Greek Book / page 4 SPORTS
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INDEX: VARIETY A&E
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CLASSYS
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