life at eiu

Hello, my name is Gina Smith, and I'm a freshman here at Eastern. I'm a Journalism major. Writing is one of my passions. That's why I'm so excited to be doing this blog for everyone out there, future and current students. My first month here at EIU has been amazing. Every day
walking on campus there's a different student organization trying to get people involved. I feel like there's something for everyone here.

Lately, I've been involved in a few clubs. I'm a floor representative (Carman Pride) with RHA (Residence Hall Association) and a member of BSU, (Black Student Union). That’s one of my favorite organizations here because the people are incredible and actually seem to care about the school. There are a lot of other clubs I'm interested in. I just haven't been able to make it to the meetings yet.

Recently I attended a program held by BSU called Black's Can't Vote. It was a great night, listening to other people's opinions and trying to understand other's viewpoints. Everyone had such good comments and questions. The best part of the night was the panel discussion. The
students up there had so much knowledge; it was so exciting. Every night this week I feel as if I had something to do. On Monday I went to my BSU meeting and learned about the upcoming events for Homecoming week.

I've never been to a college homecoming, so this will be an experience. After the BSU meeting, I headed to the 7th Street Underground for a Freshman Forum held by the Delta Sigma Thetas, a sorority here on campus. Tuesday I joined my hall for a ROC fest event, and enjoyed every moment of it. We played "bags" and ate barbeque. It was very entertaining, to say the least. Wednesday I went to Black's Can't Vote, and gained knowledge on both presidential candidates, but really one in particular.

Every day there's something happening; there's always something to do. I'm really starting to adjust to the life here at EIU. I was a little uneasy at first, but once I kind of got accustomed and met new people I found out almost every freshman is a little nervous. Everyone was telling me before I left home, "it's what you make it." And I have to agree. I'll keep you posted on some of the events and happenings around campus, from a freshman's point of view.

Until next time!