life at eiu

Well it’s been a while since I have posted to the site but I’m back. This semester has been really busy. The New Year started off with an amazing IBHE-SAC conference here at EIU which is still being talked about by our friends across the state of Illinois. A lot of hard work and effort went into making this event a reality and I want to take this time out to thank them. Big thanks go to the Eastern Illinois University Administration for donating the funds to make the weekend a possibility, the EIU Student Government for their help and support throughout the planning process, Hello Dali and Lunchbox Voodoo for putting on an amazing performance for the guests, and finally Arts and Humanities/Dounda Fine Arts Center for opening their doors and letting us host this amazing conference in their facility.

One big thing I’ve wanted to work on since last year was a Campus Safety Week. As soon as the IBHE-SAC conference was over, I started working on it. After talking with various members of the local campus community and representatives across the state, we have been able to put together the preliminary schedule of events for Campus Safety Week which will be held April 6 –10. Oddly enough this is also the week of our Student Government Elections, so it looks to be a very busy week indeed. The goal is to inform, remind and educate students about important safety issues. With everyone’s support, this promises to be an extremely innovative and beneficial week for all those involved.

As a member of the Blue Crew, I’m really excited to be heading down to Nashville, Tennessee to cheer our women’s basketball team on to victory in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. The women had an amazing season finishing second in the OVC. With 20 straight home wins, they lost a well-fought, overtime game, ending their streak and knocking them down to 2nd place.

This week I am trying to get as much sleep as I can, because I stayed up three days straight last week. And, no, I don’t recommend that to anyone. This weekend was especially tiring for me. I had the amazing opportunity to represent Eastern Illinois University at the Model Illinois Government Simulation in Springfield. I sat just a couple of seats away from Barack Obama’s old seat in the Senate and I can tell you that it definitely put some things into perspective. I met some amazing people this weekend and even though it’s my last year I will try to come back as a staffer. Oh and before I forget, “I own no monkeys.” For those who were there, you know what I mean.

This semester, while busy and filled with fun activities, brings with it a little self discovery. At the end of this semester I will be graduating from Eastern Illinois University after five amazing years as an undergraduate student. I am not really sure how I feel about it. A part of me is excited to be moving forward, while the other feels like I am leaving something behind. This school has given so much to me and I just want the opportunity to give something back. I know that one, ten or fifty years from now, I can still proudly call myself a Panther for life.


Go EIU! Go Blue! I AM EIU!!


~Levi M. Bulgar
Student Body President
Eastern Illinois University