2008 Woodie Awards
View this section's front page!"Bomb kills 3 troops in Iraq; PM meets with top Shiite cleric" "Bush sees Iraq progress, Howard vows to stay" "26,000 U.S., Iraqi troops go on offensive" Nearly all U.S. newspapers have been filled with headlines such as these, but these national headlines talk about events that hit home as well.
On the outskirts of campus, past the new residence halls and behind the Rock Apartments stands a structure composed of wooden walls, metal poles, ropes, ramps and various combinations of the four. The Slippery Rock University Leadership Program's Leadership Reaction Course stands tall and quiet in the weekend afternoon sunlight, awaiting students and Reserve Officers Training Corps cadets to return again next week.
Stepping into Michael Saraka's office at SRU, one would notice a few U2 posters, some sports memorabilia and a picture of him and his wife, with him in military uniform. Saraka, 42, director of alumni relations, recently re-enlisted in the National Guard, where he previously served in the 2nd Battalion 103rd Armor in Berwick.
When outsiders think of ROTC, they may think of uniforms, salutes and physical training. When an insider such as Cadet Emma Christensen thinks of ROTC, she thinks of "very hard work, physically and mentally, and very time consuming. Meanwhile, the best program I have ever been affiliated with.
Believe it or not, there is life outside of Slippery Rock's own Ginger Hill. Come on people: let's expand our horizons a little bit and venture to those not-so-far-away places like Cranberry, Butler, Sharon, Mercer or Grove City. I know this might be a little frightening for some, but nightlife and dining opportunities do exist outside the confines of Main Street.
Being that it is September, most people are not thinking candy corn and rubber masks. Then again, Rob Zombie ("The Devil's Rejects") isn't most people. With a name like Zombie, it is fitting that Rob has found himself a comfy home in the realm of horror films.
Who would have thought 26 years ago that Slippery Rock student and ROTC member Michael Wayne Callan would be promoted to brigadier general this past August in the United States Air Force? He did. Growing up, Callan, 48, said he knew he wanted to be involved in the Air Force.
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