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smiller@rollins.edu

Class of 2009

Hometown: Elyria, Ohio

Major: International Relations

Read more about Steve...

"Fox Day and Fish Day"

April 12, 2006

Well, let the updates continue. I’ve been on a sort of R-Journal torrent lately and am going to keep, well, pardon the use of my namesake, but “flying like an eagle” into the remainder of the year.

Let’s start with the best item of discussion for today’s R-Journal…FOX DAY. Fox Day 2006 took place yesterday (April 11th). What is Fox Day? Well, if you have had the chance to visit the Rollins campus, you might know that Fox Day is a day of community, fun, and relaxation. Each year, the President chooses one spring day (unbeknownst to ANYONE) to cancel classes. He symbolizes this cancellation by placing a statue of a fox on Mills Lawn next to our flag pole. Usually, this statue is placed around 5:30 to -6:00 a.m.…nearly everyone is aware of the statue by 6:30 a.m. In my residence hall, McKean Hall, people were running through the hallway, blaring music, and beating on doors to announce the day of fun. If it sounds a little bit crazy, well, it certainly is…but for good reason. And, after all, it is only one day a year.

Steve, Rollins President Lewis Duncan and SGA President Cat McConnell with the Fox statue on Mills Lawn

The President provides donuts and official Fox Day proclamations in his office in the morning as hundreds of Rollins students prance around campus as if they were elementary kids getting out of school for the summer. At 10 a.m., buses magically appear to transport us to the beach…this year (like other years), we take over most of Cocoa Beach. And, if the beach is not your thing, we have a bus taking students to theme and water parks. However, I highly recommend the beach option. It was a bit chilly this year, but we still had a great time. Late into the afternoon, buses return students to Rollins for a fantastic barbecue on Mills Lawn (fantastic because of the food options and because it is totally free!). Many faculty and staff members come to the barbecue, many bring their families. It is truly a great time.

Unfortunately, Fox Day fun can bring some interesting dilemmas. I ended up having a lot of projects and papers due in my classes today…and was planning on completing them yesterday. Thus, I have learned that I will plan a couple of days ahead during the “Fox Day” season of my future Rollins years. Some other great Fox Day advice is to bring plenty of sunscreen…we have several lobsters (me not included, luckily) traversing throughout campus today. Sunburns are not exactly fun. Maybe fun to look at, but not fun to have. Aloe helps, though. Also, it is always a great idea to have a beach towel and to not go swimming with your wallet and cell phone. I discovered that soda machines do not exactly like wet dollar bills.

If you do not mind, I think I might use this space to lobby for a particular project of mine. This project is called Fish Day. With Fish Day, the President chooses to cancel classes on a day that is not the nicest day of the year, but rather the worst day of the year. Whether the day is rainy or chilly (hopefully not snowy), classes are cancelled and students are encouraged to sleep all day. Because the day involves sleep, he should announce it the evening before and host a giant bonfire that night on Mills Lawn. Students can then fall asleep full on the glories of s’mores and hot dogs and not wake until late the next day. I might go so far as to lock the students in the dorms. Sleep is very important. Doctors say that you can’t necessarily make up for sleep, but I’d disagree. The sleep that one would make up on Fish Day would compensate for the hours lost on Fox Day, in my opinion.

Well, that is about it for this entry. I’ve got a lot to make up from yesterday…but wouldn’t give Fox Day up for the world! Good luck with your college decisions, seniors…it’s getting close. Drop me an email if you want to discuss college options, I know that I was looking at twenty 20 or so this time last year!

Steve

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More about Steve...

While searching for colleges as a high school senior, Steve found the R-Journals at Rollins, which aided in his final decision between the United States Military Academy at West Point and Rollins College. Steve is a senator in the Student Government Association, a freelance photographer for The Sandspur student newspaper, plays intramural basketball and founded Rollins Relief, an organization dedicated to helping disaster victims around the world through hands-on service.

Steve is a Cornell Scholar, a member of the Honors Degree Program and a 3-2/Accelerated Management Program student. He said, “Rollins offers an amazing community experience to incoming students—one filled with both academic and social experiences. The two can certainly mix—academics and socializing do not have to be mutually exclusive.”

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Steve's R-Journal archives:

Date	Link
Dec. 14, 2005	Reflections on the Fall Semester at Rollins
Jan. 17, 2006	Home for the Holidays
Feb. 7, 2006	The Beach in January (and other neat perks to attending Rollins)
Feb. 27, 2006	Greetings from Arizona!
March 27, 2006	New Orleans for Spring Break
April 4, 2006	Celebrity Tour and Choosing a Dorm
April 12, 2006	Fox Day and Fish Day
April 20, 2006	Great Aspects of Rollins
April 26, 2006	Food
May 8, 2006	Exam time
May 16, 2006	College Essentials
June 16, 2006	My Maniac May