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Best Battle of the Bulge
     When students at Broward Community College-South threaten to "lay the smack down," you better take them seriously. The Student Life Department arranged for a local wrestling federation to hold three events in the school’s gymnasium. The 150 spectators not only got to see the future Rocks and Undertakers, but they also contributed more than $1,500 toward scholarships. When students cheered on the brawlers, they worked up quite an appetite, helping SGA raise more than $400 in concessions. "The event brought in a different crowd of students who usually don’t participate, and the community really enjoyed it," says Maxwell Highsmith, campus entertainment director.

Best Involvement Booster
     When a Nova Southeastern University student sarcastically suggested paying students to get involved, he didn’t realize what a great idea it was. "Sometimes, unique ideas can come from silly statements," says Dr. Brad Williams, director of student life. Through the "Novabuck$" program, now in its second year, students earn "money" decorated with former SG presidents’ faces by attending campus events. To add a little healthy competition, winners of events such as karaoke contests take home a few extra bucks. Students can exchange the bills for school apparel, restaurant meals, or private sports and theatre lessons. If the wealthy want to use their winnings to continue involvement, they can pay for Student Life trips to areas such as Amelia Island. Instructors don’t want enrollees to miss out on an educational opportunity either. The student body closely monitors the constantly fluctuating exchange rate, which is set by Williams, the campus' pseudo-Alan Greenspan.

Best Powder Puff
     While the Tars haven't fielded an official football squad in 50 years, the Rollins College women said "enough is enough" and decided to raise school spirit. SGA held grueling physical tryouts for an all-female team which had four male coaches. Seventy women wanted to see if they had what it took to be a linebacker or QB, and 26 discovered that they did. As Team Manager and SGA President Julia Boguslawski says, "We know the rules, work especially hard, and we even had some tricks up our sleeves." Although 900 of Rollins' 1,400 students showed up with their faces painted and foamy fingers in the air, the team didn’t get to boast the next day over a victory. "Everyone had a fun time," says Nathaniel Eberle, public relations staff writer. "The loss didn’t affect the event one bit." The spirit-filled crowd had to be pumped, if after a 36 to 7 loss to long-time rival Stetson University, the Athletic Department still thanked SGA for putting on such a great event.

Best Pot of Gold
     No, there weren’t boxes of Lucky Charms, no one found the end of a rainbow, and absolutely no sightings of Leprechauns were reported. However, at the five-day "Irish Film and Music Festival" at the University of North Florida, students did learn about authentic Irish customs. The event began with a series of David Hammond’s documentary films from British, Irish, and Northern Irish TV systems that had never been shown in the United States. UNF's director of the Irish Studies program, Dick Bizot, describes Hammond, the folksinger, folklorist, and director as "Ireland’s renaissance man," and believes the event was a rare opportunity to witness his talents. After a week of activities, the students relaxed during an evening of music featuring the popular group Celtic Soul.

Best Unemployment Benefits
     The familiar looks of stress on graduating students' faces, because they now have to find a job, isn’t as common anymore at Tallahassee Community College. TCC is so confident in its technology and professional programs that the school decided to put its money where its mouth is. If students don't get a job offer within a year after graduation or licensure, the alums will get tuition reimbursements for degree-related classes, says Jim Nash, communications director. Students beginning classes in the summer 2000 term and who are enrolled in one of 23 Associate in Science degree programs are eligible for the guarantee. "Students who can't get a job do have to participate in the job-placement services on campus," Nash says. "This is to prevent someone from doing nothing at all."

Best Spook Sign
     Last Halloween, Flagler College hall residents opened their doors to local children, providing a safe place for them to romp around and hoard bags of candy. The 100 visiting ghosts, goblins, and witches were students from the local Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. To make sure the little monsters didn’t miss any of the fun, the Flagler students learned to sign Halloween greetings. "It's extremely successful, because it brings a bunch of people together such as Flagler's Deaf Awareness Club and RHA, and children get to interact with college students," says Nicole Donnelly, former director of student housing.

Best Bang for the Book
     To show students they really care about the outrageous cost of books, North Florida Community College employees raised money for book scholarships with a faculty auction. Both students and staff bid for items such as T-shirts, a homemade dinner, and makeovers by the cosmetology department, bringing in $500. "The event was so funny, because the auctioneer made fun of the teachers' donations," says Carolyn Sperber, student services coordinator. Even as the event organizer, Sperber couldn’t get out of contributing something, so for $20 she said goodbye to her reserved parking space for a week.

Best Student Rally
     After two bombings in one month, Florida A&M University students pulled together instead of running in fear. "The incident made students feel unsafe and many considered withdrawing," says John Perdue, Student Government Association chief of staff. "A group of about 20 went around speaking to convince everybody that if they left, the bomber would have won." During a town-hall meeting in front of the Coleman Library, SGA President Cornelius Minor addressed the students' concerns and encouraged off-campus students to let housing residents stay with them until the situation settled. In addition, Minor used SGA's budget to feed dorm students while food services was closed. The Rattlers also voiced their opinions during a meeting with President Frederick Humphries and Gov. Jeb Bush, who asked for $388,800 in federal assistance to help in the investigation. Famuans finally could relax when the bomber, who damaged two campus restrooms, was arrested and charged with four hate crime charges that could mean 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. "SGA always talks about how much everyone grew from this," Perdue says. "If it happened again, we wouldn't be as worried."

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