Move Away From the Entrance

By Gabrielle Hollows

Getting past the front doors into the college is like trying to navigate through a misty jungle. You find yourself filling up with anxiety every time you get to the school gate. Not only do people stare intensely at the passers by but also they refuse to move out of the way. There is absolutely no reason for the entrance to be blocked the way it is, and it is down right rude that there is no acknowledgement of the people trying to make it through the doors. It is not just people trying to take cover from the rain that block the entrance but it is also used by students who want to smoke in a sheltered area.
“Why is it so difficult for a person to move out of the way?” I ask. One student, a smoker, replies, “Because there is nowhere else to go when it is raining”. This is so; there is nowhere, with cover, for students to go and have a cigarette. But this is a matter for smokers to take up, and it is no excuse for blocking the entrance, which leaves students and faculty members no option, but to elbow their way into the building. Even with a polite, “excuse me”, there is no budging a person from the entrance. It is not an outrageous request to ask a person to move out of the way so another can get through. To make matters worse you not only have to fight to get in but also you will get a gust of several peoples cigarette smoke in your face. This is not a pleasant trip to be done everyday and is about time that there was a change.
This is not only a matter of getting into the building but also a health and safety one too. It would be a disaster waiting to happen if there was a fire in the building, and people continue to linger in the doorway it would hold up a line in the foyer and this could have serious consequences for people trying to escape. It would be inexcusable if people couldn’t exit the building because other students, selfishly, were blocking the door.
This letter should not be taken as the opening salvo of an anti-smoking campaign because it is anybody’s right to smoke. However, it is also everyone’s right to walk in a smoke-free environment. Second-hand smoke causes many health problems just as well as firsthand smoke. According to the National Cancer Institute “Approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths occur each year among adult non-smokers in the United States as a result of exposure to second-hand smoke” (www.cancer.gov). Second-hand smokers are not the only ones who should keep this statistic in their heads but so should the smokers. By just moving you can help your fellow classmates and other occupants of the building who are second-hand smokers everyday just because people are unwilling to move.
From an aesthetic point of view, the front entrance does not look attractive with crowds of people surrounding the doorway smoking in the faces of others. We are very fortunate to be using a beautiful building that has survived wars and revolutions over the years. We should not spoil its appeal by clouding up prospective students’ views on choosing this college over others just because it looks like an ashtray.
There are designated areas for people to smoke and there have been bins provided to stub the cigarettes out in. It is about time that students start using these areas instead of blocking the entrance. Spring is on its way and soon it will be summer, so the benches and the tables around the front of the building are perfect places for a social smoke. Be aware of people around you—if someone looks like they are having trouble entering the building, don’t just ignore them, move out of the way.

A Complete Story of the International Dinner Party and Talent Show

The international dinner party started at six o’clock Thursday evening. It was well attended with few students from McDaniel but some faculty members graced the occasion with their presence. Everyone in the school was invited and the hosts from different countries entertained guests with variety of delicacy. They all were impressive.
The gorgeous Hungarian table was decorated by paprikás szalámi place on top of creamy cheese souse and bread and sweet Vargabéles dessert made of layers of past— tempting.
The Spanish table with Tortilla de Patatas, Arroz car leche , Gazpacho and especially an absolutely beautiful and colorful Sangria was irresistible. A Spanish host spoke about their dishes: “These are typical Spanish dishes and they are quite easy to make.”
The simplicity of the Norwegian table was sweet. They offered waffles served with jam, sour cream and also Norwegian goat cheese. The Norwegian students said: “They usually eat waffles after dinner as dessert with coffee in Norway”.
An amazing part of this party was Japanese boys and girls who were wearing kimonos. They worked together like a trained team. Each part of the work was carefully shared. Hidenobu a pre-med student said: “We started to prepare everything from last night and everything is homemade”. He introduced udon, kind of noodle which is very similar to the noodle they serve on their new year. They were amazingly polite, and that is a characteristic of their culture.
Reut and Omer, from Israel, were proud of their humus and falafel, which were made at home. According to Reut they are healthy foods and they prefer them to fatty foods of restaurants.
Hospitable and friendly American and Portuguese students also offered their traditional foods and sweets to introduce them to their friends.
Nigerian students’ beautiful traditional clothes and hats were eye catching. They served their traditional dishes; one of them was delicious spicy fried rice with chicken thighs.
Iranian students brought a traditional slow cooked stew spread on rice, and sholezard, a pudding made of saffron, rice, rose water and almond garnished with cinnamon.
Everyone was enjoying the party and the foods when Vahideh, an art student from Iran said: “I will graduate this semester and I’m happy that I could come to this party for the last time.” She added: “Trying these international dishes should have effects on my cooking; at least I can learn how to make new salads and sandwiches”. Sylvia, an Eco/bus student from Nigeria, also believed that this party should have an effect on her cooking while she was enjoying a piece of Norwegian waffle.
The talent show started right after dinner party. It was directed by Lili Mesterházy from Hungary and well presented by David Wassermann from Germany. Students who performed are from Israel, Iran, China, Spain, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Hungary and Cyprus.
The show was opened by Koichi Sotoma from Japan, who played trumpet. He was followed by Gadi Massasa from Israel. He was a multi-task artist who played guitar and harmonica and sang a song nicely. Arad Tahaei from Iran and Marco Bello from Spain played a piece of J.S.Bach by violin and piano. It was amazing to see how art could bring two artists from different sides of the world together to play a pleasant piece of music in harmony. This is the miracle of art.
Georgia Efthymiou and Timis Solomi from Cyprus performed a traditional dance called Strong & Hard Men which was adorable; charming dancers from Hungarian State Opera and Matilda Sassani from Italy also performed beautifully and professionally.
Song Siyue from China sang a Chinese song with her velvety voice. She won third place in a competition in China when she was sixteen. Kazuhiro and Joji from Japan played guitar and sang Japanese songs enthusiastically. Listening to Portuguese singers was also entertaining.
These kinds of dinners in a multicultural school like McDaniel College are one of the best ways to introduce different cultures to students and is also a good opportunity for the students to present some of the things that they have in their countries.

-Mona Monsefi