The Muslim Student Association @ UConn

The School of Pharmacy, the Neag School of Education and the School of Fine Arts volunteered to have individual commencement ceremonies this year in an effort to reduce crowds at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion and to personalize commencement.

"The ten deans in the Council [of Deans] were discussing how we could make improvements to make it a student-centered commencement," said David Woods, the Dean of Fine Arts.

For most, YouTube is a diverse collection of meaningless but humorous videos: a squirrel waterskiing, a dog talking or even a two-year-old swearing. But for one recent UConn graduate, YouTube proved more practical as a gateway to a career in Hollywood.

Paul Gulyas, who graduated from UConn last May and childhood friend Joe Sabia, who grew up in Milford and graduated from Boston College, fused a passion for the TV show "The Soprano's" with artistic creativity to create "7-Minute Sopranos," according to an interview with both Gulyas and Sabia.

College students have many opportunities upon graduation. Many go on to pursue their Master's degree in graduate school, others begin their careers in the job market, and others choose an alternate route, such as working to eliminate one of the nation's most pressing problem - educational inequality - with Teach for America (TFA).

Versatile British writer, Fay Weldon, will be the keynote speaker for 4,500 graduating students at two of the University of Connecticut's undergraduate commencement ceremonies today.

Weldon, who has written everything from novels to children's stories to screen plays, will address the crowds of students, parents and faculty in Gampel Pavilion at 10 a.

Some students are scrambling for the summer to secure interviews for internships, sifting through pages of entry-level positions on careerbuilder.com and calling back cards from last-minute career fairs, while others are weighing their options on which job offers to take.

It's senior day at the UConn Softball Field.

The sun beams down on the Huskies for one of the first times this season as a cool, crisp breeze blows in from the east; it's ideal softball conditions. The type of weather wedding and birthday party-goers dream of, perfect for a celebration.

This 2006-2007 sports season at UConn has without a doubt been a memorable one. Like every year, each team had its ups and downs, but there is often that one defining moment that sticks out each season. Here are the top 10 moments this year in UConn sports.

Two weeks ago at the UConn Select Invite, two athletes stepped onto the Sherman Family-Sports Complex for what would be the final home meet of their collegiate careers.

All-American Jillian Sullivan approached the start-line and awaited the gun shot that would set her free in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

It is both ironic and inconvenient how sometimes even the brightest of days can quickly have a series of dark and ominous clouds roll in on it.
One nagging injury can lead to another serious one for many baseball pitchers.
For the former winner of the Hartford Courant's 'Best of the Best' award for pitching in high school, Brendan McGinn had what looked like the most promising of careers in front of him.

When the buzzer rang on March 16, the 2006-2007 season of UConn hockey came to a heartbreaking end as the Huskies lost, 3-1, to Army in the Atlantic Hockey tournament semifinals.

For senior captain Matt Scherer, it was the heartbreaking end to a four-year chapter of his life - one that, when it finished, left even the strongest of leaders emotional.

A series of fortunate events and living in a small town led hockey player Natalie Vibert to UConn four years ago.



"I signed late," Vibert said of her decision to come to Storrs. "It was down to the wire and I based it on coach [Heather Linstad]. She had a better reputation than anyone else.

Larry Day - Catcher - This year's co-captain was a Third Team All-Big East selection in 2006 and a pre-season All-Big East selection in 2007.

Dennis Donovan - Infielder - The co-captain leads UConn this season with a .328 batting average and 29 RBI.

So, you're finally graduating.

Did you "finish in four"?

Or are you a super senior?

Are you sad to be leaving?

Or did you think this day would never come?

Are you excited to wear your cap and gown?

Did you pay for it yourself?

Doesn't that suck?

Doesn't it kind-of look like a trash bag?

Who wants to pay for a person-sized trash bag?

What color is your tassel?

Did you know the agriculture school color is maize?

What, do they put corn on their caps?

Do they grow the corn themselves?

Do they get to graduate if their corn looks bad?

Doesn't bad-looking corn reflect poorly on the

department?

Was the person who picked that color just being cute?

And how about the business majors, isn't their color drab?

Is that supposed to be a reflection on their future?

You know, a little cruel foreshadowing?

Shouldn't it be green, like money?

That person was probably trying to be cute, too.

I'm writing this column to this spring's graduating class. That may seem like an obvious statement, this being the graduation issue and all, but you can never be too careful. For the most part I am jealous of you - well most of you, some of you are probably in for a rude awakening.

We've all read columns by those freedom-hating, anti-American hippies who think that the war in Iraq is a big bust, but real Americans know that these colors don't run. We're going to stay in Iraq until we've accomplished what we went there to do. President Bush has set out a clear list of objectives and we will follow him to victory, because patriotism is about blind faith and unquestioning obedience to authority.

My first time through Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72" cannot fairly be classified as a reading. It was more like the first time you got a glimpse of pornographic material -- you don't really remember what you saw and you didn't exactly understand what you had just seen but it was pretty damn intoxicating and you couldn't believe something like that existed.

Would anyone know if I was naked under my gown?

Drinking in Bookworms was definitely a great way to end the year!

As a graduating senior, I'm glad that I finally had sex with my preschool crush over the
weekend. It wasn't worth the wait.

I will miss the person who picks the InstantDaily.

Every year, thousands of students graduate from the University of Connecticut, moving into the next phase of life. Most will move into the working world. A few might be going into the Peace Corps and some will continue their education to obtain that illustrious Master's degree.

1985 - The year of the video game. Nintendo launches its first gaming system and "Super Mario Brothers" comes out. The VH1 channel also begins broadcasting and is enormously successful. This was also the year that the mullet reached its peak as a popular haircut.

Music. Is there something that it cannot do? It can enhance an occasion, spark a memory or ease a moment, especially a moment like saying goodbye. As we say goodbye to the class of 2007, they say goodbye to this wonderful university, the good times and the bad (but hopefully more good).