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At Chatham University, the inclusion of all students is a top priority. One way this is accomplished is through a student organization in which people of various spiritual beliefs can gather to discuss their views. The All Faith Gathering has gained momentum in the past year and continues to positively impact the lives of Chatham students by encouraging diversity, acceptance and tolerance.

Each Thursday afternoon, students gather in a small room below the campus chapel. Meetings begin with a drum circle, with each guest listening to the sounds around them in order to sync up and create harmony. This is often followed by a discussion question that gets students’ minds flowing with spiritual thoughts and theories, making for interesting conversations throughout the gathering. The rest of the hour usually consists of either a spiritual discussion or a guest speaker who teaches the group about their religion or special belief system.

Although the average attendance to Chatham’s All Faith Gathering may be considered small, it is a tight-knit group that has formed close bonds of trust between its members. Most choose to live in the All Faith Living Learning Community in Woodland Hall, helping us to grow even closer together. As a living learning community, first-year students residing there with an interest in faith are encouraged to attend the gatherings.

Holding a gathering for students of various beliefs would be a good addition to any university campus: All it really takes is a few committed students, creativity and a sponsor. There are no set rules for how to hold a gathering and anything goes as long as respect is kept between members. By providing students with a place to be completely open, they can feel more comfortable being themselves regardless of their spirituality...or even their lack thereof.

Melissa Garrett is a sophomore at Chatham University majoring in creative writing with minors in music and business. She works as a resident assistant and is currently in the process of self-publishing several of her books. She also serves as the president of Chatham’s LGBT organization and enjoys political activism. Melissa’s ultimate goal is to become a college professor herself.

As we all know, it’s tough living a healthy lifestyle at college but according to USA Today College, doing so can lead to a higher GPA! Here are a few tips from me to help you live a little healthier while attending college:

• Earn It. Sometimes, the best way to relax and forget about a hectic day is by watching TV but don’t go overboard and become a couch potato. Watching too much TV or spending too much time online can lead to procrastination so tell yourself that you have to earn an hour of TV or 20 minutes on Facebook. Just finished a paper for your English class? Awesome! Enjoy an episode of Homeland...because you’ve earned it.
• Get Moving. Working out is the best thing you can do for your body and mind. According to the Mayo Clinic, frequently hitting the gym reduces stress, fatigue, helps your overall health and, eventually, you’ll look damn good in a bathing suit. Before the upcoming semester, buy a calendar and schedule work out days. Instead of exercising alone, go to fitness classes or enlist your roommate as a workout buddy to stay dedicated.
• Find Alternatives. We all get hungry after a night of college activities but avoid eating a cheeseburger, hotdog, pizza or burrito; instead, enjoy a bowl of popcorn or veggies and dip. Buying healthy alternatives specifically for late-night munching helps me stay on track. I’ve already spent the money on these items at the grocery store, so why waste it?
• Count Sheep. Regularly getting seven to nine hours of sleep improves concentration and memory and decreases hunger, fatigue and irritability. Create a sleep schedule that includes when you’ll go to sleep and when you’ll wake up. It’s hard for me to relax and fall asleep so I created a routine that tells my brain and body it’s time to relax. I wash up, light a candle with a relaxing scent, dim the lights and read a book. Within 30 minute, I’m fully relaxed and ready for bed.

Do you have any tips and tricks for a healthy college lifestyle?

Carly Gerber is majoring in journalism at Columbia College Chicago. She loves fashion and hopes to cover the topic for a Chicago-area magazine. In her free time, she focuses on her blog, loves making jewelry and spending time on Pinterest and Pose. She hopes to use this blog to guide and relate to its followers: college students like herself!

Freshman year of college can be scary but falling for college myths can fuel the flame of this fear.

I remember myths about my school: It was haunted, college seniors were going to somehow prank the freshmen, and walking under the school’s clock tower would make you fail your classes. The rumors felt overwhelming at first but then I decided to put one of those myths to the test, starting with the clock tower. One day, I darted under it. The stained glass windows looked phenomenal from the inside and I thought, “How can something so beautiful be treated like a curse?” Days after my investigation, my grades were fine. As for the other myths that I heard about UIW, they were just the same: The school wasn’t haunted and the college seniors never did prank the freshmen. Even though I was high on guard, they were all false.

The sad part about all this is that many college students will scare freshmen with myths and completely omit the good things about college like events, socials, etc. So how can you tell what’s real or myth in college? First, if you hear about something and it concerns you, ask an advisor or professor about it. (Professors/advisors know more about the school than the student body.) Second, listen to how the subject is brought up and ask yourself, “Are they joking?” or “Do they sound serious?” Finally, listen to yourself. Do you take their word for it or yours? Only you can determine what’s real and what’s myth regarding your college.

Veronica Gonzalez is a rising junior at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. Her current major is English and she plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in this field. She served as the vice president of the UIW chapter of Alpha Lambda Delta from 2012 to 2013 and she returns as a junior delegate in the fall of 2013. Her dreams are to publish novels and possibly go into teaching in the field of English.

"I need to take all of my stuffed animals with me!"

"'Cause I’ll need them!

This was an actual conversation I had with my friend when I was packing for my freshman year of college. I was absolutely convinced that I would decorate my bed with the stuffed animals I had collected since childhood; after my first few days at school, however, they were shoved in bins under my bed to make room for my new friends to hang out.

Dorm rooms are always smaller than you anticipate. Your storage space is tiny, especially when you’re sharing one room with two to three other students, and bringing unnecessary knickknacks along becomes a hassle. Entering college can be frightening because you’re leaving so much behind and starting a whole new chapter of your life but remember, you’re going to be making memories along the way.

When packing memorabilia, keep it simple and sweet: one or two things you absolutely can’t leave home without. Most students don’t move out of their family homes permanently when leaving for college so leave the family scrapbooks and little league trophies at home. Look forward to the stuff you’re likely to collect along your journey through college. Look forward to the change of lifestyle when you move away from home. But mainly look forward to the change you’ll grow into as you become a better version of yourself.

Nowadays, my bed at school is decorated with one stuffed animal: my school mascot. As for the rest of my cuddly companions? They’re at home whenever I need to visit them.

Abby Egan is currently a junior at MCLA in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, where she is an English Communications major with a concentration in writing and a minor in philosophy. Abby hopes to find work at a publishing company after college and someday publish some of her own work. In her spare time, Abby likes to drink copious amounts of coffee, spend all her money on adorable shoes and blog into the wee hours of the night.

Whether you’ve known your soon-to-be roommate for years or have never met before, there will be ups and downs to living with another person. Here are my helpful tips on setting up a positive roommate relationship and what to do if you and your roommate aren’t hitting it off.

• Find the right match. Your university may set up a Facebook page dedicated to helping students find roommates or the college has a system in place that sets you up with someone. Both systems allow you to list your personality traits and your interests to match you with an ideal roommate...but this is NOT the time to write down characteristics you hope to have one day because you’ll be linked with someone who doesn’t fit your natural traits. Be true about the person you are and you’ll find someone who is a great match.
• Speak up. Your dorm room or apartment should feel just like home so if you feel uncomfortable about something your roommate is doing, speak up right away or refer to your roommate contract. I regret the times I didn’t speak up rather than the times I did: Nothing changed when I didn’t tell my roommate my feelings and the frustration stayed with me.
• From BFF to archenemy. This can happen to two randomly selected students or two people who were once best friends at summer camp. Trust me, I’ve seen it! If you and your roommate have certain issues that can’t be resolved, then you have to decide if you can live with the person or if it’s best you end your living situation. Many universities allow you to switch roommates and some students get lucky enough to live in a dorm room alone!

Good luck in your roommate search but don’t sweat it if you and your roommate don’t get along. We all want the roommate who will become our best friend for life but many times, that doesn’t happen. Surround yourself with people who accept you and who you get along with.

Carly Gerber is majoring in journalism at Columbia College Chicago. She loves fashion and hopes to cover the topic for a Chicago-area magazine. In her free time, she focuses on her blog, loves making jewelry and spending time on Pinterest and Pose. She hopes to use this blog to guide and relate to its followers: college students like herself!

For me, there’s nothing like the feeling of driving around my hometown and getting flashbacks of good memories with my friends and family. There is nothing that can replace the familiarity of your childhood home but it’s important to make your dorm/apartment and your campus your second home. Here are a few things I did with my college living space to feel more like home:

• Display photos. Whenever I’m having a not-so-great day, looking at photos of my loved ones or of a photo that has a good memory linked to it will put me in a better mood. I put photos all over my apartment to make it feel more like home.
• Play up your interests. I love candles so it was annoying freshman year when I couldn’t light any of them. (Thank you, Glade PlugIns!) Now that I live off campus, I always decorate with candles – they make my room feel more cozy and welcoming. I also recommend decorating with things that interest you: If you’re a music junkie, decorate your walls with posters of your favorite bands and if you love fashion, tear pictures from magazines and make a cool collage.
• Accept what you can’t change. I remember hearing my roommate complain that the dorm room was way too small and it made her miss her big room, big closet and big house. I know many of us don’t have the luxury of big beds and big closets but my point is that college living is going to be different than living at home. The rooms will be smaller, the beds will be narrower and you’ll be living in close quarters with someone you may barely know. If you can’t change it, embrace it – you’ll usually be better off for it!

Carly Gerber is majoring in journalism at Columbia College Chicago. She loves fashion and hopes to cover the topic for a Chicago-area magazine. In her free time, she focuses on her blog, loves making jewelry and spending time on Pinterest and Pose. She hopes to use this blog to guide and relate to its followers: college students like herself!

On the way to college: "Okay, the car is packed. I can’t see out the back window but everything fit – barely. I wonder how I’ll fit it all in my dorm room..."
Unpacking at college: "What do you MEAN I only get one closet?!"
All unpacked: "I guess I’ll just send half of this stuff home with my parents because there’s no more room for it."

Dorm rooms are notorious for being the size of a closet – think Harry-Potter-Cupboard-Under-the-Stairs small – but you can do some magic of your own when it comes to organization. Most dorm rooms come with a closet/dresser, a few extra drawers and a desk for storage. The best trick to making space is by utilizing the space under your bed: Though it can be disconcerting to have your bed so high – I’d suggest getting a stepstool if the height is a problem for you – it’s the easiest way to free up space. Plastic drawers, bins or boxes can be used as under bed storage, plus most colleges have beds that can be adjusted high enough to slide at least one piece of furniture under. The more you fit under your bed, the more floor space you’re going to have.

Thank goodness we live in the 21st century where stores are stocked with aisles of nifty little storage contraptions for dorm rooms. There are amazing storage products out there for students like us – shoe holders that hang on the back of your door, accordion shelves that hang from your closet pole and bed risers to give you even more height than the school bed can reach – so take advantage of these opportunities to create more space. Freeing up even a few square feet can really make the difference between feeling claustrophobic and feeling comfortable in your own space.

Abby Egan is currently a junior at MCLA in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, where she is an English Communications major with a concentration in writing and a minor in philosophy. Abby hopes to find work at a publishing company after college and someday publish some of her own work. In her spare time, Abby likes to drink copious amounts of coffee, spend all her money on adorable shoes and blog into the wee hours of the night.

When I started living at school, it became very clear to me that there are certain things that you absolutely need in the residence halls. Every person is different but the three main items that I found were impossible to live without were a fan, a surge bar and a hidden stash of cash. Here's why:

• Fan: The September heat is killer in dorms without AC, plus cramped rooms can get stuffy from stale air after a while. A fan will get things moving so your room doesn’t begin to take on the smell of your overflowing laundry basket of dirty clothes.
• Surge Bar: If you're anything like me, you own tons of electronic technology that need to be charged/plugged in/juiced up on the daily. Many schools (mine included) don't allow the use of extension cords because of the fire/tripping hazards so surge bars are a great alternative. Grab some extra-long ones to keep your room hazard-free and avoid arguments with your roommate when it comes to sharing the outlets.
• Secret Cash Stash: Money is a foreign concept to most college students because they have such a hard time keeping any in their pockets between loans, bills and late night pizza orders. At the beginning of each year, take the time to find a safe hiding spot in your room to stash a little emergency cash. If your room comes with a safe or a lockable drawer, put the cash in there where it won’t be easily accessible...though rolled up in a pair of socks in the back of your dresser is just as safe. You may trust your friends but keep the location of your stash a secret just to be on the safe side. You never know when you may need it!

What are YOUR dorm must-haves?

Abby Egan is currently a junior at MCLA in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, where she is an English Communications major with a concentration in writing and a minor in philosophy. Abby hopes to find work at a publishing company after college and someday publish some of her own work. In her spare time, Abby likes to drink copious amounts of coffee, spend all her money on adorable shoes and blog into the wee hours of the night.

It’s agonizing to suddenly relinquish a free and easy summer schedule to the clutches of the college schedule...but what happens when your weeks in school are just as free they are over break?

You may end up with a situation a lot of college students dream of: a surplus of free time. This happened to me during my freshman year, as I had a pretty open class schedule, a weekends-only job and didn’t join any clubs. I ended up bored to death nearly every day! But I didn’t realize that the extra time was an advantage that not only gave me a chance for homework but time to focus on personal goals. If you find yourself in this situation, here are a few tips as to how to best spend your time:

• Perhaps there’s a hobby you’ve been meaning to take up – go for it! I picked up my guitar again during my freshman year and taught myself some new skills with all my free time.
• You can stave off the dreaded freshman 15 with those extra minutes in the day. Start working out or, if you already do, try something new and more challenging to keep it interesting.
• Spend time exploring your campus or the town around it. It’s always nice to know your way around and maybe you’ll even find a great new restaurant or hangout!
• Get involved on campus - clubs are welcoming even if you join late! I got involved in theatre during my second semester and I wasn’t the only new person. If there isn’t a club that interests you, now’s your chance to start one!

However you choose to spend your extra time, make sure you enjoy yourself. Having time to yourself while in college is a rarity and you may not have such an opportunity in later semesters. College is about exploring and learning...not being bored because there’s nothing to do. So get out there and make use of your time – you won’t regret it!

Mary Steffenhagen is a junior at Concordia University of Wisconsin who is majoring in English with a minor in business. She hopes to break into the publishing field after graduation, writing and editing to promote the spread of reliable information and quality literature; she is driven to use her skills to make a positive impact wherever she is placed. Mary spends much of her time making and drinking coffee, biking and reading dusty old books. In an alternate universe, she would be a glassblower.

Have you ever encountered a situation where superhuman strength would have come in handy? Sure, who hasn’t? Well, thanks to four engineering students from the University of Pennsylvania, it seems as though comic book-like brawn may soon become a reality.

The Titan Arm was designed to help ordinary individuals undergoing physical rehabilitation or those who would benefit from a little extra muscle. The upper-body exoskeleton is essentially a battery-powered arm brace attached to a backpack that would provide the wearer with the ability to carry an additional 40 pounds. The students – Nick Parrotta, Elizabeth Beattie, Nick McGill and Niko Vladimirov – have already won at least $75,000 in prize money for their design. "There is certainly a market, but it's slowly emerging because the systems are not perfect as yet," said Paolo Bonato, director of the Motion Analysis Lab at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. With that in mind, the Titan Arm team hopes to refine their prototype, considering different control strategies, more innovative materials and manufacturing. (For more on this story, click here.)

Do you think the Titan Arm has the potential to change lives for the better? Let us know in the comments section.