Ben Perdue

Spring Formal

2009-04-16T09:27:00.000-04:00

Formal is coming up in a few weeks, and everyone is starting to get excited about it now. Formal is the biggest social event at Gardner-Webb all year, aside from the infamous pancake dinner during exams. There is always a specific theme to the event, and the rumor is this year that it will be a masquerade themed event. Though classes are getting harder as the semester comes to a close, everyone is looking forward to this fun weekend.

Easter Break

2009-04-16T09:26:00.000-04:00

Gardner-Webb students have just returned from our second major break of the spring, Easter Break. We left school last Wednesday after classes and returned yesterday in time for classes starting today. A lot of people from school went on family trips or to the beach, but I decided that I just wanted to relax at my house for the break, and it did not disappoint. We are now on the last leg of our semester with only three weeks until exams, and I’m sure they will end up being the toughest weeks of the year.

Senior Year

2009-04-16T09:24:00.000-04:00

This year is coming to an end, and I’ve realized now that I will be a senior next year! We registered for classes this past week and it looks as if I will be graduating on time next May with my degree in Religious Studies and a minor in Communications. Hopefully, next year doesn’t go quite as fast as this past year has gone, because as much as I’m looking forward to getting out into the real world, college is a blast and I want to enjoy every minute of it.

March Madness

2009-03-18T13:28:00.001-04:00

Though our basketball teams are both done for the season, March Madness is still a huge deal for many basketball fans at Gardner-Webb. My hall mates and I are planning to do a bracket challenge to see who can pick the most winners out of the 64 total teams. This has been a ritual for the past three years, and this year is no different.

Spring Break

2009-03-18T13:26:00.001-04:00

Spring Break has just officially ended, and everyone is headed back to class tomorrow. Over the break, I had the opportunity to travel to Florida with two of my friends to spend some time at the beach and also see some Spring Training baseball games. We had time to see three games, including the Yankees vs. Tigers, Reds vs. Phillies, and Braves vs. Phillies. The trip has been something I’ve wanted to do for a while now, and I was glad to be able to do it this break. The weather was perfect down there and it was all in all a great, stress free spring break!

Mission Trips

2009-03-18T13:24:00.001-04:00

Spring Break is coming up next week, and everyone is certainly ready for the break. There are several mission teams going out from our school, including a group to San Diego and to Guatemala. These trips are a great opportunity for students to get connected worldwide and to improve the lives of many in some unique places. Campus Ministries United sponsors these trips, and anyone is eligible to go on them. I had the privilege to travel to Ecuador two years ago to an orphanage into the capitol, Quito. It was a great trip and I hope to go on another one before I graduate next year.

Basketball

2009-03-18T13:22:00.001-04:00

Gardner-Webb Men’s basketball has unfortunately come to a close again, but it didn’t finish bad. The team closed the regular season on a good note with a few good wins, and entered the Big South tournament with a decent seed. Unfortunately, we lost a close game to Liberty in the first round and our team was done for the year. We are looking forward to a good season next year, even though we lost two seniors. We’ll have to see how things go, but for the time being, we’ll have to wait until next year!

Moss Lake

2009-02-16T12:50:00.001-05:00

This past weekend several friends and I left school and headed about 30 minutes down the road past Shelby to our friends house on Moss Lake. Our plans were to hang out with his family for a few hours and have some supper, then pack up all of our camping gear and take his canoe and two kayaks out to an island in the middle of the lake to camp for the night. We had a great time getting out into the wild, even though we were visited in the night by a possum (we still haven’t figured out how he got to the island). Our fire managed to keep him away for the most part for the rest of the night while we sat around and caught up with our friend who had been in China last semester studying abroad. Moss lake is a great getaway for us, and I can’t wait to spend more time there as the summer comes.

Hammock Time

2009-02-16T12:47:00.002-05:00

This past week was particularly different in that we had 70 degree weather every day, in the middle of February! Needless to say, the quad here at Gardner-Webb was teeming with life and gave a nice introduction of what is to come in the spring months. Several friends on campus and I would take advantage of the beautiful weather by setting up hammocks by Lake Hollifield here on campus. There is nothing like relaxing in the sun in one of those hammocks. Hopefully, this warm weather doesn’t stay away too long!

GWU Basketball at it's Best!

2009-02-09T15:01:00.000-05:00

Last week the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs Men’s basketball team took on the conference rival Liberty Flames, and what a game it turned out to be! Throughout the game, GWU led by around five to ten points, yet the flames came back at the end of the game and were up by four with almost no time left. But in true GWU fashion, we were able to match a four-point deficit with twelve seconds left. We went into two overtime periods and ultimately came out with the victory. Paul Porter arena was going wild as Gardner-Webb walked out with its most impressive win of the season!

Weekend in Alabama

2009-02-09T14:59:00.000-05:00

This past weekend several friends and I took a road trip down to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to visit a friend that goes to school at the University of Alabama. The drive down took around 5 ½ hours, and we arrived just in time for a night out in Alabama’s premier college town. Later in the weekend, we were able to see a concert at a local venue that featured Corey Smith, a popular folk/country artist amongst college students throughout the southeast. The weekend was a blast, and it was good to reunite with old friends for awhile; I’m definitely looking forward to making the trip again sometime in the future.

Basketball!

2009-01-27T15:21:00.001-05:00

Conference basketball for Gardner-Webb is starting up this semester, and it should be another great year for our Runnin’ Bulldogs. Students are looking forward to the home games we have for this season, two of which have already been played. We lost to UNC-Asheville early in the semester, but manhandled Coastal Carolina just last week. It should prove to be another great season of men’s basketball. Intramural basketball is also in full swing now, and our first game is this Wednesday. Our team, L3, is going to have a great year judging by our line-up. More than anything, it is just fun to compete with other teams in the league, but we hope to take home the bragging rights this season.

Christmas Vacation

2009-01-27T15:18:00.002-05:00

We’re back at Gardner-Webb after break now for another spring semester in Boiling Springs. It’s good to be back and see familiar faces, but I can say that after this Christmas break, I was reluctant to leave carefree life and get back to the daily grind of classes and work. On the day after exams some friends and I headed to Charleston to embark on a seven day cruise to the Bahamas. I can honestly say it was the most fun vacation I have ever had. The combination of great weather, delicious food, the islands, and fun people made it an unforgettable trip. It was definitely weird getting back to real life back in the U.S., but it was nice to see family and friends from home. Being home for the holidays is always refreshing and this time around didn’t disappoint. After New Years had come and gone, some of my hall mates and I spent a week at a cabin in the mountains for one last hoorah before classes started. It was a great end to a great break. Now we’re all back at GWU, and it’s looking to be a great semester so far!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-04T09:13:00.002-05:00

This Thanksgiving Break was definitely the most refreshing one that I’ve had since being in college. The reason for this is because this semester may be the hardest one I’ve had since being in college, and being able to get away from all the academic demands and what-not and just relax with family and friends without worries. My parents and sister and I traveled to Charlotte on Thanksgiving day to my aunts for some family celebration and feasting. The eating all started here and didn’t end until I left. We had so much food left over that we were eating leftovers for three days at my house. Being back at school is great though, and I was glad to see everyone on Sunday night as we all returned to campus. This week has been a rough one as far as workload, but tomorrow is Friday, and it’s the LAST DAY OF CLASS! It can’t come soon enough.

Weekend Plans...

2008-11-21T09:52:00.000-05:00

This weekend, some friends and I are heading to Winston-Salem to stay with a friend and his family, and we are all very much looking forward to the relaxing weekend ahead of us. So far, we’ve planned to go to the Boston College vs. Wake Forrest football game on Saturday evening with tailgating before, playing paddle tennis Friday and Saturday night (a sport about which I’ve never heard of, but my friend tells me it’s a great time. Supposedly it is a small form of tennis but played on a smaller court, almost like racquetball), and also a round of golf on Sunday morning/afternoon. We are looking forward to this last weekend before Thanksgiving Break, which is right around the corner!

Another Week Goes By…

2008-11-21T09:50:00.000-05:00

It’s been another week here at Gardner-Webb, and it seems like it just began. The workload has been nothing short of insane and its been a struggle to get it all done, but perseverance paid off and Friday is only hours away! GWU Runnin’ Bulldog Football has officially ended after our tough loss to Liberty last weekend. After reading the article in the school paper entitled The Pilot, it seems our team played very well but was just not able to move past Liberty’s strong team. Intramural sports has made another shift from indoor volleyball to 3 on 3 basketball. Following this, our hall is looking forward to regular 5 on 5 basketball. Other than that, Gardner-Webb has been the normal University we all know and love.

Intramural Volleyball

2008-11-14T09:51:00.001-05:00

It’s time again for yet another intramural sport here at Gardner-Webb, and this time around it’s indoor volleyball. I’ve not participated in this so far in my two plus years here at GWU, but so far it has been a blast. Some friends and I did play beach volleyball earlier this semester, but the difference between the two is far greater than you might think. Indoor has been pretty intense so far, especially after playing the closest game of the season last night. Queens Boulevard, which is our team name, played another team made up of people who always put up a great fight in any sport and who also have a reputation of going undefeated in volleyball seasons. Queens Boulevard won the first game 26-24, but we lost the second 13-25. It all came down to the last game, and because we lost our best player after the first game of the match, we were shorthanded just enough so that the opposing team beat us 23-25. We played our hearts out however, and we are definitely looking forward to the playoff tournament later this semester.

BOND

2008-11-14T09:36:00.001-05:00

As this semester is coming to a close fast, many students are getting bogged down with intense amounts of work with classes and extra-curricular activities around campus. Because of this, students are always looking for relaxation and fun on the weekends to take their minds off of the hectic part of college life. This weekend, the new “James Bond: Quantum of Solace” movie will be released, and a huge group of students on campus will be flooding the theatres in Shelby and Gaffney to see the movie. It should be a great “BONDing” experience for me and my friends this weekend!

Election Day!

2008-11-11T14:50:00.000-05:00

Today is the day when people all across America cast their votes for the position of President of the United States. This is many college students’ first time voting in a major election, and I’m sure that I speak for most in saying that the decision we’ve all made in the past week or so has been one of the most important ones of our lives thus far. In this time of economic strain, struggles with foreign policy, and many other areas, it’s hard to pick a leader that you think will be best suited to handle all of these obstacles on his own. This evening will reveal the winner of the Presidential election, and it will undoubtedly be one of the most historic events ever in the lives of young adults throughout America.

A Great Weekend

2008-11-11T14:46:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, some friends and I spent some time in the greater Asheville area with my roommate who lives there. On Saturday, we decided to play a round of golf at a local course named Crooked Creek. We had a blast walking those 18 holes that afternoon. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining, everyone was playing extremely well, and we were all glad to take a break from school and the heavy workload we’ve all found ourselves with. It was very relaxing, and yet tiring at the same time. Walking 18 holes of golf is no easy task. I wish I could say that I beat my friends, but the truth is that I came in third amongst our foursome. I was pleased with my play, however, and it was good to see my friends all have such a great time. I look forward to doing it again sometime. Until then, I’ll have to settle for the bronze in hopes of taking the win next time around!

Flag Football…Elimination

2008-11-03T09:25:00.000-05:00

Last night, our hall flag football team lost in the second round of the playoffs. We were simply outplayed form the beginning. It’s sad to see the season end like that, but at least we made the playoffs. The final score was a whopping 36-6, and the better team most certainly won. Next on the intramural list for L3 is a hall basketball team. Basketball, I would ague, is as popular an intramural sport amongst the guys living on our hall. The only problem lies in that we have over ten players on our team, and everyone is more than capable of playing. Regardless, the season is approaching fast, and we need to practice as soon as possible. Hopefully our team can become “Top Dawg” for winning every game this year. We at least have to beat someone’s team.

Halloween

2008-11-03T09:23:00.003-05:00

It’s Halloween tomorrow, and people around campus are making their plans to get yet another year of trick or treating in, to go to the many different costume parties, and anything else that can be found around Gardner-Webb. The weather will be perfect for all the festivities happening. On Saturday night, I will be attending the annual costume contest/party at the Community Discipleship Home (CDH) with most people from school. CDH is a program set up through Broad River Community Church that allows college students or recent graduates to come live together in a house for a year and become involved in the community of Boiling Springs. Every year, they host a party where over 100 students come out and participate in the costume contest. It’s looking to be a great time.

2008-10-23T16:31:00.001-04:00

For all students looking at Gardner-Webb as a college choice in the coming years, let me plug for a second about the Broyhill Adventure Course. The BAC is one of the more popular areas on campus where students seek recreation. Hidden on the backside of campus, the adventure course towers above the trees, challenging all those who dare to ascend the Tower or the Climbing Wall. The best part about the BAC, however, is the fact that it houses one of Gardner-Webb’s PE classes. Every semester, students rush to get registered for ATC (Alpine Tower Challenge) because it provides students with challenges and a rush that no other PE class on campus can offer. I am currently in the class right now, and I can honestly say that it has been the most fun class I’ve taken at Gardner-Webb. We have learned the techniques of belaying our fellow classmates, proper safety measures to take when using the Tower or the Wall, and how to stretch ourselves and trust each other through teamwork. It is a great opportunity for all GWU Students and those in the community for extremely fun and not-so-normal recreation.

Visit the Adventure course online at:
http://www.gardner-webb.edu/student_life/student-activities/bac/facilities/highropes.html

Homecoming Week

2008-10-23T16:29:00.001-04:00

Homecoming week is always a blast and is something students look forward to all year. Besides all the hype for the football game, which this year is against VMI, there are many other activities going on around campus. Most of the festivities begin on Thursday evening, starting with the Bulldog Madness. Bulldog Madness is basically the kick-off of the GWU Basketball season. Both men’s and women’s teams are introduced, and there is also a game between the faculty/staff and the Harlem Wizards. This years Bulldog Madness should be very entertaining! On Friday, students can go out and watch the Powderpuff Football game between the girls of Northside and the girls of Southside. Afterward the majority of campus usually goes out and rolls the quad in the middle of the night, which is a great Gardner-Webb tradition. Saturday has many activities as well. A paintball tournament will be held on one of the intramural fields in the morning, and the homecoming parade will also take place through the streets of Boiling Springs. Following the game, the Homecoming dance will be held. This year’s homecoming weekend is looking to be very entertaining, and I can’t wait for it to get here!

School Breaks

2008-10-23T09:27:00.001-04:00

Fall break has just come to an end and I wish it could’ve been a week longer! Two of my friends and I went to Myrtle Beach for the break and had a blast. The weather was great and it was just an all around relaxing vacation. We watched August Rush (which is a GREAT movie for all those who haven’t seen it) and a lot of postseason baseball. Unfortunately, the Red Sox didn’t do quite as well as I’d hoped, but there’s still time for them to turn it around. We also got a lot of sleeping done, along with several blackjack tournaments. Aside from all this, we also had plenty of time at the beach which made the trip all the more fun.

The next break we have is at Thanksgiving, and though I don’t have plans for it yet, I’m sure of one thing—it can’t come soon enough!

Broad River Coffee Shop

2008-10-10T16:08:00.001-04:00

Last night was another Open Mic Night at the Broad River Coffee Shop, and it didn’t disappoint. There is a group that plays every Wednesday comprised of several of my friends, and I had the pleasure of playing the mandolin with them on their opening song, “Wagon Wheel” by Old Crow Medicine Show. Before the song started, two GWU professors who invest a lot of time and effort into making Open Mic Night a big event were presented an award by two students last night for their hard work and dedication to providing students with a fun atmosphere at the Coffee Shop. Hopefully next week I’ll have the time to play and sing some with this group again.

All over campus for the past two weeks, classes have begun to take a toll on students because of midterms. Luckily, fall break begins tomorrow and we will all have time to recharge and catch up on work for the semester. My roommate and I and another friend are going to the beach for the next five days, so it should be a pretty relaxing break!

L3

2008-10-10T16:07:00.001-04:00

One of the biggest extra-curricular activities of the fall semester at Gardner-Webb for students is Intramural Flag Football season. People all over campus, both guys and girls, come together and form about 15-20 teams that compete on the field for the ultimate prize: being recognized as a “Top Dawg.” Though this may sound silly, this is a big deal for a lot of students in Intramurals here at GWU, and its not just with football. Basketball, volleyball, soccer, dodgeball; all sports share this common prize.

Our team this year is the best it’s been in my three years at Gardner-Webb. Our name is “L3” after the name of our hall (Lutz-Yelton 3rd floor). My hall mates and I have played four games so far, and we have only lost once in a very close game. The regular season will be ending soon, and the playoffs will bring even more intense games and rivalries. Our next game is tonight against a very good team. It will be interesting to see how the game turns out!

Starmax Bowling

2008-09-23T12:07:00.001-04:00

The other day four of my friends and I went to Starmax bowling alley down the road in Gaffney for the Gardner-Webb sponsored bowling night. All students were able to bowl all night and eat unlimited pizza for only two dollars. We bowled for four hours and ate as much pizza as we could get our hands on. This is just one of the many great Gardner-Webb experiences that are put on to give the students the best experience possible.

Open Mic

2008-09-23T12:05:00.000-04:00

Wednesday’s are always a great night in Boiling Springs, mainly because of Open Mic Night at the Broad River Coffee Shop. For the past two years my roommate has played almost every Wednesday night, and for the majority of that time he has tried to convince me to play a set with him. Up until this week, I’ve never taken him up on the offer, but something came over me and I did my first set in the coffee shop. It turned out great and I’m definitely looking forward to doing it again soon.