There’s Something In These Hills….

As I’m sure that most of you Clemson faithful out there already know, Clemson recently received some great national recognition in the prestigious Princeton Review for many of the things that make it the special place that we all know and love.

To all of my Gamecock friends – I am not at all trying to start a Clemson/USC debate with this post, but if you take a look at the list you can at least see why all of us Clemson people living in Columbia speak so fondly of the place we went to school, the friendships we developed there, and the memories we have of it.

These are the categories in which Clemson is ranked and the ranking:

1 – Happiest Students

1 – Jock Schools (popularity of intercollegiate and intramural sports)

2 – Town-Gown Relations

6 – Best Quality of Life

7 – Best Athletic Facilities

7 – Students Pack the Stadiums (intercollegiate sports are popular)

8 – Best Career/Job Placement Services

8 – Everyone Plays Intramural Sports

20 – School Runs Like Butter (administration gets high marks)

The rankings in “The Best 368 Colleges Guide” are based on surveys of 120,000 students from the past two years.

Disc Golf

With all this great weather, I have been craving a late-night round of disc golf at Clemson. For those of you who know what I am talking about, check THIS out. Anybody up for a road trip with some Mac’s cheeseburgers and tea on the agenda as well?

You Know You Went To Clemson If….

For all of you Clemson people out there, I have revived solidorange.com! However, instead of the old message board format the new site is a blog about all of the things that make Clemson unique and special. Check it out and let me know if you have any ideas or additional content for the site!

The (FCA) Office

All you fans of The Office should check out this video introducing Clemson’s FCA leadership team. (Click here, or watch below.)

Mini-Reunion #2

Another Saturday of seeing old friends, thanks to Kevin and Andrea Krick! This weekend the crowd was a little older, and a lot larger. I dont know the official numbers, but there were at least 30 Clemson grads at the Krick’s lake house, not to mention the gazillion kids running around. Good times! Check out some pics here. There was good food, good catching up, even a throwback game of ultimate. (MVP awards go to Brad Loftis for running everyone else ragged) We tried out the wake surfing again, but were still only partially successful. Rob Allen got into the groove better than anyone, but the wake just wasnt pushing very hard. I think we probably need more weight in the boat…

Mini-Reunion

This weekend my friend Blackwell invited some of the old Clemson crowd to his family’s place on Lake Murray. The day started out rainy and cool, but turned out great later on! Of course we did the usual wakeboarding and skiing, but we also tried the newest thing on the lake – wake surfing! Its kinda like wakeboarding, but you use a regular surfboard and once you get up you get in front of the wake and let it push you instead of being pulled by the rope. You ride very close to the back of the boat, so you just toss the rope in once you dont need it anymore. Pretty cool to be riding around behind the boat on a surfboard with no rope or anything! Heres a video of someone else doing it. (we werent nearly this good) Maybe next time….

James Davis for Heisman?

With the growing success of the Clemson rushing attack, apparently James Davis is getting some attention as a Heisman candidate. He doesnt really have a shot to win it this year, but the PR is definitely good. Check it out and cast your vote here.

Homecoming!!

This Saturday was one of the best Clemson football Saturdays that I have ever experienced. Homecoming, ESPN’s College Gameday, a top-20 matchup with Georgia Tech, tons of good food, and of course many of my best friends in the world – it doesn’t get much better.

Homecoming 2006 Top 10

1. College Gameday – Huge PR for Clemson and the football program. “the best gameday crowd we’ve ever seen”
2. Man sized grill for tailgating – thanks, Gerrick
3. Beaufort stew – courtesy of Drew
4. Best new tailgating food – Alise’s white-chocolate oreo balls
5. Cornhole – even if I’m not very good
6. Great seats for the game with Jason, Will, and Whitley – thanks, Will
7. “Thunder and Lightning” – 2 of the most exciting players I have ever seen at Clemson
8. Vic Koenning and the Clemson Defense – Calvin Johnson, 0 catches. Enough said.
9. New friends – Sarah, Lauren Marie, and others
10. Old friends – love you guys, wouldnt be Clemson without you

What is Going On At Clemson?

If you havent heard about the controversy at Clemson surrounding the book “Truth and Beauty”, check this out:

http://www.solidorange.com/clemson.pdf

I was pretty shocked to read it. I am all for the freedom of speech and letting students be exposed to all different kinds of thoughts and ideas. After all, thats what college is all about- broadening your horizons and learning who you are and what you believe. However, is this really the very first thing we want students to see? Whether or not Clemson “officially” endorses the material in the book, the association of it being required reading for all incoming freshmen is substantial. I am disappointed in our leadership not admitting that there is an implied or assumed connection with what the university is all about. Any ideas what we can do about it?

Homecoming

In honor of Clemson’s homecoming this weekend and the week-long construction of the homecoming floats, I have reposted these. Enjoy!