The first semester has come and gone, and our students and staff are settling into the second semester. As always, our students and staff are working hard to maintain and exceed our Excellent with Distinction rating on the Ohio Department of Education report card.
Specifically, our staff is working on the new Academic Content Standards (known as the Common Core) that have been passed and adopted by 46 states.
Appearances at about 45 events (and counting) this academic year attest to the popularity of J. Denny Beaver, the Bluffton University mascot.
With that kind of demand, it has taken three Bluffton students to perform J. Denny's duties. Their identities were revealed at halftime of the men's basketball game on Feb. 8 during a "beheading" ceremony-the only time that college mascots traditionally remove their costume heads in public.
As a true football fan I was extremely entertained while watching the Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the New York football Giants. However, other than the game itself, the event was quite a let down.
By Mitchell Gatzke, Bluffton University student
Special sports columnist to The Icon
The Super Bowl this Sunday is sure to be nothing less than spectacular, as it is every year. The question everyone seems to have is who is going to ultimately win the championship?
As I see it there are two kinds of people in the world: 1 - Oatmeal lovers, 2 - The rest of the thundering herd.
As a member of group number one, it was with great pleasure that I learned Common Grounds is now serving the legendary grain.This means that after a very long hiatus you may once again eat breakfast in a downtown eatery in 45817.
By Mary Pannabecker Steiner
Ohio is experiencing yet another random January. Snow one day, rain the next; 10 degrees one day, 50 the next. And so it goes. Typical Ohio weather.
Every year, people comment on how strange this winter is and the usual contention is that it is all the result of global warming - which is no doubt true. Those of us who are at least 40 years old will swear that we had a LOT more snow in our childhoods than our children have ever seen.
