I’ve been toying with the idea of my “final column” for several weeks, and it seems that there are just too many things I want to say that will never make it into this 600-word space. So, for those purposes, I guess it will be best if I just start at the beginning.

In August, over-eager to get a start on Volume 69 of The Knight, I pinned a black and white calendar to the wall next to my desk in our tiny little office on the corner of Seventh and Peach streets.

As I stare at that very same calendar today contemplating how to write all the things I want to say, it’s hitting me harder than ever just how quickly the time has gone.

It feels like just yesterday that I was planning for this year, ready to get started on Issue 1. Now, with No. 24 in the hands of readers, my time at The Knight is done.

I keep thinking I should have taken better notes along the way – entertained more of a photographic memory – because I probably won’t have another opportunity like this again in my life.

But as I reflect, I can happily say that the memories swirling in my head at this moment are all good ones.

I am so proud and thankful of the staff this year for working hard and putting out a good product week after week. They all are so incredible, and they wholly deserve the first-place award that The Knight was granted this year in the American Scholastic Newspaper Association’s annual contest.

Congratulate the staff if you see any of them around campus this week – they deserve it.

But regardless of awards, and even hard work, I feel it completely necessary to say that this staff has become a sort of family to me.

While I’m thrilled with the prospect of my future endeavors, I’m also sufficiently uneasy about letting go of something that has taken up so much of my life this past year. My actual family can testify – I’ve spent more time with the Knight staff than I have with them.

And I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

We’re all different, but we all work hard and enjoy each other’s company. It’s not always like that in the newsroom, from what I’ve heard, and I’m so glad that we were able to make this year just as much fun as it was productive.

For me, that’s half of what college is all about. And we achieved it.

I’m going to miss walking into the office and eyeing up the Quote Wall for new additions, catching a staff member snoozing on the most comfortable couch known to man, and listening to “The Price is Right” in the background as I munch on my sandwich from Knight’s Cove.

Heck, I’m even going to miss the torturous Friday morning critique meetings, which, contrary to what I wrote in a previous column, are absolutely my favorite part of every week.

Most of all, I’m going to miss the feeling that this is exactly where I’m supposed to be; exactly what I should be doing with my life at this point.

If anything, all I can hope for in the coming years is that the feeling finds me there, too.

KELLY MORELAND

moreland002@knights.gannon.edu

If most of you are like me, you have not even begun to pack your stuff to take home yet, but you’ve thought about it several times. It’s one of the easiest things in the world to put off.

First, if you don’t have the necessary luggage, you’re not going anywhere. But after that, so many things could go wrong if you start packing before the absolute last minute.

For instance, what if you pack something and then a few days later, you need i? Then if you don’t remember where you packed it, you have to unpack everything and dig through it to find it again.

This brings me to my next problem of packing: procrastinating and making excuses. I have a tendency to do this more than I would like to admit. The last minute and I are very well acquainted with each other.

I even have a shirt that reads “Procrastinators Unite Tomorrow.” I also enjoy getting off-topic.

Anyway, another reason I really don’t want to begin packing all of my things is that I really don’t like moving my stuff.

OK, maybe it’s not as much work as I’m making it out to be, but in my head, it really seems like a lot of work. I think about all of the things that I need to pack up and take home only to unpack everything. The thought of all the work I have to do makes me not want to do it.

There are several other things that I could be doing that I’d rather do. For example, anything else sounds good.

Despite this, packing early can only be beneficial to someone. So here are some ways to motivate you to begin packing.

Starting with the obvious, there won’t be as much to pack once you go to leave during finals week. Even if you just pack in small increments, the amount of things you have to pack an hour before you go home will be significantly smaller.

Besides, this may also be the way you unpack things once you get home: in small increments as each thing needs to be unpacked.

If that’s not a good enough motivator, this may be. Try playing a game of “find stuff I really don’t need and throw it away.” The title doesn’t really need an explanation.

Once you’re done playing this game, there will be less things that need to be packed, therefore less that need to be unpacked.

One last thing that may help you become more motivated to pack your stuff is to try and study for finals. If you’re a huge procrastinator like me, you’d probably rather pack than study for something that may be important.

Now you may say that this is horrible advice, but I disagree. Because after you’re done packing, then you really can’t use packing as an excuse anymore.

Even better, once you finish packing, you’ll feel so accomplished and productive, that the motivation to study will be so overwhelming, you’ll have to do it.

Hopefully these tips will help you, and me, become more motivated into packing things to take home. Only time will tell.

KHADIJA DJELLOULI

djelloul001@knights.gannon.edu

The Knight will be saying goodbye to four extraordinary people, who have been the cornerstone of this year’s hard work.

As The Gannon Knight bids its seniors farewell, it also welcomes the new members of its staff for 2013-2014.

The Knight will be led by Editor-in-Chief, Hiba Almasri, who currently serves as Assistant News Editor.

Her position will be filled by Michael Haas, who has served as a staff writer for the section. Meanwhile, Colleen Langham, who currently serves as the Roundtable Editor, will be serving as The Knight’s News Editor.

Khadjia Djellouli will continue working as Arts & Leisure Editor for another artistic year of theater, concerts and arts. Sammie Janik will be joining our staff as the Arts & Leisure Assistant– replacing April Shernisky.

Shernisky will be moving up the ladder to become the Features Editor for The Knight.

Meanwhile, the Sports Editor position will be filled by Connor Sondel, who has served as a staff writer for the section.

If any one of you readers is interested in joining our staff and writing entertaining stories as Assistant Features Editor or Assistant Sports Editor, please contact Almasri.

We are also happy to introduce Zak Westfall as next year’s Photo Coordinator and Roundtable Editor. Finally, Josh Taylor will remain The Knight’s Business Manager for another year.

We wish all of the 2013 graduates success, fully confident that they will excel in whatever they pursue, and we look forward to a successful new school year.

The first time was when I visited Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris in May. For nearly an hour, I searched for Jim Morrison’s grave, and the map didn’t help.

At last I found him, hidden between two cobblestone paths. There was no flashing sign, but only a simple headstone with the inscription “true to his own spirit” written in Greek.

Lately the 12-minute tune has answered its encore in my subconcious concert hall, maybe because I’m near the end of my undergraduate career at Gannon.

I’ve tried my best to avoid thinking about it for the past month as the last grains of sand sink from the top bulb of the hourglass.

The most sobering thought, though, is knowing I wouldn’t be able to spend time, chat or even say goodbye to each friend I’ve made here.

I’ve got too much end-of-semester work to do, my career search has still not yielded a job, and the weather is improving right at the time when I cannot fully enjoy it.

I can only hope I’ll receive more of those little prods to go left one day, instead of right, sending me bumping into one of those friends  I’d like to leave with my best wishes.

But as to how I’ll leave Gannon, and by extension, Erie, remains to be seen.

I need a change of scenery, whether it’s back home in Cleveland or anywhere with less wind and without meteorologists needing to use a Magic 8 Ball for their weather predictions.

I’ve considered if my exit will bear any resemblance to how some TV sitcoms have ended.

I could take in my surroundings one last time and then walk off into the shadows like Sam Malone.

Perhaps I’ll receive a surprise gesture from a friend I’ve made, a unique way to say goodbye without stumbling over the words. Just like B.J. Hunicutt leaving the rocks for Hawkeye to see from the chopper.

Or maybe I can take a page out of the Huxtables’ book and dance to wherever the music takes me.

Fortunately for me, Cleveland is west of Erie. That means I could leave in the evening and ride off into the sunset.

My apologies if any students need to drive back toward Buffalo. Your departure wouldn’t be featured in a Western.

I came to this university to do, well, what every 18-year-old wants to do: discover who they really are. I think I’ve achieved that, even if I had to jump ship from the health sciences and grab the humanities life preserver.

I’m swimming stronger now.

Hopefully, these won’t be the last words I write. My goal is that the words that began on this page will generate more readers who were inspired by this columnist’s quest to be “true to his own spirit.”

DAN KUBACKI

kubacki001@knights.gannon.edu

I would like to talk about a certain group of people – I may even call them a “type of people” – people who think the world revolves around them, or stops for them; that if their troubles are gone – then everyone else’s troubles must be gone, too.

I would like to talk about the group of people who, in the literal sense, engage in “who’s the most miserable of them all?” competitions; those who try to top each other with their troubles. We all know them, we’re probably sitting next to one of them – or maybe this just sounds too familiar. Don’t worry – there’s still time.

I am not saying the following because I have a specific person in mind; I know lots of people who do that, and I even do it at times, too. No one really intends to do it – or maybe they do. I am writing this because I think it’s never too late to correct a wrong – in this case a negative attribute, such as the one in question.

Walking around campus, I run into a lot of people who fit that description. You can set them apart, those who constantly – and I do mean every time – respond to a simple courteous question like, “how are you?” with one single, dreaded word – “tired.”

At times I wonder if they know any other adjective to describe their state of being.

I am not asking people not to express their feelings, or whine if they feel the need to do it – because that is exactly what I am doing right now – but I am asking them to know when and how often to do so.

You know you have a problem when the only topic of conversation you can think of is how awful your day or life is.

Don’t let this fool you, though. Those who do not feel the need to whine 24/7 have problems, too – they just learned how to conquer them.

Common misfortunes are usually the most natural topics of conversation between two strangers –  and they often form the basis of a relationship.

However, the duration of that relationship is severely compromised when all that goes into it is negativity and pure unhappiness.

I probably sound harsh. But I honestly think we need to examine our characters and the way we behave if we expect people to bear with us and carry us.

Life doesn’t run on only receiving, the other part of the equation is giving. And I always tell people –  you get what you give.

This is the last week of the semester, and finals week is just around the corner – everyone will feel tired  – if they don’t already – and everyone has the right to say it.

But those who manage to reply with “not too bad,” or the surprising “I’m fine, thank you. How are you?” are those who acknowledge the problems others have as well – and those are the people whom I think really deserve the support they need.

There is nothing easier in life than thinking about all the things that we think we deserve, yet don’t have. Let’s try to challenge ourselves by thinking of what we have, yet don’t deserve for a change. Maybe then, we will appreciate our lives just a bit more.

HIBA ALMASRI

almasri002@knights.gannon.edu

Sometimes I can’t wrap my head around the fact that my high school experience actually happened in this lifetime. I have changed so much since then that I honestly don’t recognize that person anymore.

We look pretty much the same, although I like to think I have a slightly more sophisticated, older look now; but the comparison pretty much ends there.

Oh, and I learned how to don makeup in a much less scary fashion.

In high school I was the awkward girl who got average grades, took a few honors classes but didn’t really challenge herself, claimed few true friends, and pretty much kept to herself.

I wasn’t particularly looking to impress my teachers; wasn’t trying to stick out in any way.

While I still wouldn’t call myself an attention-seeker, I’m a far cry from the too-humble teenager who crossed the stage of Erie’s Warner Theatre in 2009, boasting no major accomplishments aside from the fresh diploma in my right hand.

When I think back on my college career – now that it’s almost over, I feel like I can say that – I’m surprised by how many things I would call major accomplishments.

In four short years, I became the person I always secretly wanted to be in high school, but I never even fully admitted it to myself.

I have so many people to thank for the person I have become.

In an effort to write this column without weeping like a child, though, I’m not going to name everyone. You know who you are – at least I really hope you do.

I can say quite honestly that I really like who I am today, much more than I liked the person who let the best friendship of her life fall apart just weeks after graduation.

Not my proudest moment.

But thankfully, I’ve had several proud moments in the past four years, and I really hope the rest of the seniors graduating in the next couple of weeks have, too.

Gannon is a great place. I don’t think I would have turned out quite the same person had I gone to any other university. And I’d like to think that being in this place at this time has played a huge role in forming the adult me.

I still have a lot of growing up to do, but I feel prepared for it.

Just like my high school did a wonderful job of preparing me for college, I think Gannon has done a wonderful job in preparing me for, well, life.

I’m not really scared of moving forward, like I may have been four years ago. I’m apprehensive – but who isn’t?

Mostly I’m glad that I’ve been granted the chance to spend two more years at Gannon, learning all I can and figuring out who I’m going to be from now on.

I can’t help but wonder if I’ll be looking at this column in May 2015, as I get ready to graduate with a Master’s degree, commenting on how much I’ve already changed.

KELLY MORELAND

moreland002@knights.gannon.edu

Or maybe just when I pick a “mature” close-cropped haircut and stick with it?

I still don’t have a car yet, mind you, at age 22 and a half. And you can bet your corked bat that I’ll enact the same unfair punishment on my kids.

But I’ll admit it; one of my hobbies has moved on and off the chopping block as my rite of passage to adulthood nears.

Where do videogames fit, if at all, in my future?

This isn’t the first time I’ve thought about it, but the query reared its head after my latest purchase: “Gears of War 3” for less than $15, and newly released “Bioshock Infinite” for full price, $60.

I couldn’t pass on the deal for “Gears.” The mint-condition game concluded the trilogy, and despite the price drop – usually an indicator of pallid playability – the user reviews were still high.

But “Bioshock Infinite,” on the other hand, well that was the gaming glutton in me slicing himself a second piece of cake.

The critics gave the game a standing ovation, and the trailers showing an early 20th century cloud city with your character’s ability to attack enemies with a murder of crows, well, sign me up.

I’ve started playing the campaigns of both games, and so far, each story is engaging, but my guilt swells from spending $75 that I’m not saving for my post-graduate life.

Before I leave Gannon scot-free, the games are two more distractions to the end of my semester.

I’ve got at least 40 Xbox 360 games lying around. I haven’t played through all of them completely, although I’ve played a few more than once – “Mass Effect 2” a total of seven times.

But despite my shelf full of entertainment, I – like a woman who stands mystified in front of her overflowing closet when deciding upon an outfit – am easily dissatisfied by what games I have.

I’m willing to bet we all have our little bouts of consumerism, but I digress.

I’ve never calculated my yearly videogame expenditures, but cutting the fat from my free time could lead to cutting my body fat, too.

Plus I’ll have money for the things I need.

As a kid, my dad and I bonded over the Super Nintendo. We graduated to the first Playstation, then I moved on solo to the Playstation 2, and finally I jumped Sony’s ship and logged on to Microsoft’s Xbox 360.

I’ve had similar dreams of playing videogames with my kids, at least until they’re better than me. Heck, there’s even those “gamer chicks” out there I could court, but I feel like that kind of woman would only enable a habit I’d like to one day kick.

Plus, consoles have evolved beyond button-mashing gameplay. I use my 360 for video streaming via Netflix, HBOGo and Amazon rentals.

Fortunately, it seems the age of “next-gen” (next generation) consoles will make my decision for me. Will I buy a $60 360 game here and there? Sure. But a brand-new $400 Xbox 720 console, just to keep me on the couch?

Not at this time in my life when it’s time to do some growing up.

DAN KUBACKI

kubacki001@knights.gannon.edu

The changes are part of a plan that began with the opening of North Hall. When it came time to decide which modernization would come next – Nash Library or the rec – administrators evidently pushed the rec to the head of the line.

The new and improved CAP will feature an 80-yard indoor field to accommodate year-round sports practices, among other improvements.

The crown jewel of the plan, however, is a new human performance center, which will include a motion analysis lab and a human performance and testing lab. According to gannonsports.com, it should “serve as a space for collaboration between faculty and students in the physical therapy, sport and exercise science, human performance, occupational therapy and biomedical engineering programs.”

This is exciting news for athletes and students in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the College of Health Professions and Sciences. Director of Recreation Don Henry spoke with The Knight in February 2012, saying the CAP hasn’t been structurally updated since the building first opened nearly 30 years ago.

The new CAP will undoubtedly be cutting edge, but it isn’t a priority for most students. A comfortable, functional place to study is. And when was Nash last updated? Judging by the stained orange carpeting, not since Ronald Reagan was in office.

As the great philosopher Spock said, “logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”

That’s not to say that the aforementioned programs are the minority. But why wouldn’t a project that benefits everyone – all majors, all faculty members – take precedence?

When there is a great evil that involves the heart of the United States, there is never a lack of patriotism, and unification becomes a theme throughout the country.

Arch-rivals in sports towns came together to show that we are all people of United States and if you poke at one of us you are poking at all of us.

There were politicians who can’t agree on the simplest of topics, speaking in harmony on the Boston event.

Why did such a senseless event happen?  The question is one that we all struggle with and yet the answer is dark and simple.

It happened because two men wanted it to happen. At that moment the hearts of the two men were so dark to truth that they saw this as a way to be heard.

The voice of the men was heard and the voice of a unified people of this country was also heard.

The entire people of the United States, as a majority voice, was together with songs of how great the United States is and how our policy is the way to achieve the solution.

For one moment take a step back and think about the unification of the people as one body.

We say we all want peace, joy and happiness and yet how many moments do we actually strive to achieve it?

Is that what we really mean, or is it “I want peace, joy and happiness for me, and I really don’t care how my actions affect you.”

“Becoming” is what came to mind.  Yes, becoming is a verb and requires action, but; “what am I becoming?” is the real question.

Are you becoming stagnant and complacent?  Are you afraid that you may lose your job and will have no way to meet your economical responsibility if you speak up and challenge?  Are you afraid that a professor may not be fair if you challenge a grade?  Are you afraid that your voice will be squelched if you speak up for the ones who have no voice?

Being silent in the face of injustice is cowardice.  Humans have the divine law on their side to be treated with dignity and respect and, most of all, love.

Last week, the LIFE group spoke to the heart of what happens when we are silent in the face of injustices. They commented on the harmful effects of bullying and the many suicides that result from silence.

That bullying can also be accomplished by a nation, and those actions can result in extremist views as a way to have a voice heard.

The extreme voice heard both in the terror attacks of Sept. 11 and recently in Boston resulted in the deaths of the many who were sacrificed on those days.

Jesus was an extremist.  He argued for the people who had no voice.  Jesus argued for the poor, widowed and orphaned and he was murdered because of fear.

Fear will destroy us piece by rotten piece until all we have is anger, and that anger will manifest in ways that can be globally harmful.

John reminds us, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).

If there is one thing I pray we can learn in life it is “Don’t live in fear.”

If you are living in fear you will have sadness and anger.   There is hope from all we have seen in Boston last week.  God’s love will conquer all.

The evil in the world exists because of fear and we are a fearful people.  Overcoming that fear requires a joyful hope in the plan of God.

Trust in the ways of God and see the goodness to come from it.

The tragedy last week in Boston may cause us to put up our fists and yell, but let us have the courage to ask why this happened and look past the hate and fear of an opposing view and a distortion of truth.

Bullying is a wide spectrum that we all fall into at one point or another.  Boston and Sept. 11 were acts of bullying.

Lord, may we be instruments of your peace and never bully.

ROB LOPEZ

lopez010@knights.gannon.edu

I haven’t found any gray hairs, and besides an old sports injury, my joints are spry as ever. What I’m talking about is worse.

I have completely lost my ability to watch an entire full-length film without falling asleep.

The same debilitating condition I always used to mock my mom for is apparently genetic. I can’t count the number of times my dad and I would nudge each other, holding back waves of laughter, as we watched her slumber through countless movie nights. And the position was always the same – mouth slightly ajar, head gently tilted to the side, reading glasses pushed back in her chestnut hair, sleeping dog curled up at her feet on the ottoman.

The best was when we would stare at her until she somehow felt our eyes on her and would shoot up, startling the dog out of his stupor, too, or when she would delicately come back to consciousness on her own, and pretend like she had been paying attention the whole time, even though my dad and I knew better.

I would always smile and shake my head, thinking that her random fits of borderline narcolepsy came with the territory of being 40-something.

Clearly narcolepsy has the capability of being early-onset, because I can’t remember the last time I’ve been able to stay awake for the duration of a movie.

I’ll choose a movie I’ve really been wanting to see, and yet I still find myself powerless to combat against the strong affinity my top and bottom eyelids clearly have for one another.

It doesn’t have to be particularly late for this to happen, and I don’t even have to be lying down.

My most recent episode didn’t even involve one unbroken nap. I would doze off, be woken up by a swift rap on the head from my boyfriend, only to repeat these two steps about 10 times in the waning five minutes of the movie. It was actually so cyclical that he was able to time when I would fall asleep again by counting how many times I blinked.

It’s clearly gotten serious to the point where I’ve resorted to extreme measures to try and watch a film from beginning to end.

These include, but are not limited to: drinking a large cup of caffeinated tea before starting a movie, sitting in the most upright and rigid position possible, physically holding my eyes open, biting down on the inside of my cheek so that it hurts just enough, starting the movie before 7 p.m., inserting a constant flow of popcorn into my mouth, etc.

Unfortunately, my slumbery ways have thwarted all of my best efforts, and I’m running out of new things to try. I need to come up with some quick solutions before I even think about going to see a movie in public.

I don’t feel like spending $10 to go take a nap in a chair that doesn’t even have its own arm rests.

CHRISTINE PEFFER

peffer002@knights.gannon.edu