BY ERICA MILOSH

On Oct. 23, Student Involvement  provided the Nichols community with a fun, artistic, and relaxing event in Fels Student Center. Students and a few staff and faculty were able to enjoy their Friday night by painting an autumn scene on canvas.

The painting instruction was lead by “Just Paint,” located on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, Mass. Its owner, Susan Dunshee, says she enjoys putting on these events to expose adults and children to art. Local artist Mustafa Najm helped Susan to teach the art lesson. He gained his experience by teaching art at universities in Iraq.

Fels lounge was filled with a light-hearted atmosphere as students tried out their painting techniques. The event was directed toward seniors, but others were also welcome to join. Overall, 50 people participated.

Carmen Garcia, a junior criminal justice major, had a great time working on her masterpiece.

“It’s easier than I thought it would be, but the details are hard,” she said. “I’m glad I came; this is different from other events.”

First-year student Karan Saini, a business communication major, was grateful to take a break from midterms.

“I needed this distraction from homework,” said Saini.

Everyone’s artwork varied; some students stuck to the instruction, while others experimented with colors and techniques.

Senior class president and international business and finance double major Sean Hoey was one of those who strayed from the herd with his creative painting.

“I am the next Pablo Picasso,” he said. “I’m not sure what any of this is, but it looks good to me.”

Most students wrapped up their masterpieces just after 10 p.m. The overall reaction to the event was positive. It was a great opportunity for students, professors, and staff to get to know each other outside the usual professional or academic setting. Any stress from the busy semester seemed to dissipate among the amateur artists. Many students expressed interest in holding another paint and sip night, or trying something else creative.

Those 21 and older were welcome to sip wine whilst they painted. Police officers were present in Fels to check IDs and to make sure anyone who was allowed to drink was doing so responsibly.

Erica Milosh is a Nichols College senior English major and a contributor to Bison Chronicles.

BY CATHERINE HOEY

In the spirit of Halloween, Nichols College students were treated to a few tricks (or WERE they?) by ghost hunter and medium Chris Fleming. Nichols’ Campus Activities Board brought Chris to campus on Oct. 16. This was his second year on the Hill. During last year’s on-campus ghost hunt, students joined him at Academy Hall to see if they could spot any spirits; this year, they checked out the Guest House.

First off, here is some background on Chris. He started to see ghosts at the young age of five; he described them as little creatures that would come out of his walls. He would try to tell his parents about what he saw, but they told him he was just having nightmares and to simply ignore them. Once these creatures began transforming into larger ones—and actual human manifestations—Chris could no longer bare it. His parents started to believe him when he grew older; his mother was actually interested in ghosts and paranormal things. One day his mom decided to buy a Ouija board to determine what sort of paranormal activity her son was witnessing. This turned out to be a mistake, however, as Chris almost became possessed.

You’re probably wondering how someone can almost become possessed. Well, when he and his mother were using the Ouija board he started to levitate off his chair. His mother panicked and started to yell prayers at him until he returned to a normal state.

Our ghost-hunting adventure on Oct. 16 involved the Nichols College Guest House, which is known to be haunted. Before we even walked into the circa-1700s brick house, Chris said he could sense the ghost of a woman standing at the second-floor window. When he used the ETP (a device used to communicate with ghosts) we could hear her saying “Oh no, they are coming in.”

The house has two levels. On the first floor, right when you walk in,there is a small hallway and then a living room. The room over is the dining room. Then next to that room is a little sitting area and the kitchen. The house has two staircases; upstairs there is a master bedroom and another bigger bedroom. Between the two rooms there is a bathroom. Down the hall, there are two more rooms.

When we proceeded into the house and sat in the living room Chris asked how many ghosts there were in the room with us and we all heard seven through the ETP. At first they were angry that we were there, but once he explained that we weren’t bad people and why we were there, they were much nicer. The ghosts actually started to joke around. We were able to hear all of the ghosts through the spirit box (another device used to communicate with ghosts).

There was a horse figurine on one of the coffee tables, and some of the students asked the ghosts to move it. In return, the ghosts told Chris to stand. When he stood, the horse moved. We were shocked by what we had just witnessed.

As the event neared its end, Chris allowed us to ask questions and see if any of our loved ones were present in the house. One of the student’s brothers came through the spirit box; he died five years ago in a car crash. It was so sad and moving that more than half the room started to cry. The student asked him a few questions and one was about their new niece that their sister just had. She asked him to be sure to look over her.

Last year, I wrote in the Bison Chronicles that I would never again partake in ghost hunting, but I am glad I changed my mind. I did not find that this year was as scary as last year, but it was still amazing to witness what had happened in the Guest House. Only fifteen people are allowed to go on the ghost hunt. This is my second year participating in the hunt and I have two more to go; fingers crossed I am picked again!

Catherine Hoey is a Nichols College sophomore undeclared and works for Nichols’ Office of Marketing and Communications.

BY JORDAN D’AURIO

The Athletic Center’s main gym was filled with students, faculty, and staff on Oct. 5 as the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) set up for the annual Bison Rally. The Bison Rally is a school wide event where the athletic teams participate in a lip sync battle against each other. This year, there were 5 teams competing to win the lip sync trophy.

The bleachers in the main gym were packed with students as well as the indoor track overlooking the basketball court where the lip sync was taking place. Each athletic team was given the opportunity to get a group of their team together and come up with a fun, engaging lip sync performance for not just the students but for three chosen faculty judging the competition. The judges are to give each team a score between 1-10 and who ever accumulates the highest amount of points wins the trophy and are named “Lip Sync Champions;” that is until next year, when the battle takes place again. This, in my opinion, has become a huge competition between the sports teams but a fun, supportive kind of competition. Although the sports teams are battling against each other, they are always cheering each other on and supporting each other during the friendly competition.

To start the night, men’s lacrosse came out with a bang and blew the crowds away by switching from slow to fast paced songs; you could definitely tell they had been practicing for weeks. Next up was the women’s field hockey team followed by the men’s and women’s basketball teams, and then finally the women’s ice hockey team. What I think makes this event so unique is that each sports team comes up with their own dances. There’s never repeated songs or dance moves between the teams.

Men’s basketball took the cake when they didn’t receive a score under 9.0 from either of the judges, but their sister team—women’s basketball—was not far behind, coming in second place. Women’s ice hockey, meanwhile, followed in third.

Michelle Keklik, a senior sport management major, noted: “This is by far my favorite campus-wide event; I’m never ever disappointed in the new, creative dances the sports teams come up with each year.”

Chelsey Mahoney, a senior women’s basketball player and hospitality major, expressed: “I’ve been part of the lip sync competition with my team since my freshman year. It is not only fun to perform in front of our student body, but all the practice and hard work that went into the dance and music made us closer as a team.”

In my opinion, this event will always be enjoyed by the students; there’s nothing better than getting together with your fellow Bison and having a great time!