A student studying in the basement of the library or an alum living in India both have a new view of campus. Thanks to a webcam recently installed in a window of the Hartmann Center, anyone can see what the weather is like on campus or just watch people walking to class by visiting http://explore.bradley.edu/bucam/. Sun or sleet, day or night, the webcam steadfastly offers a view of campus.

Late yesterday afternoon, as the rain came down gently, the lights all around me came on slowly, one by one. First the lampposts and then windows in Bradley Hall. The webcam captured this image of the scene.

The most prominent campus feature that you can see from the webcam is Bradley Hall. I am in the lower left of the screen, hidden now by a small tree still covered with leaves. The next time you stop by to visit me, be sure and wave to the camera!

Students are trading their backpacks for suitcases today. Two buses pulled up to the Student Center this morning and quickly filled with students going home to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast with friends and family.

The sidewalks across campus, usually filled with chalk messages about meeting and events, are blank, covered only with a few scattered brown leaves. The sign outside the Hartmann Center that has announced performances of Angels in America for the past two weeks has been taken inside.

Students are giving each other hugs goodbye and talking about all the studying they have to do while at home. When they return from the holiday, final exams will not be far off.

“Happy Thanksgiving,” one student shouts to another as she boards the big red bus for Chicago.

I offer the same wish to the Bradley community.

If you spend time on the Bradley campus, of course you will notice the beautiful trees, interesting sculpture, and variety of architectural styles. If you stand long enough and study these features, you might be surprised at what you see.

Have you ever noticed that the pattern on the top of Bradley Hall looks like rows of angular “U”s? Or, if you look down upon that fascinating sculpture - I think it is of a woman - in front of the Hartmann Center, you can see a wavy “I”?

This got me to thinking, if I can find these two letters so easily, could I find enough letters to spell out “Bradley University?” If I stand here long enough, I’m sure I can, using the trees, artwork, and buildings that we see everyday.

If you see any letters on campus, drop me a comment. Better yet, if you take a picture, send it to the publications office (publications@bradley.edu). They might think of something creative to do with our campus alphabet!

There is quite a buzz on campus today about the Bradley men’s basketball team which played its home opener against DePaul Saturday night. The Braves turned in a resounding 78-58 win over the Blue Demons before a sold-out crowd at Carver Arena. The night began with a pre-game celebration of the Braves’ run to the 2006 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 that seemed to electrify the crowd. And the team didn’t disappoint. They lit up the court, setting a Carver Arena record for the home team by hitting 13 of 25 three-pointers.

The school’s first-ever “Red-Out” was a success too with almost the entire arena proudly wearing their Bradley colors proclaiming that “Red is still in.” Even Coach Les had his red blazer on. The student section was the one standout, wearing white t-shirts that read “DeFeat DePaul.”

As the Braves’ number one fan, I’m so glad to see that the excitement and support lavished on the team during their Sweet 16 run is still going strong as they start the 2006-2007 season off with yet another sweet success.

So where did I get the t-shirt and rally towel? Let’s just say I know
people…

“It’s like spring!” I heard a student exclaim as she walked across the quad with a group of students dressed in shorts and t-shirts.

If you close your eyes and let the sun hit your face, you could believe it is. But when you open them again you see the bare trees and the leaves on the ground. The mums, which bloomed brilliantly last week, have since been touched with frost and the flowers have turned black. Despite it being 70 degrees, the calendar definitely says it’s November.

Today I noticed many people looking for excuses to get outdoors and enjoy this most beautiful of late autumn days. Several classes were held outside, inlcuding a drawing class. The artists took off their shoes, propped canvases on their knees, and let the sun influence their work. Study groups gathered on benches in the dry flower gardens and talked about physics or psychology. Even in late afternoon, students spread out blankets on the quad to soak in the brilliant day.

By this time tomorrow, someone said, the temperature will be about 20 degrees cooler and we will see rain instead of sun. Right now, no one seems to care.