When desperately trying to come up with ideas for a suitably witty, suitably insightful campus-related first blog post for The Hourly, I found myself struggling to think of things that happened during the first two weeks of winter quarter.

I’m almost completely unaware of the many events occurring all around me on campus. The only one I knew about that I wasn’t directly involved in was rushing for fraternities or sororities. For these people, at least one of the last two weeks was a hectic phase involving cold, drama, and free food.

I also know that Model United Nations already held one meeting, The Daily and North by Northwestern are updating regularly once again and cultural societies such as Celebrasia and Northwestern University Singaporeans and Friends are preparing for upcoming events. I know about these either through actually being part of the organizations or having friends involved with them.

And I realize there’s so much I don’t know about happening on campus. Basketball season is ongoing, and my only knowledge of it comes from having attended one game and reading the rest of the scores in The Daily. University Career Services held an internship fair in conjunction with ASG. A number of dance, music and theatre groups have held a show or are preparing for upcoming shows.

As for me, I seem to be living in a blur of ignorance. It’s not just me though – a few friends I asked about ongoing events on campus were only able to provide limited replies.

Perhaps my friends are as ignorant as me compared to most people on campus, or perhaps living all the way North in Elder has contributed to this lack of information.

But where am I to find out my information? Although news sources like The Daily often provide information after the event occurs, they are not advertising services for upcoming events. Posters taped to the sidewalks are often snow-sodden and unreadable in this weather. Facebook events are difficult to find unless invited to or attended by someone on my friend list. The Rock is painted infrequently in this cold weather, and there are too many events for the Rock to be useful to all groups.

I propose a better kind of online calendar where student groups can update their events for the student body to access. The PlanIt Purple calendar is almost entirely focused on academic events. An online calendar especially for activities shouldn’t be too difficult for NUIT to set up with minimal cost.

At the very least, it would be a way for groups to get the message out in a more environmentally friendly way than a large amount of flyers that are mostly ignored underfoot. And it’d be a great way to show support for fellow-students and their efforts and achievements.