Milligan College President Bill Greer was scheduled to make a “big announcement” this morning via Zoom. There was indeed a “big announcement,” but it came nearly four hours earlier than planned, shortly before 6:00 a.m. So, what was the announcement? An email, sent by Onks, announced the arrival of Wonderful Wednesday. “Our current situation will not stop us from recognizing and celebrating this most wonderful Milligan tradition,” it read.
On Monday, Jason Onks, director of campus activities, sent out an email to all undergraduate students saying that President Bill Greer would be making a “big announcement” on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. via Zoom. The email encouraged recipients to join the online call if possible and said that a link would be sent out Wednesday morning for easy access. Speculation arose as to what the announcement could be, but that has all been put to rest.
This year’s theme is “Brutus’ Day Off,” a reference to the 1986, John Hughes comedy film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. A link in the announcement email took recipients to a YouTube video, in which President Greer, Onks, the college’s mascot Brutus and event co-chairs Alyssa Gibson and Anna Hathcock, revealed the specifics of what Wonderful Wednesday has to offer this year.
The Stampede spoke with Onks about this year’s Wonderful Wednesday. He said that, even when classes for the semester moved entirely online, there was never really a time when Wonderful Wednesday was off the table, but the planning phase this time around was much different.
“We already had things in motion and contracts signed for our traditional experience on campus,” he said. “When all that was wiped out, it gave us an opportunity to rethink it all. So in that sense, it has been challenging, but in a good way.” Onks said that how Wonderful Wednesday has been approached this year will influence how it is planned and executed in the future.
This year’s theme was initially the Olympics since it was going to be an Olympic year, but Onks said that after the Games were postponed, “that seemed rather insensitive.” The idea for “Brutus’ Day Off” came to him due to the remote learning caused by COVID-19. “Knowing we were all at home or some version of ‘home’ and limited in what could be done, this movie (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) popped in my head, and then the idea of things we might do, in this current situation we are in, at home with a day off.”
Anna Hathcock, senior and a co-chair for Wonderful Wednesday, said the planning phase included “a lot of Zoom meetings to help decide how the day was going to work.” She added that social media would play a key role this year, “and we had to figure out how to use it to engage all the students.”
Hathcock is looking forward to seeing students’ reactions this year. “I have always loved (Wonderful Wednesday),” she said. “My favorite part of the day is seeing all the joyous faces of the students who get to participate in the day I helped plan.”
Senior Natalie Huffstutler admires that Milligan is “still sticking to tradition” with Wonderful Wednesday despite the limits imposed by remote learning. “A big reason I chose Milligan is because of the community and they never stop proving that I made the right choice,” she said. She is considering taking part in the baking competition today.
The schedule, as seen in today’s email, can be viewed below.
- All Day: Show us your Milligan spirit by wearing your Milligan gear and posting to Instagram, Twitter, and/or Facebook. Prizes will be given out for the top Milligan spirit posts determined by our CAB work-study students.
- 10am-8pm: TP Trick Shot Challenge. See this video by a Milligan Alum as an example. Prizes for best tricks. Post your videos to Instagram or Twitter using hashtags
#MilliganWonderfulWednesday and/or #BrutusDayOff
Twitter: @milligancollege; Instagram: milligancollege
- 12pm-8pm: Scavenger Hunt @ www.GooseChase.com
Game Code: 67R7BG
You can enter the game at any time within 12-8pm. The more time you have, the more missions you might be able to complete.
- 12pm-8pm: Baking Challenge. Bake your best stuff and show us. Post your pictures or videos to Insta or Twitter using hashtags
#MilliganWonderfulWednesday and/or #BrutusDayOff
Students may receive a prize for best baked goods (extra consideration for great presentation).
- 4pm: Trivia with hosts Heather Jackson and Heather Vaccaro
Door prizes randomly awarded for those who log-in to Zoom, drawn every third question (in other words, pretty often).
- 7:30pm: FIFA20 Comp: Sign-ups for eSports is located here. The sign-up deadline is 7:00 pm today! Bracket will be emailed out.
- 8pm: Netflix Watch Party: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Must have your own Netflix account. Only works on Chrome browser, download extension needed here. Movie link will be sent out via email this evening.
The announcement notes, “Any student assignments or classes that are still planned for the day are still as scheduled unless noted otherwise from your professors.”
For more information, visit milligan.edu/wonderfulwednesday.