COUNTDOWN

We all hope you've had a marvelous summer! It's ending in just a few weeks now! GAH!

We've begun plans for the relaunch of Blog9 and we are ridiculously excited for next semester! We have some awesome ideas that we hope you find awesome too!

For now, enjoy the countdown clock!

Oh, and when's the relaunch?? Look to the header for a hint!

~The Blog9 Team

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

G'Day readers! Hope your study week has been productive!

We come to you today with very important news.

Due to several important factors - everyone's leaving campus, summer will be busy for both correspondents and you, and, above all, our impending refresh - we decided at our last meeting to go on FULL HIATUS effective Wednesday, May 21.

That means that after next week Tuesday (5/20), there will not be any new posts on Blog9 until after summer break. No worries, though - we will definitely be back in the fall with some awesome stories about our summer, new correspondents, and a fresh look!

So keep us bookmarked! Thank you for your faithful reading, and good luck on your exams!
~The Blog9 Team

Poll Results Lyke W0ah

We usually don't post about the poll results for the Random Poll of the Week, but the past two weeks have yielded some very interesting things about you, our readers (or at least those of you who voted).

The week of April 14 was a poll about where you live. Out of those who responded,

13% live in Main
13% live in Cushing
9% live in Lathrop
8% live in Noyes
7% live in Jewett
11% live in Josselyn
9% live in Raymond
8% live in Strong
13% live in Davison
0% live in the THs
1% live in the TAs
0% live in the SoCos
0% live in Ferry
2% live Off-Campus

What we discern from this is the majority of people who read us live in the 9 major houses - something we want to change in the coming year, as we move to become more campus-inclusive, and less dorm-exclusive.

In our other poll, from last week, we asked what class you're in. The response was:

1% are in the class of 2008
2% are in the class of 2009
11% are in the class of 2010
62% are in the class of 2011
17% are in the class of 2012
4% are college staff

This points to the fact that the majority of our readers are in the current freshman class, with the upcoming freshman class being our second-biggest source of readers. This is another thing that we want to change next year - we want to be widely-read across campus.

These polls provided insight as to how we should proceed with plans for next semester. Thanks to all who participated!
~The Blog9 Team

Two Months

Today is April 18, 2008. Exactly two months ago today, Blog9 launched and started providing its varied perspectives to the Vassar community.

Since then, we've amassed almost 24,200 hits. We've had an article in the Miscellany News, Vassar's YouTube channel has subscribed to ours, and Jimmy Kelly, Vice President for Activities and overseer of the VSA's 120+ organizations, has labeled us a "Vassar cultural mainstay."

And we owe it all to you. And that's why we need your help.

Blog9 launched with the idea that it would provide a vast collection of diverse viewpoints from Vassar campus, allowing people to have their voices be heard. However, it has become apparent to us and others that we have naively been limiting ourselves in two ways: we are all freshmen, and we only live in the 9 major dorms.

Therefore, in preparation for next semester, when Davison will close, we are looking for new correspondents from all walks of life at Vassar. Whether you're in the class of 2012 or 2009, we need you. No matter where you live, we need you. We want to become less dorm-exclusive, and more campus-inclusive.

If you are a student at Vassar, and you're interested in joining our team next year, shoot an e-mail to lifeinthe9@gmail.com.

Finally, we cannot say this enough: THANK YOU for reading!
~The Blog9 Team

CHAY- CHAY- CHANGE

G'day readers,

Just dropping in to inform you of a few changes that will be taking effect at MIDNIGHT tonight!

1. After extensive discussion among correspondents, we've decided that profanity will no longer be outlawed in comments or blogger posts. As such, moderation will be lifted from comments. All we ask is that you maintain a certain degree of respect; no extremely distasteful comments or personal attacks, please.

2. Though we realize that you do want shorter posts, some of the longer posts being posted (300-400 words) are truly works of personal expression, and help us gain valuable insight into the lives of our correspondents. We've tried to adhere to the limit of 275 words per post, but that hasn't worked out for everyone. As such, we're removing the cap on posts, and instead will give you a red warning as to the length of the post when a post exceeds 300 words. That way you can skip the longer ones or save them for later!

As always, THANK YOU for reading!
~The Blog9 Team

The Refresh (Or Lack Thereof)

Hey all,

We know it's been more than a couple of weeks since Spring Break, and we know that we promised you a page refresh.

And we delivered, but not to the extent that we'd originally planned.

We're trying to keep our posts shorter now (though a few rogue correspondents continue to write posts with 300+ words). We altered the layout of our site a bit, allowing for full video to play without being chopped off in both the posting area and the sidebar.

But that's about it.

The full layout refresh that we originally hoped for isn't coming before the end of the school year. We've talked with our designer and mutually agreed that it would be more beneficial to take the entire summer for layout planning and design.

August will be the time to look out for HUGE changes. We have some really awesome stuff planned for next semester. And we're not just saying that.

That said, we still have some great ideas for the remainder of this semester! Keep checking us out - there's A LOT more to come!

Thanks for reading!
~The Blog9 Team

What We're Listening To

Most of these songs can be viewed/listened to in the "What We're Listening To" sidebar feature to the right of this post! Also, as part of the first step of our refresh, Blog9 has launched its own YouTube channel! Found at www.youtube.com/lifeinthe9, Vlog9 will soon have all videos embedded in our posts under "favorites" and all "What We're..." features as playlists! We don't have any current plans to post any original material, as we are an anonymous blog, but who knows?

Here's what we're listening to this last week in March:

Aletheia
“Se me Olvido” by Gian Marco

aRCHEL
“I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz

belligxoxo
?

Blondie*
“Elevator” by Flo Rida featuring Timbaland

Chipmunk
?

CoffeeJazzDarkChocolate
“Start Wearing Purple” by Gogol Bordello

contrASt
"Don't Forget to Remember Me" by Carrie Underwood

Crito
“Surrender (Original Mix)” by All Grace featuring Mr. Sam and Rani

Dyamond Phillips
“See You Again” by Miley Cyrus

ElCarrà
“Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” by Edith Piaf

JewettGossip
?

littleone
“Oxford Comma” by Vampire Weekend

mockingbird
"All Night" by Damian Marley featuring Stephen Marley

Peabo
“Merry Happy” by Kate Nash

Poseidon
“Grace” by Jeff Buckley

Radish
“If It Kills Me” by Jason Mraz

SmartyGalPartyGal
“Elevator” by Flo Rida featuring Timbaland

SPRiNKLES
“Hold On” by the Jonas Brothers

tenandthree
"No Beginning, No End" by Hawkley Workman

yivalawhitegirl
“Their City” by The Matches

white chocolate
“Air” by DJ Simon

Read This With a Hardhat On

Please excuse the mess! Over the next two weeks, we'll be toying around with our layout quite a bit, in order to bring you the long-anticipated refresh that we're excited to unveil!

Happy reading!
SPRiNKLES