A Day in Ben's Life

Ben Offenberg, a 6’5’’ senior biochemistry major and current president of the Student Government Association (SGA), shares a typical day.

8 a.m. After six hours of sound sleep, skip breakfast (not a recommended practice). Begin day in the SGA office in Joe Rosenfield Center. Sitting on a gigantic soccer ball chair, spend a couple hours replying to e-mails and completing office work.

10:30 a.m. Meet with Raynard S. Kington, M.D., Ph.D., the new president of the College and the former deputy director of the National Institutes of Health. Gossip about campus life.

11 a.m. Attend Intermediate Arabic, taught by Professor Mervat Youssef. The class practices Arabic by describing their dream spouses and drawing them on the blackboard. Say that dream spouse would be an Iowa girl originally from England, with red hair, and named Brooke. Royalty is optional, but preferred.

Noon Grab a pumpkin ziti out-take from The Spencer Grill and head to a noon meeting with human resources to discuss student input on staff reviews.

1 p.m. Meet with Advanced Genetics professor.

1:30 p.m. Meet with Advanced Genetics lab group in Noyce Science Center. Must grow genetically mutagenized yeast for a class.

2 p.m. Visit academic adviser to discuss course schedule for next semester and postgraduation plans.

2:30 p.m. Return to the SGA offices for scheduled office hours so that students can discuss their concerns and ideas with their SGA president.

4:30 p.m. Work on constitutional law homework about civil rights cases.

6 p.m. Off to the dining hall for dinner with the girlfriend. Nacho bar!

7 p.m. Back to the office. Gossip with Liz, administrative coordinator and officemate. Browse through some YouTube videos.

8 p.m. SGA executive meeting with the vice-presidents of academic and student affairs and the SGA advisers. Brainstorm ideas and discuss plans.

9:30 p.m. Group meeting in Stonewall Resource Center, which is run by students and is a safe space for LGBTQ students and their allies.

10:30 p.m. Back to the lab with the rest of the group to grow more yeast. Genetic mutation is the key here.

11:30 p.m. More homework, for Arabic this time. Excited about tomorrow’s class, which will feature a guest speaker from Egypt.

3 a.m. Projected time for sleeping, although others are discouraged from practicing similar habits.

Liting Cong '11 is a Policy Stuies Concentrator from Shanghai, P.R. China.