Emery Wainscott
Lifestyle Editor
ewainscott@murraystate.edu
Regents Residential College Council hosted “Regents for Rhinos” week to celebrate the 10th anniversary of World Rhino Day in its series of on-campus events.
The event kicked off with a tie-dye water balloon fight on Friday, Sept. 17. The weekend events included a one-mile campus walk with the Regents Residential College’s mascot, Reggie, on Saturday, Sept. 18 and a scavenger hunt on Sunday, Sept. 19. A wooden rhino painting session started the week off on Monday, Sept. 20. The last outdoor event planned was dodgeball on Tuesday, Sept. 21. The event wrapped up with a gathering in Regents to celebrate World Rhino Day on Wednesday, Sept. 22.
The Rhino is Regents Residential College’s mascot. This mascot represents strength, determination and dignity, and the college colors of purple and grey symbolize royalty and grandeur, said College Head Regina Hudspeth.
“The crest includes two regal lions, symbolizing the dignity, force and majesty of Regents College as well as a chess horse atop the Murray State shield, symbolizing our involvement in University tradition,” Hudspeth said. “The college motto, ‘semper proficimus,’ means ‘we move ever forward.’ I think that statement implies that this is just the beginning, but the beginning that takes each resident toward that path of success.”
Freshman music education major Mattie Austin organized the event with the help of junior economics major Gianna Mastromarco and others in RCC. Austin is currently Regents’ National Residence Hall Honorary’s representative. She is also the SGA representative for the College of Humanities and Fine Arts.
While working on homework, Austin and Mastromarco saw a PowerPoint template for World Rhino Day. With their residential college in mind, the two set to work. The event took three days to plan, says Austin.
“We wanted to make this a great event, but great things of course take a little bit of money,” Austin said. “We applied for a slip fund through RCA. While we were waiting for a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on that money, our events were funded by myself, by Gianna and by William Gerton. We did not receive the full amount from RCA so Springer-Franklin generously offered the rest of our funding.”
Regents’ RCC sponsors the World Rhino Day program, a program for awareness of the different species of rhinos and the work being done for the critically endangered species. When Hudspeth brought this event up to the Regents’ RCC, Austin and Mastromarco immediately took interest.
“I think everyone was surprised to hear that there was a day set aside for drawing awareness to the extinction of our mascot,” Hudspeth said. “Although Rhinos is in the name, it stressed raising funds for endangered wildlife in general.”
This is Hudspeth’s second semester as college head. The previous college head of Regents, Mickey Miller, pitched her the idea of the position as a way of getting to know students as residents outside of the classroom, she says.
“Residential life is all about making those lifelong bonds of friendships and making lasting memories of their collegiate experience,” Hudspeth said. “Maslow’s Hierarchy states that one element of survival is to find a place that fulfills our need to belong and be a part of something.”
Austin got involved in residential life as soon as she could. Austin said a week before classes started, she was emailing RCC President Michael Quilliam for a position on Regents’ RCC.
“I would like to say thank you so much to everyone that has supported this event,” Austin said. “From the RCA to people who simply came to the events. This was my first program and it means the world to me that I had so much love from campus.”
For those interested in other events at Regents, see their Instagram @regentsrhinoss.