“…and that was the second time I was on CSpan.” For those of you well-versed in the art of “story topping,” I’d like to bring to your attention that there aren’t many college students, not to mention people in general, who get to end stories quite like that. By the time Mock Convention is over, however, that particular number will have grown and my repertoire of unique story sign-offs will have expanded exponentially. The truly amazing thing is that I already have enough stories to firmly entrench myself as the center of attention (my favorite position) for years of cocktail parties and reunions. Oh, and let’s be real, as far as the 2012 Mock Convention is concerned, the real fun is just getting started.

Next weekend, April 1-2, is W&L’s annual Tom Wolfe Weekend Seminar. This year, for the first time ever, Mock Con is co-sponsoring the event along with the Alumni College. The topic of this year’s program is “Paradise Imagined: Political and Social Values in the Facebook Era” headlined by none other than the great David Brooks and introduced by the weekend’s namesake himself. A weekend full of events with alums, Brooks, and Tom Wolfe is sure to add some great story trumping material to my already burgeoning arsenal--the perks of the job. Hidden beneath the surface of excitement and opportunities, however, is what this event signifies for the 2012 Convention.

Tom Wolfe Weekend signifies our first University-wide, Mock Convention 2012 event. The planning stage of Mock Convention is over. (Pause dramatically to let this sink in). Ok, the planning stage is not over. It’s never over and it never stops (I said that for dramatic effect). The fact is, I’ll be waking up in cold sweats for years to come with potential ideas and scenarios that could occur at the 2012 Convention. But this event does mark a turning point in our organization. We’ve had information sessions and presentations. We’ve read all the available literature. We’ve prodded, badgered, inquired, and just flat-out annoyed our predecessors for any pearl of wisdom they could impart, no matter how small. But no amount of advice or “experience” can prepare you for the real deal. While we’re not going at this alone, this is still our very first sink-or-swim moment. And to further the cliché, keeping our head above water only gets tougher as the seas get rougher from here on out. After Tom Wolfe weekend, we dive head first into Spring Kickoff Weekend. As soon as we set foot back on campus in the fall, we are engulfed by the Presidential Gala. And after the Gala… well that’s truly what everyone has been waiting for.

This coming weekend is our first real chance as an organization to get our feet wet and earn our stripes. So please come join us for this spectacular event. If you come and are looking for a friendly face, I’ll be the one in the corner with the flop sweat, chewing my nails down to the cuticles.