Author: cychuni

As everyone has noticed by now this semester is winding down and finals are approaching. I wanted to take a moment and list a few activities to do around campus. For most of you, you could do this to take your mind off of any stressful assignments coming up.

1. Take a study break and head to common grounds. Since it’s located right outside of the library it makes it convenient to either stop in before hitting the books or to take a break. They offer an amazing selection of cold drinks, smoothies, iced coffee, or even frappe’s. So stop in and cool off.

2. Spend time on the quad. Since the temperature is rising and the weather is getting much better why not take advantage or all the grassy areas we have on campus? There’s so much to do from playing on the volleyball outdoor field, laying down in the sun, or just throwing the ball around with your friends. It’s a nice way to enjoy the weather and be active.

3. Go swimming! Our campus has the benefit of having an indoor pool, which any student has access to from 7pm to 9pm. The pool is equipped with floatys and gradually rises in depth. So even if you can’t swim you can still enjoy the water! This is another way to cool off from the hot weather and enjoy time with your friends before going back home for summer break,

4. Eat ice cream. Fortunately for us our cafe has an ice cream section. Although the flavors switch up all the time, the most popular is definitely cookie dough ice cream. Just a few days ago they had two new flavors, bubble gum and cotton candy. Which of course was very popular as well. So while you’re in there eating lunch stop by and eat some ice cream!

5. Computer labs! So I know this might sound weird but many students don’t know where to head to when the library is full (which happens a lot during finals). Although the rest of my suggestions were meant to get your mind off academics for a few minutes I thought i’d share just one of my tips for finals. Whenever the library is packed and i decide to head to a computer lab either in strebel or in the basement of the library i’m always surprised to see that almost no one does the same!

I hope you guys do at least one of my suggestions before this semester is over. With finals coming close, just remember to stay calm and take breaks!

For those of you that missed it, this past Saturday Africa In Motion (AIM) held their annual extravaganza showcase . The show was given the theme of AIM vs. The State Of New York. Doors opened at 5pm and began at 6pm and was hosted by two fellow students. The show had many different performances from organizations on campus and from other college campuses.

The show began with the girls introducing their story line of girls from a group home who were being arrested for dancing outside and disturbing the neighborhood. All through their dances and dialogue, which was actually really cool and entertaining.  Following their opening several acts followed. A group of rappers from Syracuse even came out to perform. The acts involved singing, rapping, and dancing.  My favorite one being from our own stepping team, prestige. Who followed the showcase’s theme and acted out a group of steppers being arrested.

Right before intermission the girls came out again for another performance. This time they were being arrested and being transported. More acts performed after as well, the most popular one being “Chocolate Drop” although it’s not an official organization on campus the were definitely  a crowd favorite.

After intermission the show continued on. With another performance from AIM, this time the girls were unfortunately stuck in a remote area after a crash landing. Dancing to songs from Chris Brown and various other artists this was my personal favorite performance of theirs. Afterwards more acts came out, this time the majority of them were solo performers singing catchy ballads.

The show ended with the members of AIM performing their last dance and escaping the jungle. Overall the show was amazing with very entertaining performances along with the story line and theme it was given. Last but not least after the show was over the members of AIM took time to give information to the audience about the organization they have been supporting. Don’t miss out on next year’s annual extravaganza!

Hey guys! So you won’t believe where i got to go this weekend… Boston! The biology club on campus hosted a completely free UC trip! Being a biology major or even a member of the club wasn’t necessary to attend. Many of my friends had decided to go and invited me as well, It was so much fun to spend a Sunday in Boston with friends.

The trip started extremely early.. at 4:00am we left campus on a coach bus for our four hour ride to Boston. After a couple of stops and a few hours of sleeping we finally reached our destination and actually got there an hour or so ahead of schedule. The bus dropped us off in front of the New England Aquarium where we received free entrance thanks to student senate and the biology club at UC. There were so many cool exhibits and animals to check out! The most interesting thing by far was that the aquarium had a humongous tank that was the length of three or fours floors! It was in a tube like shape that was in the center of the complex. It was filled with turtles, fishes, and rocks. Aside from this there were sea lions, jelly fish, snakes, and so much more! After a short visit to the gift shop it was off to the next stop.

For the other half of the day we walked about 10 minutes to the mall. This mall however wasn’t a regular mall, it was outdoors filled with outlets, bodegas and restaurants. The food was amazing! inside one of the three main buildings you could find a variety of food from sushi to italian to mexican food… lunch was the best part. Another cool thing about this area was that there was a bunch of street performers, very funny and really entertaining! If you haven’t already check my twitter for a quick clip of the performance! After shopping, walking in the beautiful weather, and eating it was time to head back to UC.

Since me and my friends were early and since the Aquarium was located right along the Boston harbor we decided it was an amazing time to go to the docks and see the beautiful water! It was an amazing view to end a incredible day. Definitely wouldn’t miss out on this trip next year! Can’t wait to see what other trips clubs will have to offer. Until next time guys!

 

Here are just a couple of pictures from the trip.

This month has been filled with so many events. One of many just happened this past Friday, although UC is a smaller college compared to others Greek life is still present on campus. So, If any of you missed out on Lambda Sigma Upsilon’s probate this weekend, keep reading I’ll update you on the occasion.

For those of you who have never heard about or know what a probate is you’re not alone. I didn’t realize what this was either until my friend asked me to tag along with her. Essentially it’s a coming out ceremony for those who are completing the pledging process. Many students flooded the area to get a good look at the event, other Greek organizations come out as well to support.

The event took place at the Greek circle here on campus in front of Hubbard building. Crowded with a group of on lookers and supporters the probate began at 11pm. In this case, only one person completed the pledging process for the Fraternity. The whole ceremony took about around an hour to complete. In that time the then pledge greeted his fraternity as well as the other fraternities and sororities on campus who were present at the event. Towards the end of the process the fraternity surprised the pledge with having his mother come out from the crowd, unaware that his mother was present it was a very touching moment.

This was the first probate I have ever attended and i enjoyed every minute of the ceremony.  Hopefully this has motivated you to come out to a future probate and get a little taste of the Greek life on campus. Hope you enjoyed reading and until next time guys.

Hey guys, sorry for being so late with this post and writing in general. My laptop is currently getting fixed, but anyways this past Friday the ladies of W.I.N.D. (Women In A New Direction) ended their week long celebration with their annual Mr. Uc competition. Five gentlemen went head to head and competed through different categories for the title. I’ll give you a little recap in case you weren’t able to attend.

The show began at 6 o’clock and upon entrance guests were offered the chance to buy a ticket for their 50/50 raffle. Basically if you get the winning ticket you also get half of the earnings made at the event. The auditorium was packed and anxious for the show to get started. The hosts as well as the judges were members of the organization.

The event started with the introductions of each contestant. Each one participated in the following categories.. formal wear, casual wear, swim wear, pink wear (obviously since pink is wind’s color), as well as a talent portion, followed by a few questions asked by the hosts.  In between all of these exciting categories Open Moments, another organization on campus also performed during intermission showcasing their poems and raps.

At the end of the night the time came for the winner to be announced, for the first time ever a Freshman took home the title of Mr. Uc! He was also the only freshman competing. Mr. Uc is also a fellow blogger! Stop by on Jayson’s blog to congratulate him and don’t miss out on Mrs. Uc coming on April 17th! Until next time guys.

Although my academic experience at Utica College Isn’t as long as upperclassmen I have met some amazing professors. All of the professors that I’ve had so far have been more than willing to help their students and have an exceptional way of teaching their students. There are two that have stood out to me the most in these past two semesters.

• My first semester here at UC I took psych 101 with Dr. Kreiger. My original major was health studies, that is until i took this class. This class is what peeked my interest into the field and motivated me to change my major. Many thought he was a tough professor, I never understood that. Unlike other professors Kreiger gave students one free pass to hand in an assignment. He only had about three assignments throughout the whole semester so this was more than fair. He even took the names of the students who came to class the day before thanksgiving break and exempt them from the next assignment. Before we had an exam he always announced to the class what specific topics from each chapter would be covered. His style of teaching is another reason i enjoyed the class. Instead of making sure we understood the exact definition of a theory he always incorporated examples from his own life. As nerdy as it sounds i could probably go on forever about this class, he’s extremely fair and makes an amazing effort for students to understand the course material.
• The second professor I’m actually currently taking this semester. Professor Richardson is my English 102 teacher. I was referred to take her by my heop counselor. I’m glad I was, from the first day of class I could tell just how many other students loved her as a professor as well. There had been a handful of students in my class who had her the previous semester for English 101 and joined her this semester. My class is actually pretty small, about 15 students. She does an amazing job at having conversation with every student as a whole class. Her lessons have to be my favorite. She involves very modern and recent trends into assignments to make them interesting. For example as an intro to our psycho-geographic unit she had us read several articles on parkour (which is pretty cool btw check it out!). The class in general is made very interesting by the professors personality and her teaching style.

Both professors made class very interesting by both their effort to make the class material relate to the students as well as their own personal touches to the class. I’m hoping too have more classes with both in the semesters to come as well as meeting more great professors. Until next time guys, hope you enjoyed!

My name is Cynthia, I’m a current freshman here at Utica College. I had originally been a health studies student but after a psych 101 class last semester i quickly became interested in the field and with the help of professors I actually switched my major to psychology this semester. Aside from being apart of the blog squad I’m also a member of the Fuerza Latina org here on campus. Meetings are every Wednesday at 5pm, and no you don’t have to be Hispanic to join so stop in at a meeting if you’re interested!

Going away to college was always a far reach for me, which made being able to come to UC more amazing! I was accepted to UC through their Higher Education Opportunities Program. So even if any of you high school seniors who may be reading this think it won’t be possible I assure you there are many options that UC offers. The small classes and really involved professors make it an amazing learning experience.

I’m excited to start blogging and share more with you guys. So stop by to not only check my posts but many of the other bloggers post. Don’t forget to follow us on twitter as well! Hope you’ve enjoyed. Until next time.