September has finally arrived, bringing with it the last traces of unbearable Rochester heat, the Class of 2011 and, if you’re a fashion guru, the inability to look cute in white while still being considered chic.
Orientation was obviously a huge success, introducing more than 1,000 new students to our campus and forming bonds between the freshmen with numerous (forced but fun nonetheless) activities and approximately 5,932 rounds of “the name game.”
Classes have begun and stress levels are rising. Partying with friends is restricted to weekends (for most of us) and everyone is beginning to realize that it’s not necessary for the entire campus to attempt to eat lunch in the Pit at the exact same time.
In short, we’re all succumbing to the inherent pressures of forming routines for ourselves. Soon we’ll all be walking around like robots, going through the motions, wondering to ourselves, “What do we do now?!”
But alas! Good news for those of you fearing redundancy and the inability to distinguish Mondays from Wednesdays and Tuesdays from Thursdays.
While long lectures and labs seem to have robbed you of any ability to find entertainment besides people watching in the Pit or from a table in Rush Rhees, it does not mean that someone is not making an effort to salvage your social lives.
Rest assured that the rest of September is full of amazing academic, athletic and social events on and off campus.
Of course, we all know that the fall brings with it sporting events to get pretty pumped about.
The football team, which finished 7-4-0 overall last year, is preparing for the Courage Bowl, to be held at St. John Fisher College this Saturday, Sept. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Also, make some time in your schedule to hit up Fauver for a soccer or field hockey game, while also getting out and enjoying the last few sunny days of September.
Furthermore, the fall semester is a fabulous time to get involved in some extracurricular (resume boosting – wink wink) activities on campus.
Check out the intramural wall in Goergan and, if you missed the Activities Fair, check out the Student Life page for UR at http://www.rochester.edu/studentlife.html and find some stellar activities to throw yourself into!
If you’re all about going Greek, keep an eye out for fall recruitment events for fraternities and sororities.
And do not forget to mark Friday, Sept. 14 on your calendars to take advantage of free Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. You can also look forward to a sure-to-be awesome presentation given by Jerry Greenfield himself.
And don’t be afraid to get yourselves off campus for a little while. Enjoy a change in scenery, stress levels and, most importantly, food quality.
While the dependability of the UR bus services is questionable (i.e. rumors have circulated about being stranded in Pittsford Plaza for an absurd period of time), eateries like Pellegrino’s and The Distillery, arguably the home of the world’s most outstanding French onion soup, are only a cheap cab ride away.
When the weekends finally roll around (and by weekend I mean that which starts on Thursday), spend the rest of September being welcomed (back) to the ROC with exciting social events such as “Welcome Back!!!” at SoHo, happening this Thursday at 10 p.m.
And don’t forget to make the rounds on the Fraternity Quad so you can get reacquainted with Uncle Dickie, who undoubtedly suffered terribly this summer without us and should have an excessive amount of cheese fries waiting in his truck.
For more exciting off-campus activities, check out www.myrochester.com and click on your preferred area of interest.
Nicewicz is a member of the class of 2009.
