Passport's Ok Go Excursion!

Peer Educators is an organization on-campus that provides students with valid and accurate information to challenge them to make safe decisions. Peer Educators has three subcommittees, Passport, Marketing, and Alcohol Awareness. Passport, the committee that I am personally a part of, creates the Passport of New York City that is given out every year. The committee also runs multiple small and large scale excursions around the city. There are excursions to restaurants, rock climbing facilities, broadway shows, ice skating and others. The Friday before Halloween, they ran an excursion to the Ok Go Concert at Terminal 5! Every excursion has members of Passport lead the excursion. We all met before the concert and took the Ram Van to Lincoln Center. Once there, it was a short walk to Terminal 5. We anxiously waited in line to see Ok Go! We made our way inside and were greeted by an array of band t-shirts, all of which were quite tempting (that's marketing for you!). After resisting the urge to buy awesome shirts, we explored Terminal 5. The first floor opens to a smaller space in front of the stage, that is surrounded by upper-level seating. We walked upstairs to take a look around, what a view! The two opening bands were Eytan& The Embassy, which was a great band, and Those Darlins, a band I found less impressive. As Those Darlins ended, we quickly moved as close to the front of the stage as possible, which was a great decision because Ok Go was absolutely amazing! They had confetti shooting out at the crowd, they played one of their songs with handbells, and the lead singer came out into the crowd and sang a song (like 15 feet from me)!! On top of that--yes, I know, what else could we ask for--they had a light show for their encore. Everything went dark, then all of the sudden you see letters floating on stage that eventually formed OK GO! The letters were on the back of their jackets! They started playing, still in the dark, with their guitars lit up with lasers shooting out of the ends. The concert was more than I could have asked for, for only $15 dollars! An amazing experience at an inexpensive price. Afterward, we went and got pizza at a small place nearby and discussed the show. I could not have asked for a better night!

Surviving Midterms at Fordham

It’s midterm week, and all of campus is feeling the effects – between late-night studying sessions, excess coffee consumption and resulting sleep deprivation, students are buckling down and some (perhaps for the first time) are discovering the wonderful haven that is Walsh Library. This year, I approached midterms armed with a plan that included detailed study guides, ample break time, and abandoning the cozy warmth of my room for a place that may as well be my second home: the library. Feeling much like a packing mule trekking down the Grand Canyon, I loaded up my backpack, laptop, charger, snacks for sustenance, and as many books as I could fit, I left the comfort of my room for more productive horizons that lay just behind the giant library doors. Normally, I choose to sit in the desks on the second floor, by the windows, looking out over the lawn.

Occasionally, this seating choice can backfire, since the view of the sun shining on the grass and trees tends to lead one to want to enjoy the beautiful weather instead of working, yet in the spirit of midterms I find the strength to resist this urge. Once unpacked and organized, I begin my long afternoon attempting to master the French language and the many influences of genetics on family life.

Whenever I am in desperate need of a break and caffeine, I head over to the newly opened Campbell Café, (conveniently located in Campbell Hall, right next to the library).

The Campbell Café has a variety of delicious treats and up-scale food, most importantly (at least for me this week) is the coffee…which is “We Proudly Brew” Starbucks Coffee. Depending on my mood, I either go with a shot of espresso (If I’m in dire need of energy), regular coffee or a White Chocolate Mocha (when I’m looking for a treat!)

The inside of the Café is beautiful and the food is delicious. I have liked everything I’ve tried so far, since nothing beats a hot cup of coffee and a good snack. There’s also MooBella, an ice cream machine that lets you choose your flavor and topping, and then mixes it for you! It’s a great treat and really fun to use. Here’s a peak at what else is offered in the Café:

In the end, after many similar days of late night study sessions and help from both the Campbell Café and Walsh Library, I made it through midterm week. So what’s the moral of the story? When armed with right resources, it is possible to survive midterms!