Midnight Madness

Every college and even high school has their own traditions and Western New England University is one a campus full of many traditions. Last weekend was Midnight Madness which is one of WNE’s class pride tradition. It is held in the gym from 9pm until 11pm and each class, freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors are given a section of the bleachers that is their territory. When you enter WNE as a freshman you are given a class color that you will have for the next four years, next year the class color for the entering freshmen will be red. I am a sophomore this year and my color is blue, so for Midnight Madness each class gets decked out in their color and cheers on those in their grade as they compete in dodgeball, three-legged races and other challenges. Each class council also prepares a dance and performs it for the entire campus at Midnight Madness, which is beyond entertaining. The cheerleaders perform along with the dance team and martial arts team. It is a great event that brings your class together and creates a little healthy competition. Every year a class wins based on the games played and who wins along with spirit points which are easy to gain because the DJ keeps everyone on their feet. This year the seniors won Midnight Madness, but you never know maybe next year it will be you and your freshmen class 'repping red who win but you’ll have to beat my junior class first! 

-Liz

Spring Semester Already?!

It’s hard to believe that by November, WNE students already have their spring semester schedules picked out. Schoolwork has been the main focus for the past two weeks. It always gets very hectic around the end of the semester. I have research papers and exams and more homework than ever.

A week ago, some friends and I went to the Eastfield Mall to see the movie Wreck it Ralph which was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. It was one of those movies where the trailer gives away absolutely nothing about the movie. It was definitely not a movie that appeals only to kids. We also found out that there is a student discount at the theater that reduces the regular adult price from $10.75 to $7.75. Just show them your college ID and they will give you the discount.   

This week, I had my first meeting for the Alternative Spring Break program. I met with my group and group leader for the first time. I am very excited to start fund raising and planning out the details for our trip to Virginia.

Next week is only a two day week, which means no labs! Then we have Thanksgiving vacation! I am going home for the first time since July. I’m bringing my boyfriend and one of my WNE friends with me so that should be a fun, relaxing time.

I’ll check in after the break,

Brandi

Raking in Midnight Madness

This past weekend was one to remember. It all started Friday night with my first ever Midnight Madness! Every class had their own color: seniors were red, juniors were yellow, sophomores were blue and freshmen were green. The gym was filled with balloons, streamers, and spirited students in their respective colors. The excitement grew as each class council entered and the competitions began. There was trivia, relay races, dance offs and more! The freshman even came in second behind the seniors in the shootout. It was a really fun night to hang out with all my friends and cheer on our class. I did not participate in an event this year, but I am definitely doing one next year. I cannot wait!

The good weekend continued on Saturday and Sunday with SWE (Society of Women Engineers). We did a leaf-raking fundraiser in the mornings. We had really beautiful fall days to do it, too. We split up and went to the houses of some professors and raked their yards! Despite the hard work involved, it was really fun and a great weekend to bond with some of the upperclassmen engineers. This weekend we are having a movie night, so I am looking forward to that.

The final memorable thing to happen recently actually did not happen on the weekend. On Monday afternoon I had my first encounter with Health Services. I hurt my finger pretty badly at Frisbee practice and decided that I should probably get it looked at. Health Services actually closed at 4pm and it was about ten after, but they ended up letting me in and looking at my finger. The nurses are unbelievably nice and intelligent. My nurse was just about to leave, but she took the time to give my finger a splint and tell me what to do until the next day.

I ended up breaking my finger. The same nurse called me today to tell me what the x-rays said and plans to meet with me on Monday. Although having a broken finger on my dominant hand is definitely going to be a challenge, I am really impressed by our health services, and I know they will do all they can to get me better!

Until next time,

-LyndseySJ

 

P.S. We had our first snowfall this week!

 

Another Halloween Vacation!

            As devastating as the storm was in some areas, it gave us WNE students a relatively calm mini-break the week of Halloween. This mirrors the one we got last year when the big snow storm hit us. Because we had Tuesday off, I went with some friends to see Cloud Atlas at the Rave Cinema in the Eastfield Mall. As I mentioned in a previous blog, all movies are $5 a person on Tuesdays. It was a very long, complex movie but still held your interest until the very end.

            On Halloween, I dressed up as a zombie. Campus was very festive and many students had on costumes too. On the first floor common room in Commonwealth, there was a little Halloween get-together. There were nachos, cookies, candy, and apple cider. There were also Apples to Apples, bobbing for apples, Halloween trivia, mummifying contests (where you wrap your partner up in toilet paper), and king-sized candy prizes for the winners. Even the dining hall had a themed dinner with foods like “bloody eyeball pizza” (meatball pizza) and “fried maggots” (rice stir-fry). Some of the staff members dressed up in costumes and the whole area was decorated. Though I was unable to attend, there was also murder mystery dinner held in Rivers and tickets were only $3. It was a fantastic Halloween on campus!

            As a side note, I was selected for Alternative Spring Break! Hopefully I’ll be working with low-income families in Radford, Virginia with the “Rice and Beans” project during spring break in March. I’ll let you know when I hear more details.

Catch up with you later,

Brandi

Rock the Open Mic

Here's another clip of some Western New England University students at our recent Open Mic Night held in the Campus Center during our Late Night at the Rock series. This is a very popular event here at WNE and I hope you enjoy the footage!

Johnson

Clips from Friends and Family Weekend

Enjoy my video of the annual Friends and Family Weekend here at Western New England University. In this clip, you'll see one of the biggest traditions at WNE, Bed Races! Hope you like it!

 

Johnson