Maybe you know who you want to be.
Maybe you know what you want to do.
Still, while you’re here at the university, you might as well try out as many things as you can, simply because you can.

I paid around $13,000 for tuition and room and board. That covers
-Large dance rooms to borrow for clubs like Tap That to practice
-Mini-theater halls you can chill in for Anime Club showings
-Dining trays that you sled on when it snows (though I feel like this amount on our bill keeps increasing for some strange reason)
-Suits, masks, and various swords the Fencing Club uses for practice
-Pools and courts the gyms you can exercise or mess around in
-Hikes through the nature preserve for its beautiful sights
-The chance to somehow amass enough musically inclined students who are willing to drag their instruments to an academic building to form Explorchestra

When you pay for a bed in the Binghamton community, you can live inside your room, or outside. (I’d recommend a little of both)

In my experience, there is only one motivation, and that is desire. No reasons or principle contain it or stand against it.
-Jane Smiley

Catch Joey K, Apprentice Word Puncher, on Tuesdays when his wrist stops hurting from bad typing posture

When I think of the beginning of a semester, a few things come to mind. I think of how hard my classes will be, how to improve my study habits, etc. However, one aspect of the first/second week of classes that everyone is in contact with are General Interest Meetings, or GIM’s. A GIM is an opportunity for students to get involved and learn about an organization on campus. At Binghamton, there are over 200 clubs and organizations, so you can imagine the amount of flyers and e-mails that everyone receives on a daily basis. It’s a great opportunity for students who want to get involved to go to these GIM’s and learn about each club. Since my freshman year, i’ve probably been to about 30 GIM’s, and since I’ve settled into my niche of groups that I’m currently involved in.
One organization that I am involved in is the Student Ambassador Program. We work with the admissions office to help prospective students learn more about Binghamton University, through visit days, open houses, IMing, and more! Earlier this week, the student ambassadors held it’s general interest meeting in Mohawk hall. We discussed the program, answered questions, and had some pizza as well! The event was very successful, and we had a lot of fun. Below are some pictures I took from the meeting. To find out more about clubs and organizations, you can visit B-Involved. Another site for Student Association chartered clubs can be found here.

Sincerely,
Dan

Since you’re reading this, I think it’s safe to assume that you are a prospective student in your junior or senior (or maybe even freshman or sophomore) year of high school. I remember those days (I mean, hey, let’s face it, I was still in high school this time last year). Those were the days during which I could not WAIT for a break from school. I began counting down the hours to winter break on the first day of school in September. I always dreaded my first day back after a vacation; I never wanted to get back into the swing of things.

Well here I am, now a freshman at Binghamton University two weeks into my second semester and all I have to say is this:  I am SO glad to be back. Don’t get me wrong, my break was extremely relaxing, especially after a crazy final schedule in December. Everyone needs a few weeks off. But, if I’m going to be completely honest, I was crazy bored at home. I’ve gotten so used to living with my two roommates that I was lonely in my own room at home. My friends no longer lived down the hall from me. . . my parents did. At Binghamton, there is always something to do (when you don’t have your head in the books), but at home, there was no campus for me. So, even though I am back into work mode and already have tests to study for and papers to write, I could not be happier to be back.

This semester, I am taking Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology, Introduction to Psychology, Contemporary Health Issues, and Urban Geography. I haven’t even had two full weeks of class yet, but I can already genuinely say that I LOVE my classes so far. I even think that by the end of the semester I will be sure about what I want to major in. (And that’s a big step for me, I do NOT make decisions easily!)

As always, it’s time to get to work. . .

Talk to you soon!

-Helaine

Week One.
It has felt like forever. A very good forever.

Even though I returned, knowing where everything is, all 5 entrances and exits of College in the Wood’s Onondaga building I reside in, the comfortable lazy back-destroying body pillow connecting my bed to the wall, the posters in my dorm that stole the decoration of my bedroom back at home; knowing the routine, breakfast-class-class-nap-lunch-class, texting friends to see who wants to get dinner and do stuff after; and knowing the little things that made college life awesome, like my friends, it still felt like a brand new experience.

Maybe it’s the new classes, teachers, and classmates. (I’m giving a shout out to my Organic Chemistry professor Mr. Lotempio for being awesome enough to entertain a lecture hall of students at 8:30 in the morning)

Maybe it’s the fact that there are an alarming amount of transfers, all very open, excited, and quick to become friends.

Maybe it’s the restaurants that we have eaten at, realizing that there will never be enough time (or money since we are running broke fast) to try every delectable dish at every restaurant

Or perhaps it’s because I missed everyone and everything here so much that I feel like I started college all over again.

Whatever. If I remember from semester 1, this excited feeling lasts quite a while:D

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation
-Plato

Catch Joey K, Apprentice Word Puncher, on Tuesdays when the things he hung in his room stop falling down and shattering into a million hundred pieces

Hey everyone!

With the new semester starting.... oh 2 days ago… everyone is already keeping super busy with classes, activities, and friends.

Embarking on my second-semester sophomore adventure (can you believe I only have 2 more years after this? Where did the time go?!), I started by moving back early into the good old dorms of Onondaga hall in College-in-the-Woods community… the best of course!..to serve as a transfer student mentor. Basically, I help out with the transfers living in CIW. It’s fun and I get to settle in before everyone else.

My schedule worked out perfectly. No classes on Mondays or Fridays (....life of a science major....??!) but that doesn’t mean I’m sitting around doing nothing! In addition to schoolwork and working at the library for money (essential for college students like me), I am also trying to volunteer for the Boys and Girls Club and the local hospital in Binghamton. Boys and Girls Club is an association where you can volunteer your time to help out children around the city by visiting their school and spending time with them. Both of these volunteering commitments require paperwork so hopefully they both work out!

All my classes are amaaaazing. I love the material and I love the professors. As more time goes on, I will update more on each class… so for those thinking about the psychobiology major offered here… look for updates soon!

Hey guys! A new semester is beginning, and it’s good to be back. I’m glad to see all my friends and catch up with all that’s happening in their lives. While I was taking the bus ride up to Binghamton, I just saw this and came up with this interpretation of it.

This photo is all about the journey that we all take in life. It has its up and downs, and we all just have to roll with the punches. On our journey we will encounter many setbacks, but that’s not a reason to throw in the towel. There will always be a light at the end of the tunnel and there will always be someone willing to give you a hand. It’s like riding a bus:  there’s always a place we want to go in life. Whether it’s doing business or nursing, everyone has their final destination that they have to reach. We take pit stops along the way, whether it’s college or graduate school.
When we reach our destination we’ll have a chance to look back at our bus ride because we’re not riding the bus by ourselves. We will have friends who have shared this ride with us, and I personally think that looking back with them is kind of fun.

So, guys, grab your tickets and check your baggage, because this is going to be the ride of your lives.

-Shutterbug Dennis

Hello!

I traveled to Binghamton during winter break to spend New Years in the city of Binghamton. The organization I interned with, Southern Tier Celebrates, organized First Night Binghamton 2010, a New Year’s Eve celebration in which different venues downtown are open to music, art and theater. I wanted to see what I had helped out with all semester in action. With one admission button, attendees have access to a huge number of events going on all through the evening until midnight. My friend and I went to see the Binghamton High School Steel Drum Band; Galumpha, an acrobatic group based in Binghamton; One World Tribe, a great reggae band; and at midnight, Dirt Farm, a local band who played on a flatbed truck in the snow,

while there was a massive bonfire.

At midnight, there was a countdown to the New Year and then a fireworks display! All in all, a very fun event and I’m glad I took the trip out to experience it! Here is the City Government building lit up for 2010!

In other news, I will be returning to Caramoor this summer to intern in development! I am really glad to be going back this summer. It is such an amazing place, and beautiful year round. I will be sure to update you on the summer music festival when the time comes!

The semester starts in a week - good luck everyone!