Six Flags Fright Fest

A few weeks ago I had the chance to go to Fright Fest through Campus Activities Board (CAB). Since I am on the executive board for CAB, my co chair and I helped organize an event where we were able to take 55 students to Six Flags Great Adventure located in Jackson, New Jersey. Students who attended this trip were able to get free tickets and transportation to and from the park!

Fright Fest is an event Six Flags has been throwing every year for the past 24 years. This event begins on September 19th and ends on November 1st.  Fright Fest includes family-friendly “thrills by day,” and “fright by night” attractions in attempt to provide activities for every visitor. These “fright by night” attractions include scare zones, haunted houses, terror zones, and nearly 200 zombies walking around the park. As I am not a fan of scary things, I was a little nervous to see how my “fright by night” experience would turn out.  

Upon arriving to the park I was surprised at how intensely decorated the park was for Halloween. I guess Six Flags doesn’t call this event Fright Fest for nothing. The main fountain in the front was blood red and there was Halloween decorations all over the park. Since we got to the park around 1 PM the “thrills by day” attractions were in full swing. Although the park was crowded we still got to go on about 7 rides and still have time to get our faces painted. 

Fall Themed Face Paint

However as soon as the clock struck 6 PM people dressed up as zombies, clowns, demons, and other characters began to walk around the park without breaking their character. Although it was very scary seeing these people, I was extremely impressed by their costumes and how well they were able to keep character. Another aspect that added to the “fright by night” attractions was that the park was split into different zones. These zones included a circus filled with scary clowns, an asylum, and a butchery. It truly was frightening!

Although I was scared for most of the time that I was at Fright Fest, I really did enjoy the time I spent there. I had not been to Six Flags for years and it was really great going back and seeing what has changed. That being said, at Fordham there are endless chances to embark on your own adventures with you friends by your side. Whether it be Fright Fest, apple picking, or Times Scare it's important to take advantage of these opportunities to make the most of your time at Fordham!

One of the Fright Fest Actors

Campus MovieFest

In just over two weeks, on April 8, Fordham will begin its seventh round of Campus MovieFest (or CMF), a national student film competition that takes place at colleges around the country. The challenge? Create a short film under five minutes long in just one week.

CMF provides students with all the basic equipment, including a Panasonic HD camera, microphone, tripod, and a Macbook Pro equipped with tools like Adobe Creative Cloud. After a week, CMF collects all of the movies for judging. The top sixteen films will screen on April 22nd--the same week as Spring Weekend--at a red carpet showcase in Keating Auditorium. There will be prizes given away the Fordham showcase, and the top four films go on to the CMF Hollywood Festival to compete for even bigger prizes.

Last April, I entered Campus MovieFest for the first time. My friends and I had little-to-no experience making films, but we decided it'd be a fun project. Our film, Mine, centers around a spoken word artist who performs a poem as a way to gain closure and strength after ending an unhealthy relationship. Even though we knew the production quality wouldn't be perfect, we tried our hardest to portray a realistic, nuanced portrait of domestic violence.

Production stills from Mine (cinematography by Fenizia Maffucci)

My friends Joe Gallagher (who I'd previously acted with in a play on campus produced by the Mimes and Mummers) and Sarah Davis also joined me onscreen. Sarah and I co-wrote the poem that my character recites in the film while Shannon Morrall produced, Fenizia Maffucci filmed, and Amanda Pell composed the score.

CMF doesn't notify you if your film has been selected for the showcase, so naturally the premieres get a good turnout from both filmmakers and friends. Our team was excited to see Mine show up about halfway through the showcase. I was definitely embarrassed about seeing my face on such a big screen, but I was equally proud of how it turned out, considering our general lack of experience. We also just had a really fun time at the showcase; the final sixteen films were really entertaining and diverse. Some were funny and romantic, others were scary, and some films, like ours, tackled sensitive subject matter. I would've enjoyed the CMF Premiere even if I hadn't competed.




Unfortunately we didn't win Best Drama at Fordham, but that didn't slow us down. All the finalists at each school have the opportunity to submit their film into the CMF National Wildcard round. After facing off with other Fordham films, and subsequently three different films from across the country, Mine officially became a national wildcard winner and got screened at the Hollywood festival!

In an even crazier twist, Upworthy.com found our film sometime during our wildcard campaign and featured it on their website and Facebook. (Here's our Upworthy page!)

A screenshot from the day after Upworthy posted Mine on their Facebook page.
(PS. That is a stock photo, NOT a still from our film... I think even partial nudity is prohibited by CMF haha)

We received messages from allies and survivors around the world, on Facebook and on Tumblr.  We were beyond happy to hear that so many people identified with the film and felt more hopeful as a result. Our experience with Campus MovieFest definitely reminded us of the power and importance of storytelling.

Finally, on a sillier note, here's a few bloopers and deleted scenes from the making of Mine:




If you're an actor, a writer, or a filmmaker--no matter what your experience level--you should definitely enter Campus MovieFest at Fordham! 

In NYC, the Oscars Come to Us

Getting ready for the show!

This weekend, I braved the frigid temperatures to attend an only-in-New-York sort of event—and I loved it. With a group of my friends, I went downtown to the School of Visual Arts in Chelsea and watched all of this year’s Oscar-nominated shorts. Most people use the short film acceptance speeches as time to get up and stretch because so few people go to the film festivals where most of the movies play. The quick movies ran the gamut from animated to live action and from tragic to uproariously funny. In between, directors from some of the shorts spoke about their inspirational process, animation, casting, and the difficulties of filming.

Feast Poster

We listened to Patrick Osborne, the director of Disney’s entry Feast, explain that the animators had spent a full day doing “research” (actually watching coworkers dogs romping around the office) on how dogs moved before they began animating the canine protagonist of the short film. The French producer and Chinese director of Butter Lamp, a movie exploring the question of identity through Tibetan nomad families, detailed the immense difficulty of shooting film at 15,000 feet high with a reluctant Chinese government. The effort that goes into the films is incredible despite their short length--Israeli creators of Aya spent a full 6 months in post-production for a total of 3 years working on the film. 

A scene from Butter Lamp

This isn't an activity that I would normally do—I don't watch a ton of movies and knew absolutely nothing about short films. But when you go to Fordham, opportunities to do things like this literally come knocking. Last week, CAB (Campus Activities Board) raffled off tickets to watch every single Best Picture nominee, back-to-back. If my luck were better, I would be doing that, too. When Fordham makes it so easy to explore the city and learn new things, you just can't say no.

Ya Can’t Buy Me Love: Because CAB Gives You All You Love For Free

It’s Fall. The temperatures are decreasing, but the beautifully changing colors of the leaves make up for that sudden chill that you secretly love. In the name of all things Fall, however, where can a girl go pumpkin picking and apple picking in the urban jungle? Never fear, we have two things on our side: 1. We are in New York, anything, even apple orchards and pumpkin patches, are within an hour radius. 2. Fordham’s Campus Activities Board wants you to experience Fall- for free. Yep! You heard me! Free!

The hay-ride to the orchards! 

Campus Activities Board is an organization on campus, which organizes events on and off campus for free. Their Weekend Activities Committee organizes events almost every weekend, again for free. Last year, I picked pumpkins in front of the McGinley Center and got to decorate them, all while enjoying hot cider- can you say amazing?

So many apples, so little time.

I ate as I picked. Multitasking is a great skill.

This year, I went apple picking with Campus Activities Board (CAB for short) at Wilkin’s Family Fruit Farm! We signed up the Wednesday before in the McGinley Center and got the opportunity to pick our very own bag of apples for free! That Saturday, we met in the parking lot to find a HUGE Coach Bus waiting to take us an hour north. Upon reaching the farm, we were given apple bags to fill to the brim for free! After running through the orchards, we got apple cider donuts and warm apple cider- truly a treat to our already sweet day. 

I took home more than fifteen apples. I had so many I had to give them to my friends back at campus!

This was also a great photo-shoot with friends opportunity. 

CAB has many events like this every week! In addition to trips, they also hold raffles where you can win sporting event tickets and Broadway tickets. They also have a holiday air with includes horse and carriage rides around campus, a live monkey, food trucks, decoration making, and so much more!                                          

CAB is one of my favorite organizations on campus and they do an amazing job on getting the whole student body to take advantage of the surrounding city and New York as a whole, because after all, New York is our campus.

Be a Tourist for a Day...For Free!

One of the best things about Fordham is that there is always so much happening on and off campus. Last weekend my friends and I received free, yes free, tickets to go to the Top of the Rock Observation Deck in Rockefeller Center through the Campus Activities Board. One of my friends waited online in McGinley Center on the day the tickets were given out just to make sure that we got some. 

Getting to Rockefeller Center from Fordham is incredibly easy by MetroNorth, located right off Fordham's campus. Additionally, since it was a Saturday we only had to pay for a city ticket. Surprisingly, even though I grew up only an hour away from the city my whole life I rarely had the opportunity to sightsee and do all of the touristy things that someone coming to New York for a one time trip would get to do. 

The Top of the Rock Observation Deck was absolutely incredible and unreal. We took an elevator up to the top floor and when we looked out we had the opportunity to see the entire city. Standing on top of the city, I felt so proud to call Fordham my school and New York my campus. 

Father McShane's Fordham Bucket List

A few times a year, the Campus Activities Board American Age Lecture Series invites various speakers to come and speak to the Fordham community. In previous years, they have invited speakers such as Leigh Ann Touhy, who's story was created into the movie The Blind Side, and Jerry Greenfield, the "Jerry" of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. This year, they invited our very own president, Father McShane to speak directly to the students. 

This was an incredible opportunity, and it was a very special moment for our university's president to connect on such a personal level with the students. He wanted to do the speech in the style of The Last Lecture, as if this would be the last time he would be speaking to the students. So, we were lucky enough to hear his Fordham Bucket List: all the things we should try to do before we graduate. (And as a sophomore, I am eager to try to finish it within my next two years). So here it is:

1. Thank your parents.
2. Take your best friend for dinner and pick up the tab. 
3. Tell the faculty member who changed your life what they did for you.
4. Take in a game at Yankee Stadium.
5. Eat food in an epic restaurant that serves food that you've never eaten before. 
6. Hit all five boroughs - "When you ride through the subway, you ride through the world."
7. Ride the Staten Island Ferry both ways, and look at the Statue of Liberty as you come back to Manhattan, the way it was meant to be seen.
8. Walk on the promenade on Roosevelt Island or the esplanade in Battery Park.
9. Take a walk through Wall Street or through Times Square before 11AM. 
10. Volunteer.
11. Go to a Fordham basketball game and cheer as loud as you can.
12. Prepare for your future by:
     a. going on a retreat.
     b. developing a habit of giving.
     c. preparing for the job interview.
     d. seeing the ocean.
     e. visiting and praying at Ground Zero.
     f. visiting St. Patrick's Cathedral.
     g. visiting the Jesuit cemetery. 

I didn't want to explain each one too much in depth because my summarized version would not do his eloquent speech justice. My favorite part of his bucket list, though, was the incorporation of not only the Fordham community, but New York City as well. Part of experiencing Fordham University is experiencing all of the wonderful things that our city has to offer, and Father McShane made it very clear that that was the best way to make the most of your time at Fordham. We are so lucky to have all the incredible things that New York City has to offer right in our backyard. 

Many of the things he spoke of seem implied, like thanking your parents and volunteering, but they were important to be reminded of. On behalf of myself and much of the Fordham community, thanks CAB and Father McShane for such a wonderful opportunity!

Campus Activities Board Holiday Fair

Earlier this week, Campus Activities Board hosted a Holiday Fair in our McGinley Center to celebrate the beginning of finals and ring in the Holiday season. Campus Activities Board had five tables set up, and many other clubs and organizations had tables as well. Some of the CAB tables included stocking and Santa hat decorating, make your own Christmas ornament, Rice Krispie treat decorating, finals prep goody-bags, and a photo booth. 

The biggest attractions of the HolidayFair, however, were the 6 tables lined with Georgetown Cupcakes and the photo opportunity with Mindy the monkey. Campus Activities Board is broken up into 9 committees plus a General Board, and many of the committees had their own special table at the fair. The Comedy Committee really thought outside of the box this year by bringing a monkey and a chinchilla to the fair. People lined up all around just to take a picture with the monkey! Another big hit at the fair was the photo booth. We even had a member of the Executive Board dressed up as Santa for a little bit!

Many other clubs and organizations also had tables at the Holiday Fair as well. For example, the Fordham Marketing Association sold homemade iPhone cases. Some of the booths sold the goodies that they had, while others gave them away for free. However, any of the donations that CAB received went to helping the relief efforts in the Philippines. It was a great way to celebrate the holiday season on campus, and it was also a fun way to kick off finals and the end of the semester. 

Happy Holidays!

How I Saw a Brooklyn Nets Game for $20

There are so many cool things to do in Manhattan, but it's so important to remember that there's more to New York City. As I've gotten older and spent more years at Fordham, I have vowed to explore more of the other boroughs. Most of the time, I do this by eating at a cool restaurant or attending a show, but this past weekend I was able to do it through sports! My Saturday was packed full with sporty activities. It was already a busy day for Fordham football (10-0!) and by that night, I was on the 4 train on my way to Brooklyn. Fordham's own Campus Activities Board holds ticket raffles from time to time that make tons of great opportunities possible for students. These tickets could be to Broadway shows, musical events, or in my case, sporting events. And the best part is that they are offered to students at an extremely discounted rate of $20. Not bad, not bad at all.

I was so impressed with the Barclays Center. It's an
awesome place to see a game!

So, my 4 friends and I went to see the Brooklyn Nets game vs. the Indiana Pacers this past Saturday. I was so excited to see the Barclays Center because I had only seen the outside previously - it was too cool. I was also in my childhood glory because Jason Kidd, former New Jersey Net, is the coach of the now Brooklyn Nets. Not to mention, this past summer contained a major NBA trade that brought former Boston Celtics greats such as Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry to Brooklyn. It's going to be an exciting season to watch! Thanks to CAB and Fordham, my friends and I were able to feel part of it.

Beyonce and Jay-Z were not in attendance, but that
couldn't stop us from enjoying ourselves!

Campus Activities Board Halloweek

With Halloween coming up this Thursday, the Campus Activities Board at Rose Hill is putting various Halloween-themed events all week around campus. Monday they were giving out caramel apples outside of the Student Center, Wednesday there will be a pumpkin patch, and Tuesday and Thursday there will be screenings of Hocus Pocus and $1 pumpkin lattes at our on-campus coffee house, Rodrigues.

 

 

But my personal favorite event was the Halloween Trick-or-Treat Street that the General Board held on Tuesday during the day. There were tables lined up along Edwards Parade with different Halloween treats at each table. The tables included: trick-or-treat bag decorating, cookie decorating, bean-bag toss and temporary tattoos, caramel apple making, candy count estimation and Halloween ducks, and apple cider and munchkin donuts.

Campus Activities Board is a really great program that we have here at Fordham. I have only been a part of it for a short time, but I have already made a lot of wonderful friends, and the events that we put on are always a huge hit on campus! Campus Activities Board not only puts on some of the largest events on campus, such as Club Lib and Spring Weekend, but they also screen different movies every week on campus and have really awesome weekend trips. They keep things exciting on this wonderful campus that we all love to call home!

Tired of the City? Spend a Day at the Farm!

At Fordham, we always take advantage of our location. There are endless opportunities to explore in the city. However, if you're looking for a break from the concrete jungle, we also have some lovely landscape to enjoy nearby as well. Campus Activities Board, a student club on campus, plans fun events for students and is dedicated to providing us with a variety of activities for free or at a seriously reduced cost.

A couple of weekends ago, my friends enjoyed a day at Wilkens Farm, just a short bus ride away from Fordham in Yorktown Heights, NY. There, they have orchards for apple and pumpkin picking, a fantastic bakery (hello, apple cider donuts!), and tons of Instagram opportunties. Speaking of Instagram, check out our Instagram account @fordhamadmissions for updates on what our students are up to! Here are my friends enjoying everything fall has to offer!

$20 Tickets for Matilda on Broadway!

Last Wednesday, I saw Broadway’s prize winning musical Matilda for just $20. That’s right, just $20 for a $180 value, courtesy of Fordham’s Campus Activities Board (CAB) which holds Broadway ticket raffles for students about once a month. That night alone the board gave away 36 tickets to Matilda and 36 tickets to another Broadway favorite, Wicked. With 72 tickets available, almost half of the students who attended the raffle walked away with their choice of one or two (for their date, of course) $20 tickets.

This was my first Fordham raffle, but not my first New York City Broadway experience. Growing up, I saw many shows, such as Lion King, Cinderella, and Mary Poppins. While at Fordham I have taken advantage of “Student Rush Tickets”, available at the box office the day of the show, and saw Mamma Mia! and Rock of Ages. What beats front row seats to Rock of Ages for only $37? Being a student in New York City certainly has its benefits!


Of all the shows I’ve seen, Matilda was definitely one of the best. My friend Alex and I took the Metro North into the city and went out for delicious Thai food beforehand and then headed to the Sam S. Shubert Theatre on 44th Street for the show. Between the dancing, singing, costumes, theater set, and the amazingly-talented nine-year-old who played Matilda, the musical was so entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny. And to boot, we definitely had the best deal in the house!

The Commuter Experience: Getting Involved

One of the most frequently asked questions that I get as a commuter is "How can you possibly have a great college experience if you don't live on campus?" My short answer is that your college experience, regardless of your resident or commuter status, is entirely what you make of it. I found this out on my own during my freshman year at FCLC.

I live in New Jersey, and while my commute is only about 45 minutes long, as a freshman, I was upset that I didn't receive housing. I felt that I would somehow be missing out if I wasn't living in the residence hall. I worried about how I would possibly make friends if I didn't have roommates to rely on. Luckily, during Orientation, I was assigned to a Commuter Freshman Mentor group. My CFM, really helped to break the ice between the students in my group and before I knew it, my CFM group became a tight-knit community. We learned about each other's backgrounds, made commuting buddies, and went on group outings with my CFM throughout the Fall semester. I could relate to the students in my group since we all commuted and I stayed in contact with some of them through my Eloquentia Perfecta seminar. However, Orientation came to an end and I felt like I was on my own, like I didn’t have a place. I had some resident friends, but I wasn't connecting with the many other residents because they would go straight to the residence hall after classes. When I had nothing to do, I would dread long blocks between classes since I had no one to hang out with. My problem was simple; I wasn't getting involved on campus.

This problem was even simpler to fix. As the semester went on, I began to get involved by attending club meetings. I've now learned that clubs are an integral part of campus life here at FCLC, and many students, especially commuters, find their closest friends through the clubs they attend. These clubs don't only offer meetings, they plan fun events and outings that are open to all students. As a freshman, I got involved in the Campus Activities Board and the Commuting Student Association. My former CFM is now the President of CSA and I've joined the club as a Senator. During my freshman year, I decided to become a CFM because I wanted to help my fellow commuters get involved and make connections. Becoming a CFM is one of the best decisions I've made here so far and I'm hoping to stick with it throughout my remaining years at FCLC. Because I made a great transition by getting involved, I've become passionate about sharing that with new students. Hopefully, some of my mentees will be inspired to follow in my footsteps by becoming CFMs in their sophomore year.

Honestly, I've learned to love commuting and I couldn't picture my Fordham experience any other way. I've made good friends through the clubs I attend and have gotten really close to my fellow CFMs. Your college experience is what you make of it. Just because as a commuter, you may not feel like a traditional college student, you don't have to fade into the background. Fordham University has such a strong commuter presence and offers an endless amount of outlets for commuters to find a home on campus. As a commuter at FCLC, it's easy to get involved, make great friends and connections, and eventually make your own voice heard as a student leader.

Tips for getting involved on campus:

• Check out the Office of Student Leadership and Community Development (OSLCD) in room 408 to check out the list of clubs at FCLC. From clubs based on cultures, peer education, arts, community service, and more, you’re bound to find one that sparks your interest!

• Go to events! You don’t have to be a club member to attend campus events, they’re open to everyone. Many clubs also offer free outings to restaurants, cultural events, Broadway plays, and so much more. Check out the flyers posted around campus for more info and go to 408 to sign up; spots fill up fast!

• Create a profile on OrgSync and check out a calendar of campus events and club meetings. As you’ll see, there so much to do on campus every week!