It's Christmas time in the City

It's that time of year again - Christmas at Fordham!  Here at our Rose Hill campus, there are so many different ways to get into the holiday spirit. Here's a list of how the Fordham community is celebrating the holidays and giving thanks for our #Ramily this season.

Peer Educators is an on-campus group
that provides festivities for health and good cheer!

1. Holiday Fair

Every year, Fordham's Campus Activities Board puts on a Holiday Fair where students can take pictures with Santa and his elves, share some free treats, and even do a little gift-shopping.  This year, I helped table for Fashion for Philanthropy selling Candy-Cane Grams and painting festive nails - all proceeds went to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  Students look forward to seeing the horse-drawn sleigh that rides throughout campus for several hours during class-time the day of the fair.  I remember the first time I saw the sleigh, I could not believe my eyes - it was a Christmas miracle!

Even the rain and gray skies can't stop the annual horse and carriage rides!

2. Volunteering

What better way to truly keep the joy in the Christmas season than to give back to the community?  Every year, Fordham sponsors toy/food/coat drives for those who are in most need during the chilly season.  I have already received so many emails about different different drives occurring on campus.  I think this not only retains the true value of the season, but also highlight's Fordham's Jesuit mission of men and women for others.  

My residence hall, Walsh, is having it's own Toy and Coat drive,
sponsored by the Residence Hall Association.

3. Arthur Avenue's "Little Italy"

Student's who are in need of a home-cooked hearty holiday meal will venture to Arthur Avenue, the "Little Italy" section of the Bronx.  Arthur Avenue is a tight-knit community with its own unique charm that is a mixture of the old and the new - it still has most of its original storefronts that have been passed down from generation to generation, while also attracting students, families, and tourists alike who want the best Italian food in NYC!  Also, every year, the Belmont community (where Arthur Ave is situated) has their own tree lighting and caroling that always is sure to put a smile on any passer-by's face!  I always look forward to having a Christmas dinner with friends to unwind during finals and prep for the next semester. 

Annual lights on Arthur Avenue to welcome all who visit!

4. NYC

Or if you want to experience some of the magic of Manhattan that occurs during this time, Fordham LC is just a quick 30 minute Ram Van ride away!  This will take students right to Columbus Circle where there are holiday lights that are like magic at each change of color.  This sophisticated yet quaint area of the NYC is sure to bring the Christmas spirit to full force with the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts just a short distance away where holiday-enthusiasts can see the Nutcracker!

These are just a few ways to partake in the holiday cheer, which there is certainly an abundance of here at Fordham.  Happy holidays to all!

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!

December Preview

December at Fordham can be short and quick – with just a week left of classes, two reading days, and then finals.  But that doesn’t mean that Fordham shuts down for the month.  Not only is the campus beautifully decorated for the season, but also in between studying, writing papers, and packing for the long winter break, students still take time to enjoy themselves with fun campus activities. Every year, the Campus Activity Board (CAB), the club responsible for planning fun events for students on campus, has a Holiday Week. Every day of the week there is another CAB-sponsored activity to get everyone into the holiday spirit.  Some events include a Cultural Affairs Christmas Ticket Raffle, in which students can win $20 tickets for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular or for The Nutcracker, a Holiday Fair, a viewing of the holiday-classic Elf, gingerbread house making, and a trip to go ice skating at Bryant Park.

Another annual tradition is the Peer Educators’ Holiday Scavenger Hunt.  This is a fun event where you and a team of friends are given a list of tasks and clues (related to the holidays) that you must complete or find in the Lincoln Center area.  Prizes are awarded and hot chocolate is given out! A Senior Night is also scheduled for this month.  Senior Nights are themed dance parties, only open to seniors at the Rose Hill campus.  This month, the theme is Santa’s Workshop (I’ll be dressing as an elf!)

This month is also an exciting month for sports at Fordham.  After winning our first ever NCAA FCS home playoff game versus Sacred Heart University 37-27, Fordham’s record-breaking football team travels to Towson University in Maryland next Saturday for the next round of the playoffs.  On the same day, our men’s basketball team plays St. John’s University during the 2013 MSG Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden.

Of course, many more activities will be going on at Fordham this month, but these are a few of the things I’m looking forward to this December!