With summer almost here, students staying in Boston will find that many student activities and clubs are shut down, except for those available to orientation sessions. While summer students might not find much entertainment on campus, some are taking advantage of the volunteer and orientation activities at Boston University, as well as entertainment and other events open to Boston locals.
Although students often take summer classes or work for BU, the campus mainly focuses on activities for incoming freshmen. The majority of clubs do not organize events over the summer, according to the Student Activities Office.
However, some students are finding ways to keep busy on campus this summer, through work, community service and other activities.
WORKING ORIENTATION
Many students are staying on campus to help lead orientation for incoming freshman. But the options for being a part of orientation don’t stop there.
School of Management sophomore Dennis Yu said he will spend his second summer with BU Bands, playing trumpet for the pep band. The pep band plays at orientation events, such as the opening session with Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore.
“Last summer we performed at Fenway Park with the J. Giles band and Aerosmith,” Yu said.
School of Education sophomore Allie Romano also said she plans to help student groups to showcase what they have to offer at orientation events. As next semester’s treasurer for Stage Troupe, Romano plans to help recruit incoming freshmen by acting or working backstage for the weekly performances they will see.
“It was mainly because of my involvement with Troupe that I decided to apply for an on-campus job this summer,” Romano said. “Basically, we put on this show the Wednesday night of Orientation weeks to try and attract new Troupies and show people what on-campus groups really do.”
PURSUING PASSIONS
Other students, such as College of Arts and Sciences freshmen Paul Black, plan to spend the summer balancing personal interests with schoolwork. While Black is taking chemistry, he also intends to explore his interest in poetry and work on public relations for Speak for Yourself, BU’s spoken word poetry group.
“I’ll be going to [the Cantab] lounge weekly,” he said. “On May 18 and June 9, the NorthBEAST will be going on at Cantab, which I am very excited to watch. It’s the first time I get to watch an actual competitive slam and can’t wait.”
“My summer will pretty much revolve around poetry,” said CAS junior Kemi Alabi, vice president of Speak for Yourself. “I have some features booked along the East coast, so I’ll be traveling and performing on occasion. I’ll go to Cantab every Wednesday night. I’ll also help out with the National Poetry Slam this August.”
GIVING BACK
CAS senior Matthew O’Brien said the Community Service Center offers students an opportunity to volunteer with the Student Food Rescue. Founded in 1988, the project involves collecting food from restaurants that is too old to sell but still edible and distributing it to food pantries and homeless shelters.
“We work as liaisons between potentially wasted food and people who need it,” he said.
O’Brien, who runs the year-round group this semester, said that students work in groups of four and use a van, provided by the CSC, to make their rounds. The capacity for summer rounds is about 90 people, which can include undergraduate and graduate students, as well as any staff or faculty members at BU.
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