On Friday, August 22, our freshman class attended a Communiversity event that was sponsored by Rensselaer’s Office of the First Year Experience. This event ran from 5:30 pm-7:30 pm, and was attended by the entire Class of 2007. Also in attendance were upperclassmen and members of the Troy community. As in past years, it was located by the waterfront in Downtown Troy. Unfortunately, due to the weather, the annual scavenger hunt had to be cancelled, but the freshmen still had an enjoyable walk down to the event.
There were several forms of entertainment going on throughout the event. The most popular among them was a band playing modern music along with singing and dancing, which occurred as the freshmen were called up in groups to a barbecue provided by Sodhexo-Mariott.
After the freshmen left the barbecue, there was a party nearby resembling a carnival. There were events such as spin art, a dunk tank, a plastic climbing wall, and inflatable games. There was also free Italian ice, ice cream bars, water bottles, other random giveaways, and another band playing music with a dance floor.
Aside from the freshmen and FYE volunteers, there was also a very large greek turnout at this event. Approximately 12 chapters were represented, making up a total of around 150 attendees from the IFC and Panhel. Many fraternities and sororities sent members to the event, who for the most part just provided spirit and enthusiasm. The greeks also helped out by cheering on freshmen climbing up the wall, and some even accompanied them up the wall. In addition, many greeks who had served as Student Orientation Advsiors bravely volunteered themselves to sit in the dunk tank.
This festival, along with many other communiversity events, has been run for several years by the Office of First Year Experience. These events, primarily run by Cynthia Smith, are ways for incoming freshmen to get “introduced” to the city of Troy. While students would inevitably explore the downtown area eventually, this is usually to go to a fast food establishment. This “exploration” also usually occurs during the night, when the town is not exactly aesthetically pleasing and often gives the city an element of danger. These Communiversity events occur during the day, and although there have been clouds, the sun always seems to shine through at the right time. These incoming freshmen might never see that nice a view of the Hudson again. It is important to Rensselaer that it tries to give the typical incoming freshman a positive, if not pleasant, view of Troy. This is because, whether or not many students acknowledge it, Troy is their town, and for four years of their lives, it is their home.
