Oct 25, 2018 | Feature |
Kaleigh Warner at the Aladdin show last year.
(Photo Provided by Kaleigh Warner)
By Journey Bubar Contributing Writer
Every year, the Student Life Office and Weekend Adventures and Excursions club (WAE) plans a trip to New York City, which includes a choice between two Broadway shows (this year the shows are “Kinky Boots” and “Anastasia”) and time to walk around NYC.
Warner has worked for WAE for three semesters, and says that the New York trip is one of the biggest and most talked about on campus. “New York is the most popular of the eight events we host every year,” said Kaleigh Warner, a senior. “For only $55, students will get transportation to and from NYC and entry to one Broadway show.”
Student Life and WAE plan about four trips each semester. “There is a lot of work that goes into planning all of our trips, but New York is double because we take 100 students rather than 50,” said Warner. “I do most of the advertising and connecting with students to get some more excitement for the trips.”
“We have about 50 tickets per show. 150-200 students show up to get tickets each year and will camp out hours before the event to secure their spots,” said Warner. “Throughout the semester we have students calling, emailing, or coming into our office to ask questions. Then, on the day of ticket sales, the line winds throughout the student center and we sell out in 10 minutes!”
Warner said that in the past, they have had to waitlist people in case someone pulls out last minute because so many people are interested in the event. “Every year we like to switch up what shows we offer! In the past, we’ve seen “Wicked”, “Phantom of the Opera”, “The Lion King” and “Aladdin”,” said Warner. “Sometimes we bring back tickets for really popular Broadway shows. We like to offer shows that we know will be popular with various students.”
The bus leaves UMF around 12:00 a.m. Saturday morning and gets back around 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning. “We allow plenty of time for students to wander the big city on their own,” said Warner. “Some students choose to sightsee, eat a slice of [New York] pizza, visit the various museums or art displays, walk around Central Park, or go shopping.”
The New York trip and many other trips sponsored by Student Life are great opportunities for students to travel and have new experiences at a decent price. “This trip is so affordable for students because it’s also partially paid for by Student Life,” said Warner. “$55 would typically only pay for transportation to New York, which is why it’s so important that students are taking the opportunity for trips we sponsor.”
Warner concluded by saying that Student Life enjoys getting input and suggestions from students on new or different trips and activities that they would like to see offered. “These trips are for you!” said Warner. “Our trips are affordable and range between $10 and $55 for a day full of fun with new or old friends.”
Tickets for the New York trip are being sold on Wednesday, October 24th. Doors open at 7 p.m. but be aware students line up hours in advance.
Oct 11, 2018 | News |
By Journey Bubar Contributing Writer
The Farmington Outing Club’s President Isaac Seigle and Vice President Kyle Joseph both agree that FOC is a great place to have fun with friends while enjoying the outdoors.
“A lot of people don’t really get outside anymore,” added Joseph. “Growing up, all we were was outside, and now everyone’s got screens.”
FOC does all kinds of activities from skiing to rock climbing to hiking. “It’s mostly just about getting people engaged in the outdoors,” explained Seigle.
Both Seigle and Joseph are Outdoor Recreation Business Administration majors with certificates in Alpine Operations. They’re also involved with Mainely Outdoors activities, as well as regular skiers and teachers at Titcomb Mountain.
Seigle mentioned that people who are uncomfortable or not as familiar with the outdoors can join FOC and be surrounded by people that are. It can make the overall experience more enjoyable. “Sharing what we like to do with other people,” said Joseph.
As a club, all of the members are friends and like to go skiing and hiking as a group outside of FOC events. “You can be like ‘Hey I’m gonna go do this thing’ and people can come with you,” said Seigle. “So I guess a lot of stuff that we do isn’t necessarily like through the University, but we use our club time together through the week to plan activities.”
FOC likes to take at least one big trip a semester. Last year they went Nordic skiing at Maine Huts & Trails. They rented a lodge and some cabins for 40 people for a weekend trip. “That was what we spent most of our budget on,” Joseph added.
Seigle said that this year is a building year for FOC and they are in the process of meeting with Student Senate to create a new budget. They do a lot of fundraising and bottle drives to earn most of the money for their trips.
“A lot of us have decent connections with people in the outdoor recreation industry, so sometimes we can get a lot of discounts and stuff or make things happen for cheaper than they would if you were to buy it yourself,” Seigle explained.
Some of FOC’s big attraction events are “Party in the Park” and ski trips. “Winter’s our busiest season,” said Seigle. “We do a lot of stuff like every weekend.”
“Party in the Park” is a collaboration between Titcomb mountain, a local high school ski club and FOC. The groups work together to build park rails and jumps for freestyle skiing in the spring, and provide music and food as well. “It’s a really good event, usually 70 people show up. It raised like $1000 for Titcomb,” Seigle said.
Joseph and Seigle both said that the Poplar Falls trip they did last year was one of their favorites and they want to do it again this spring. “We have plenty of ideas for trips,” said Joseph. FOC also tries to do other types of activities like white water rafting, biking, and boating.
“We need people to show up, that’s what gets the club going,” said Joseph. “If you have a good experience with us, share it. Spread the name, spread the word.”
“Spread the vibe,” Seigle added. “Peace, love, positivity,” Joseph concluded.
Sep 27, 2018 | Sports |
By Journey Bubar Contributing Writer
Buckland has been playing on the Women’s Rugby team since freshman year at UMF and is looking forward to another promising season with her teammates.
Since Women’s Rugby is a club sport, they usually don’t have enough players to fill the 15 field positions, but this year Buckland is happy to see a large number
The women’s Rugby team engages in a scrum. (Photo courtesy of Erin Buckland)
of new recruits. “Sometimes we wouldn’t have any subs, so by the end of the 80-minute game, we’d only have 13 players left on the field,” said Buckland.
Buckland mentioned that new players aren’t expected to know everything about the game, and that the coaches and fellow players are happy to teach the rookies everything they need to know. “If you put the time and work in, everyone can do it. That’s the thing about rugby, it’s a really easy game to fall in love with,” said Buckland.
Buckland explained that having rugby be a club sport presents some challenges. “I think that we’re sometimes looked at and treated differently for being a club sport,” Buckland said. “It’s hard to recruit varsity athletes because they want to stick with the level they’re playing at, so they don’t even take a look at rugby which is sad, because they should.”
Another challenge the team faces is that the UMF Fleet doesn’t always have enough passenger vans to fulfill the demand between clubs and other sports teams, even when filing the van application on time. “I don’t know the official order, but I know that club sports are last,” Buckland said.
Buckland explained that without consistent access to UMF vans, the team has had to rent passenger vans from a third-party which costs more, or they have to their personal cars certified so they can drive to their games.
Buckland explained how every position and player is vital to the game, and how people should give rugby a chance even if they aren’t sure about it. “Since it’s a team sport, every single person needs to be doing their job or we’re not going to succeed,” said Buckland.
Before their Saturday games, the team likes to have a Friday night dinner to prepare and bond. “We always try to have a rugby game playing in the background,” said Buckland. “It helps the rookies know what to expect.”
Practicing is also really important before big games. They warm up, do some drills, and scrimmage each other just like every other sport. But the team really focuses on building communication. “Everything you do in rugby requires communication,” said Buckland.
Buckland admitted that she still feels a little bit nervous before a game, even after playing for so long. “The previous captain said something that really stuck with me,” said Buckland. “She was like, ‘You have to go out and you have to want it the most.’ And honestly, if you do want it the most, the nerves just go away.”
“So even if I get my van request in on time, if academics or varsity sports wants the vans, they’ll take the Women’s Rugby vans away for them to have.”
