Tatim Brace

Staff Writer

Picture yourself roaming around campus on a Friday evening after classes. Your life is temporarily stress-free after the school week has finished. You’re excited to hang out with people, maybe hit up First Stop or participate in a club activity. You suddenly stop and realize that you’re standing in the middle of a ghost town.

Marywood University has about 1,000 students residing on campus, but on any given weekend, about half of those residents, or even more, leave. Many students drive their cars back to their parents’ house or visit friends at other colleges. Though these are often fun things to do on the weekends, it’s sad to think that many people feel like they can’t have fun unless they leave school.

Devon Chakiris, a work study student for Student Activities Crew, says that many people are gone for the weekend, making it difficult to organize activities because there would be a lack of participation.

“If you’re not on a [sports] team or going home, there’s very little to do besides eat. If you don’t have a car, you can’t go anywhere.” Devon says.

On Friday evenings, all cafes and other places to eat on campus shut down for the weekend. Any students who remain on campus are left with few options, even when it comes to eating with friends. Brunch and dinner, served in the dining hall at specific hours, are the only meals available on Saturdays and Sundays.

However, Devon says that there are some weekend activities that students could be participating in on weekends, but for whatever reason, don’t. About every other weekend, SAC and Student Government Association take turns planning events such as bus trips to shopping malls.

In Marywood’s effort to go green, some of these events aren’t overly advertised with flyers. A great place to find out what’s going on around campus is to look at the Weekly Squirrel in one’s Marywood email or to stop by the SAC office located on the ground floor of the Nazareth Student center, according to Devon.

She adds that students should really take advantage of the events that do go on during weekends at Marywood because everyone pays a fee on their tuition to SAC, whether they choose to take advantage of the free events or not.