On Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, the Geneseo Campus Activities Board (GCAB) held a tarot card reading event in the Kinetic Gallery inside the MacVittie College Union. The board brought Gina, a local tarot reader, to campus, who had been practicing the art for over 40 years. The event was quite the hot commodity, with a lineup quickly forming for her that resulted in a waitlist structure where interested students left their names and phone numbers. Around 10 minutes before their reading, one of the GCAB members tabling the event would reach out to the next student to let them know their time slot was arriving.

The Chinese Cultural Club at Geneseo’s (CCG) “Boba Tea Social” was held on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm in the multicultural center on campus. This event was open to all students and staff to socialize and have free boba tea!

Have you seen fun upcoming events such as Fright Fest and tarot card reading? These events are all thanks to the Geneseo Campus Activities Board (GCAB), which is funded by mandatory student activity fees. The executive board is currently all female, and among the members is Sophia Sabatino, a senior communication major from Long Island, New York. Sabatino joined GCAB during her junior year as the Concert Coordinator and now serves as the GCAB chair.

As the end of October creeps up slowly, many students are counting down the days until one of the biggest party weekends in the college setting. This weekend is none other than “Halloweekend.” This term refers to the weekend either before or after Halloween when college students and other young people alike decide to celebrate the holiday—typically through wearing the costumes of their choice and taking the town by storm. This year’s celebration will last a shocking three days for many, as Halloween will fall on a Thursday.

Halloween is a favorite holiday for many, with festive aspects such as spending time with friends, candy, and, perhaps most importantly, dressing up. Costumes are a fantastic way to express one’s creativity and find common interests among others. The process of deciding what to dress up as can be a stressful decision if your ideas seem boring or overdone. Do not fret, though, as a few costume ideas are appropriate, fun, and versatile!

This past Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, Geneseo Late Knight (GLK) and the Spine Breakers hosted an event together where they created “To Be Read” (TBR) jars and decorated them. For those unfamiliar, a TBR jar is something that many avid readers utilize to make their book-reading choices easier. The concept involves filling a jar with slips of paper that have the titles of books you would like to read and then randomly selecting a piece of paper when trying to decide what book to read next.

Geneseo has spent the past 30 days celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month on campus. Hispanic Heritage Month takes place annually from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. The National Museum of the American Latino (NMAL) explains, “While we celebrate Hispanic and Latino communities beyond this month…we give extra recognition to the many contributions made to the history and culture of the United States, including important advocacy work, vibrant art, popular and traditional foods, and much more.”

Orquidia Geraldino is a senior political science major who serves as the Student Association President for the 2024-2025 academic year and a College Council member. Throughout Geraldino’s academic career at Geneseo, she has always prioritized staying involved on campus. Her previous roles on campus also include being a Resident Assistant (RA), on search committees, and the Caribbean Student Association president. 

Grayson Alkins is the bright new star of Geneseo’s famed Orchard Street. Stationed between two frats sits his small but mighty food cart, iconically known as “Gman Hots.” It is there where he feeds the hordes of tired college students looking to feast on anything they can get their hands on.

On Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2024, the Office of Student Volunteerism and Community Engagement and Geneseo Career Design Center hosted the Community Engagement and Internship Fair in the MacVittie ballroom, located in the Union. The fair had many goals, most importantly though, to educate students about volunteer and internship opportunities in various models, including nonprofit organizations, government, and public service sectors.

With the upcoming midterm season, many of us students are preparing for afternoons and very late nights/early mornings filled to the brim with frenzied reading, careful note-taking, and even a flashcard or two. To try and lessen the blow that this collegiate ritual can take on students’ mental and physical well-being, I bring to you some tried and true, as well as more unconventional methods for studying.

SUNY Geneseo has long upheld a tradition of hosting two blood drives each semester in partnership with the American Red Cross. These events unite students, faculty, and community members around a singular mission: donating blood to save lives. Last week’s blood drive was no exception, as participants from across campus filled the MacVittie College Union, eager to make a tangible difference in the world by donating blood. With an impressive turnout and a strong sense of community, this event demonstrated that even small acts of kindness, like donating blood, can impact countless lives.

This past Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, was the International Day of Peace, also known as World Peace Day. This date was established in 1981 by the United Nations and is celebrated worldwide to promote world peace—specifically focusing on ceasing war and violence. There is a universal website that can be accessed at International Day of Peace, which showcases a 100-day countdown to the date every year. The site also showcases events held worldwide, including a section specifically showcasing college and university events.

Clifton Harcum is the interim Chief Diversity Officer, as well as the Director of Multicultural Affairs at SUNY Geneseo. Harcum has been in his position at the college since June of 2023, joining soon after establishing the Multicultural Center in 2022. When asked about his role in the Geneseo community, Harcum states that his role is to “advocate and support students from underrepresented communities” as well as “supporting BIPOC and underrepresented faculty and staff.”

As fall rapidly approaches and the air is getting crisp, it is time to begin thinking about what to wear this fall to look and feel your best. There are numerous trends and shopping guides, yet they do not always correlate with comfort—especially for college students. The perfect fall outfit guide offers comfort, warmth, and, most importantly, a confident aura.

On Sept. 20 in the Kinetic Gallery inside the MacVittie College Union the first of two workshops under the title “As Soon as A.I. Speaks: Poetry x A.I.” was held by Dr. Lytton Smith, a professor of poetry here at SUNY Geneseo. The workshop went from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. and throughout these two hours, Dr. Smith had the student attendees write independently, explore in-development artificial intelligence (A.I.) writing tools, and learn language to be able to more effectively talk and learn about both poetry and A.I.

Between the Lines (BTL) is one of SUNY Geneseo’s all-gender acapella groups. In the past, BTL has been known for its love of performing indie songs that may be a little underground or removed from the everyday listener. There is always an audience for different types of music, but within the current population of college students, the majority tend to enjoy mainstream artists on campus. We support all of the acapella groups since they bring such a fun energy to campus life, however, everyone better prepare for the new energy BTL brings to campus this semester.

Well then, look no further! Autumn is a fan-favorite season amongst students, leading students to search for fall activities—especially with friends. Participating in fall-themed activities is a classic way to appreciate the season, so here are some fun recommendations that you can do in the Geneseo area.

The student interviewed for this article preferred not to use their name and will be referred to as “Anonymous” for this article. Anonymous just transferred to Geneseo this semester and is currently a junior who decided to rush a sorority and offered to share their personal experience.

Zahoor Raza is a business administration major who has attended SUNY Geneseo over the past two semesters through an international studies partnership hosted by his university in Karachi, Pakistan. Raza has truly been making the most of his time on campus, being involved with copious clubs and extracurriculars such as Model UN, The Lamron, Society for Human Resource Management, and the National Society of Success and Leadership. On top of this, he is a frequent contributor to The Friday Times, a notable, independent Pakistani newspaper, publishing since 1989.