Magazine Article for "As You Like It" - Marist Clubs and ...

When I first came to Marist for Accepted
Student’s Day, I knew what I wanted to see, but
I didn’t know what to expect from my third
choice school. I heard all the regular stuff, good
communications program, beautiful campus,
upper classmen housing was on Good Morning
America…
What shocked me most upon my arrival to
campus was the amount of high energy students
I saw, and this was at eight in the morning!
We eventually made our way to the gym
and that’s where the Marist College Band roped
me in. They were the most energetic kids I saw
on campus and I wanted to be a part of that.
That’s what I was looking for from my college,
school spirit. Simple as that, but Quinnipiac
lacked it, UMaine was too cold for students to
be outside, and the list went on. Whatever IT
was, Marist had IT.
The question I have is; what happened to
IT? This year I’ve noticed a severe lack in attendance
at many different events on campus.
From basketball games at McCann to Movie
screenings in the PAR, where have all the students
gone? The sudden drop off in support
for teams and organizations is both astounding
and upsetting.
Last year the stands were packed for most
basketball games, not just at the Siena game.
The Bardavon Theater was sold out for the
Music Association’s Spring Concert. There
was even a rush for tickets to the Lifehouse
concert on the Riverfront and the Jim Gaffigan
show at McCann. So why is the showing so
poor this year?
Well most of the blame is obviously placed
on the students. As members of this college
community, we have a responsibility to make it
better. This year we have been sitting in our
rooms drunk or hung-over most weekends instead
of out supporting our basketball programs.
The McCann center is widely known
through the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
as one of the most feared places to play. We
earned that reputation because of a packed student
section every night raising the noise level
of the building ten-fold.
It was a rebuilding year for the Men’s team.
Their old coach bailed and took his recruits with
him on top of the four departing seniors. Chuck
Martin arrived to Marist last spring and was
quoted many times saying how much he loved
this place, “This campus has a pulse and you
can feel it,” he would say. Now when he needed
that pulse, that life, to help out a struggling
team that was picked to finish last, it was nowhere
to be found.
Students can’t be the only ones at a fault
here. I place some blame on the administration
at Marist. Unlike so many other schools, Marist
does a terrible job promoting its teams. For all
the talk about wanting to have big-time athletics,
Marist is stingy with its money, and overly
strict with its policies. How come when I went
to a Villanova basketball game, there were students
tailgating in the parking lot doing keg
stands yet here parking around McCann is reserved
for Red Fox Club members only? Unlike
Villanova, Marist is catering to these older
people from the area instead of who they should
be catering to: the students. After all, this is a
college! Let the students support their teams.
It pains me to put blame on an organization
that has given me so much in my time at Marist,
but the Band must take its share. Last year the
Marist Band was an integral part of football
and basketball games on campus. We were the
rebels, standing toe-to-toe with the likes of
Tennessee, Ohio State, and LSU bands. For
some reason, something changed this year. The
jerseys and bandanas, staples of the group,
went away. Out came dress pants and polos,
April 1
SPC Coffeehouse: Pie Boys
Flat
9 PM PAR
April 2
LAS Poetry Slam
8 PM Cabaret
April 3
SPC Movie: The Curious
Case of Benjamin Button
10 PM PAR
April 4
SPC Social - Knicks game
8 AM - 7 PM Location TBD
SPC Movie: The Curious
Case of Benjamin Button
10 PM - 11:30 PM PAR
April 14
ARCO game night
9:30 PM - 10:30 PM SC 349
April 15
Student Employee
Appreciation Day
11 AM - 2 PM
April 17-18
6 PM - 6 AM
Relay for Life
April 19
International Students Club
Roman Toga Party
7 PM SC348
April 22
SPC Comedian: Eric O’shea
9 PM – 11 PM PAR
April 24
Riverfest
5 PM - 9 PM Longview Park
April 25
Marist Band Concert
8 PM Bardavon Opera House
April 26
Marist Band Concert
3 PM Bardavon Opera House
Spring Concert
Jack’s Mannequin w/ Matt
Nathanson and Erin McCarley
TBA
SPC Social: Six Flags Great
Adventure Trip
8 AM – 10 PM
By Mike Walsh
with red jackets at indoor basketball games.
The band went from being a hard fighting, passionate
group, to a generic college band that
plays the same songs over and over again.
Nobody wants to come out to a game and be
bored and the band is currently contributing
to that boredom.
The bottom line is that people in the Marist
College community must work together to restore
that vibe and “pulse” that attracts people
like me. If we don’t, then our athletic programs
will begin to slip into obscurity along with our
school’s reputation. I was there at the NCAA
Tournament in Louisiana last spring, when our
women were playing the LSU Tigers on their
home court. I remember the feeling of being
totally helpless at the game, being drowned
out by the overwhelming numbers of LSU fans.
I just never thought that that could happen at
my home, not at the McCann Center.
April 27
Mr. Marist Competition
8:30 PM - 10 PM
Nelly Golleti Theatre
April 29
SPC Social - Salsa Dance
9 PM - 11 PM Cabaret
May 1
SPC Movie: The Spirit
10 PM - 11:30 PM PAR
May 5
MCCTA presents:
Humarist’s Big Show
9 PM - 11 PM Nelly Golletti
theatre
May 8
Silver Needle Fashion Show
2 PM and 8 PM Mid Hudson
Civic Center
Singers & Time Check
Concert
8 PM – 10 PM Nelly Golletti
Theatre
May 10
Small Ensembles Concert
12 PM - 2 PM Nelly Golletti
Theatre
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