Stress Free Zone

I am sure everyone has heard about the Stress Free Zone by now. I went to my first Stress Free Zone today and it was absolutely awesome. There is free food, t-shirts, stress balls ( or paws should I say) and all the games in the world. I did not think it would be much fun, but a ton of people were present. Whether you go alone and just relax for a little while with food and completing a puzzle or go with a group of friends and beat them at "Guess Who", it is a great place to take a load off and forget about all the finals coming up over this next week.

Props to Heather Kopf and Jen Kent (and everyone else who has been working on it) who have been working on the Stress Free Zone for awhile now and were there when I arrived at 7:40 in the morning setting up!

No Honking Policy

This may be of no importance yet, but it is really annoying to be woken up every night by two people outside honking because of a parking situation. Last night was the third night in a row that both my roommate and I jumped while sleeping because of someone who found it necessary to be honking their horn at 2 in the morning! New York City has a policy, there is a fine of $250 in certain areas where you cannot honk. Why should UMBC not have one? There should be a rule, after 9 p.m. no honking until 9 a.m.. That way, the residents of at least Erickson, where I live, can get a full night's rest.

UMBC Spirit

Some say we've lost it while others say we have never had it. Yet last weekend, it was both the womens' and mens' basketball opening nights and the spirit was more than present. As I entered the RAC 30 minutes early for the womens' game, I was like a bit worried that my excitement of bringing friends from other schools and showing off my school would be for no good reason. Yet at 7:40 p.m, after the opening routines, the game began and crowd rushed in. This being my very first game attended in the RAC, I sat closest to the team, not realizing we had a "Dawg Pound." Well that section of the stands was completely full with students wearing their yellow and black. As I looked around the crowd, I noticed that nearly all the stands were full with people wearing yellow and black. Both the dance team and the cheerleading team were present the entire night. UMBC played extremely well showing their class and sportsmanship as George Washington was more on the rough side. The game was full of excitement and surprises. It ended with a loss for UMBC by 20 points and a technical foul with numerous other fouls for George Washington.Although a loss, it was a wonderful way to start off the season for the team. Maybe we have lost it or maybe it never existed, but on November 9th, the UMBC spirit undeniably filled the RAC in support of our fellow students.