You might think, “Only Friday for Fall Break? Puh-leez, that is not even a break.”
While one day off for Fall Break might not seem like much for every student, it creates great opportunities for some student groups on campus. Since many groups accept new members in the weeks before Fall Break, the extra day can be a chance for the group to bond over the long weekend.
Student groups taking advantage of the long weekend usually plan to get away from campus.
This year, the Mosaic Whispers a cappella group, Karl Improv, Suspicious of Whistlers improv and the Running Club all took trips in order to bring their groups closer together and welcome new members.
As it happens, the three performance groups traveled to the nearest metropolitan hub of Chicago, about a five-hour drive from Wash. U., while the Running Club headed to a suburb of Indianapolis.
“Fourteen of us crammed into three cars,” Yael Warach, sophomore and Mosaic Whisper member, explained.
Warach also noted that the trip was worth the uncomfortable travel conditions. “It was really good to see more of the newbies’ personalities and have the group get closer than it already was,” she said.
In addition to performing at three Chicago-area high schools, the Whispers performed with The Freshman 15, an all-male a cappella group from Northwestern University. For a night out on the town, they went to see “No Country for Old White Men,” a Second City improv political satire.
The weekend provided both old and new members with a shared experience, successfully integrating them into one cohesive group.
“I feel different being in the group now than how I felt before. It is more of a family,” new Mosaic Whisper member Alan Pinkart said. “Now we have a lot of inside jokes, especially from Second City.”
The Whispers were not the only ones with good ol’ Chicago comedy on their agendas. Both Karl and Suspicious also ventured to Chi-town to hone their skills by watching some of the best.
Karl member Cory Williams took away some pointers from four shows he attended, the majority of which were at the famous Improv Olympics, or IO.
“I learned that it is a technical craft. On campus it is for fun, but in Chicago it is a big deal in comedy,” Williams, a sophomore, explained. “I saw how good it can be in entertainment form. I’m now motivated to work harder.”
Suspicious even had a workshop and learned skills from some Improv greats.
“The teacher was nice and funny. I took away a lot from the workshop and am trying to implement what I learned,” Mike Kastelein, a freshman and new member, said.
Opting out of the busy city-scene, the Running Club chose to connect with each other in a more rural area.
“It was good to get out to the countryside and away from the big city,” said Alec Koppel, a sophomore.
The Club got to participate in the National Intercollegiate Running Association race outside of Indianapolis. Despite the difficulty in running against Big 10 schools such as the University of Michigan and the University of Illinois, the club still managed to have finishers in the top 30 while enjoying themselves.
“It was the nicest, most intense, prettiest course I’ve been on,” Koppel said.
The next time you start complaining about Fall Break, realize that it just might be more useful than you’ve thought. A day off can open up a number of doors to new areas, experiences and relationships.
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