Spirit Day in review
Nick Fisk
Staff Writer
Hudson Valley students received free gifts, food and information as they demonstrated their school spirit during Spirit Day in the Siek Campus Center last Wednesday.
With the end of the semester just around the corner, students had a chance to relax with friends and enjoy free pizza, snacks and live music.
“It gets busy real quick,” system administration major Michael Hughes said. “This is a good chance to slow down.”
Students were also able to get free stickers and Viking helmets, among other things, in the various booths while they were available. In addition, Hudson Valley-branded merchandise was available at 20 percent off at the bookstore, encouraging students to “Get your green on, give a little and show your college spirit!”
In addition to other events, college staff were running a canned food event. If students brought in a non-perishable food item, they were able to receive a Hudson Valley shirt in their size for free. In this area, pictures were taken of students who showcased their spirit with Vikings gear.
The event ran from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., which some students argued could’ve been longer. However, most of the influx of traffic came from approximately 11:50 a.m. and 12:50 p.m. when classes let out.
The increase in attendance to the event may be coincidence, as Hughes tells us how he learned of Spirit Day.
“I walked in here to get lunch, and, coincidentally, Spirit Day was going on. So, I figured, ‘Why not? It doesn’t happen very often,’” Hughes said.
Some students used Spirit Day as an opportunity to focus on their remaining work.
“The food was great, then I just did my homework,” said Sachin Arjune, engineering science student.
Slowing down for a minute also gave students the opportunity to reflect on their semester at Hudson Valley.
“It was my first semester, and it [was] way harder than high school,” Arjune stated, surprised by the changes he experienced. “Everything is way harder. You’re responsible for everything.”
“I feel it’s a good college that’s underrated,” second year engineering science student Karran Bansi commented.
Bansi learned about Spirit Day through one of the school club he participates in.
“It’s a nice social event,” Bansi said. “You get to meet new people. It’s a nice chance to relax because you’ve got final exams coming up.”
Students say they would like to see more events like this over the course of every academic semester and year.
“There has to be a lot of activities,” Arjune said. “There has to be fun stuff, entertaining stuff, engaging stuff.”
Bansi got slightly more specific, sharing how he wanted to see “a sports day kind of thing. Kind of like a carnival maybe, that’d be kind of cool.”
Regardless of future events, Hudson Valley’s Spirit Day successfully drenched the campus atmosphere in a haze of green and gold.