2008 Woodie Awards
FYE Runs Second Event
Moshe Goldfeder
Issue date: 12/27/04 Section: News
On Tuesday December 21, the First Year Experience (FYE) program launched its second event of the year, a night of Virtual Challenge at Laser Park in Times Square. The program, which was sponsored by the Office of Student Affairs, is designed to foster a sense of community and camaraderie among new arrivals on campus, giving students the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends outside their existing social group.
Having already run one successful outing, a dinner at the upscale Abigail's restaurant last month, Assistant Dean of Students Bradley Karasik was excited about the night's possibilities. "Since the first event was quite formal, we chose to do a more informal, loose event this time. It's still an all inclusive way for students to mingle and meet each other, especially with such a team oriented sport like laser tag."
As of Monday night only 22 invitees had RSVP-ed, but 80 first year on campus students showed up to board the buses. Arriving at the indoor arcade/amusement park, students were handed a bag of tokens and the evening's free gift, a set of dog tags bearing the inscriptions "I Survived Virtual Challenge" and "First Year Experience, Yeshiva University." Most of the games were set to free mode; the tokens were for return games, or games that yield tickets redeemable for prizes.
Laser Park features an abundance of activities designed to divert all manner of man, and with Yeshiva footing the bill, students ran from Laser Tag , to Battletech, a virtual reality war game, to all kinds of classic arcade style amusements. The venue was easily large enough to accommodate the nice turnout, and the plethora of pastimes was amply able to keep one occupied for the full two and a half hours. When students inevitably needed a chance to chance their breath, a large TV room, equipped with a pool table, drinks, and large comfy chairs, was showing a college basketball match-up on its two jumbo screens. After the first hour or so, the drinks were joined by a large delivery of pizza and fries, which students were quick to make the most of.
Having already run one successful outing, a dinner at the upscale Abigail's restaurant last month, Assistant Dean of Students Bradley Karasik was excited about the night's possibilities. "Since the first event was quite formal, we chose to do a more informal, loose event this time. It's still an all inclusive way for students to mingle and meet each other, especially with such a team oriented sport like laser tag."
As of Monday night only 22 invitees had RSVP-ed, but 80 first year on campus students showed up to board the buses. Arriving at the indoor arcade/amusement park, students were handed a bag of tokens and the evening's free gift, a set of dog tags bearing the inscriptions "I Survived Virtual Challenge" and "First Year Experience, Yeshiva University." Most of the games were set to free mode; the tokens were for return games, or games that yield tickets redeemable for prizes.
Laser Park features an abundance of activities designed to divert all manner of man, and with Yeshiva footing the bill, students ran from Laser Tag , to Battletech, a virtual reality war game, to all kinds of classic arcade style amusements. The venue was easily large enough to accommodate the nice turnout, and the plethora of pastimes was amply able to keep one occupied for the full two and a half hours. When students inevitably needed a chance to chance their breath, a large TV room, equipped with a pool table, drinks, and large comfy chairs, was showing a college basketball match-up on its two jumbo screens. After the first hour or so, the drinks were joined by a large delivery of pizza and fries, which students were quick to make the most of.