Growing up as a religious Jew, a big worry within the community is that once you go away to college, you will stop following the laws and traditions of the Jewish religion. This is because it is usually very difficult to continue following many of the laws, especially when surrounded for the first time by so many people who don’t follow the same laws and traditions as you. One solution that many Jews use is to go Yeshiva University, which is 100% Jewish, and so for them it is easy to follow laws, since everyone around them is Jewish. However, it is very expensive, so instead I chose to go to Baruch. I chose Baruch over other CUNYs mainly because it has a lot of Jews. With Judaism being such a big part of my life, I of course went to the Hillel on the first day, to see what they offered. I have went just about every single day since then, usually to eat lunch or to just hang out and use their unique Wi-Fi. The specific event that I took this picture at was Parsha Wednesday. In Judaism there is basically a chapter from the bible for every week, which is called the Parsha. At Parsha Wednesday, a volunteer speaker speaks about a few thoughts from the Parsha of the Week. It starts at 12:15 every wednesday, and in the middle they serve pizza. I will keep on attending Hillel probably for the rest of my time at college, as it is a good base for me to have fellow Jews around me, and is also a good way to meet new friends. It is also a good place to visit every day, as they have a free lunch every single day of the week except friday. This is good because it is difficult to find kosher food, and even when I can, it is usually very expensive. It is also good because as a Jew, the stereotype that we love things that are free is very true. Usually the food that they serve is pizza, but every once in a while we have something different, like sushi or chinese.
Month: September 2017
Visiting the MOma with my homies
After class on Thursday, I went to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). Instead of going alone, I went with my newly found friends Ben and Ryan. I was afraid I wouldn’t make any friends in my block schedule, but thankfully these guys are there for me and I consider them to be good friends. Anyways, once we reached the museum, I was immediately blown away by the structure of the building. It felt almost as if the building was an art piece itself, housed by many other priceless pieces of art. As we walked through the gallery, we were all pretty much blown away by what the museum had to offer. The art pieces all varied from one another, ranging from 3D replicas of famous locations all the way to oil on canvas projects. The amount of variety never ceased to amaze me. It felt like there was something for everyone. This experience assisted my experience here at Baruch because it made me realize that there are so many opportunities that I must take advantage. Thanks to Baruch, I’m allowed to visit many museums and other famous locales for free with my CUNY ID, such as the MOMA. Now, I feel like I must make an effort to visit all these locations when I get the time in order to get the most out of my time here at Baruch as a freshman. In addition, going to the MOMA with my friends made me realize that I need to make time to hang out after class ends as well. Usually, right after class ends, I leave and go straight to the train in order to get home. I now realize that doing this is wrong, for I should make an effort to hang with my friends and socialize in order to be able to enjoy myself and meet even more people to talk to.
My First Club
Student life is a big part of the college experience in any academic institution, and Baruch is no exception. There are many clubs and organizations in Baruch, and if you were to invest even just a little bit of time in searching for one, you will surely find at least one that suits you well. The clubs here in Baruch are very welcoming, and looking for new people to join every day, even if you’re only slightly interested. I recently took a visit to the Hillel Club in Baruch, a prominent Jewish organization that helps band together Jewish students and staff so they can all come together under a similar life experience. In this club, you will meet many different types of people, all of whom are very friendly and welcoming, and the club itself is very . prideful in it’s hospitality and laid-back atmosphere. At first, I was fearful to go see the club because I thought I would be an outsider who would be look upon as if I didn’t belong there. After a lot of convincing by my friends, I finally decided to go and see what the club was about. Although I myself am not Jewish or of Jewish decent, I was fairly interested in the culture, which I have been partially exposed to in my life a few times. My two friends, both of whom are of Jewish decent, took me along with them to the club and introduced me to everyone. I was very much surprised to find how accepting of a new person everyone was. We sat down and talked just as normal people do, and made a few friends during my short stay. As I was getting ready to leave the club, more people began to speak to me about getting more involved in the club and taking part in some of their activities, which I was perfectly fine in volunteering my time to.
My friend & I, in front of HillelFUSION
I went to FUSION’s first GIM on September 7th. I first heard of them from a friend in VSA at Convocation. I asked my friend if she knew any dance-related clubs at Baruch, and she told me that FUSION has a dance team. I signed up for FUSION at Convocation without knowing anything about it other than the fact that it’s basically the Filipino club. When I went to their GIM, my initial assumption of them was wrong. FUSION is not simply just the Filipino club, but it’s Filipinos Uniting Students in Other Nations. While the club may predominantly be about Filipino culture, the club also tries to include other cultures as well. Every club will say how they’re really close like a family, which is something I wouldn’t deny, but from what I’ve seen, this statement is more evident in FUSION than in other clubs. From their intro video, to social interactions, to even their less awkward and totally bearable icebreakers, the members of FUSION are goofy, genuinely outgoing, and kids at heart. Their events, Mr. and Mrs. PI, Battle of the Barrios, Fear Factor, and FUSION Fridays, all seemed fun and collaborative enough so that each member of the club has a role to play.
At the end of the meeting, they asked if anyone was interested in joining Confusion, their dance team. I signed up immediately, and I got in without having to audition. This was mainly due to their lack of members and because it was enough for me to have prior dance experience from high school. Our first practice was on the same day from 9 – 10 PM, which seemed really late at night, but nevertheless it was an enjoyable experience. After going to the first GIM, I will definitely be attending future events and meetings.
Music Industry Club Experience (NYMIA)
I chose to attend the general interest meeting for in joining the NYMIA because already have a great amount of interest in music creation and the music industry itself. I’ve always wondered about the business aspect of the music industry, but never took the time to research it. Therefore, I felt that this club would be a good thing to attend, for I thought that I’d be able to learn more about the music industry. I was assured that this would be done by the president of the club, and things began to look promising for the club. The board members for the club all looks enthusiastic and passionate about the club, which made me feel good about the quality of the club. Regarding my passion for creating music, the club promises half off for renting out the music studio, which is really good for someone like me who isn’t trying to spend $40 an hour to use a professional studio. I plan on getting involved by coming on the days the club meets that interests me, such as the Music Mixer day which has the members of the club get to know each other and find out what they all do musically and see if they can collaborate. I’ve always looked for a female singer to be featured in one of my songs, so I’m hoping to find a girl like this at the club. I also might try and perform on open mic night. Performing in front of a live audience has always been a dream of mine, so I feel I should jump at this opportunity to make my dreams turn into reality. In addition, I may attend Karaoke day at the club so I can have fun with the group members and take a day to relax with them. As of now, I’m excited for what NYMIA has in store for me as a first time member. 
Museum of Modern Art
On Thursday September 14th, Ben JJ and I took a trip to the Museum of Modern Art. Google Maps were our best friend finding the museum. Once we arrived, we obtained our ticket. Regular adult admission to the museum is $25 but thanks to our Baruch ID’s, we were able to go in for free, a deal you don’t want to miss out on. It was my first time ever going to the museum so I didn’t know what to expect, it’s probably the last place you’d find me. But I honestly did have a great time because it took me out of my comfort zone and I was with good people. The three of us went up the escalators, roaming through the floors and observed various paintings and sculptures. It’s something you don’t experience everyday, so it was important to take advantage of that moment. We found this one sculpture encased in a thick glass layer. JJ and I were very puzzled about the glass more than the sculpture and began poking away at the glass and its corners. We were then stopped by the security in the room and awkwardly stepped away. We proceed up another level where we encountered the exhibit (didn’t catch the name of it unfortunately) we took our picture in front of. We were all so fascinated by it because of its originallity. The exhibit consisted of street sign with arrows pointing in different directions. At the same time, the three of us had a similar thought of famous rapper Quavo’s saying, “yeah that way”. We asked two different people to take the photo (not as satisfied with the first picture). Soon after we headed our separate ways. If you haven’t been to the Museum, take advantage of the free pass, whether you go alone or with other people, and it’s only 20 minutes from Baruch. I definitely got something a little more than I expected out of it.
FUSION
On September 14, I decided to attend a club meeting. I looked at a list of clubs online on the Baruch page and decided I wanted to go to an Unicef meeting. So at club meeting time I went to the room that Unicef is supposed to be held in. The club was smaller than I expected and they were serving pizza and soda to everyone. I took a seat and was immediately welcomed by a boy who I later on found out was a board member. When the president started his PowerPoint, I realized I was in the wrong club. The club was actually Fusion, Filipinos Uniting Students In Other Nations. I was flustered by my mistake but I decided to stay and see what exactly the club is about. This was the club’s second general interest meeting so I got a broad understanding. The powerpoint spoke in depth about a contest/pageantry: Mr. Philippines. It is a contest numerous colleges take part in. Contestants put on performances and show their talents to win. Ironically the president of the club has won before, but for Hunter College, not Baruch. There isn’t much of a focus of Fusion besides exploring and getting to know Filipino culture better. After the introduction, ice breaker bingo was played and we all went around trying to find people who fit the requirements to win one of the three cups of cookie dough that were prizes. Then we broke up into small groups and we did a treasure hunt to compete for the remaining cookie dough. There were many silly riddles like “show me a picture of your group”. I included the picture we took. My team actually won third place and so we got some cookie dough to eat. It was sugar cookie and super sweet! Overall I had a lot of fun even though this club was not the one I originally planned on attending. The people were really friendly and kind. I laughed a lot and enjoyed myself. Maybe I’ll continue to attend meetings and learn more about Filipinos. After all, everyone is welcome to join the club!
Volunteered
Starting out in college was a lot different from what I had expected. It seemed unlikely to know most of the people in your graduating class like in high school so it was very intimidating. I personally was slightly afraid of meeting new people as I had grown accustomed to my current group of friends after many years of hanging out with them. I thought that it would be very hard to meet new people and repeat this same process.
I attended a volunteer event due to the request of my friend. That friend of mine also happened to go to Baruch. It was an event that was not related to Baruch but one that helped me adapt to the life at Baruch. I had to cooperate with many other people who I had never met before and work together to unfold/fold chairs and tables, set up water bottles at booths and move furniture around. We had a lot of free time after setup because we had to wait for the event to start and the runners to come to us so we can give out water. In the time we waited, I learned how to get to know strangers around my age better and I ended up becoming friends with them.
After the event had ended, we all went out to get lunch together and talked about ourselves. I had learned that many of them come from schools that are slightly far away and they had come back to the weekend to help the community. Hearing this, I thought that there are good people out there who are not afraid to reach out to others. A new mindset was beginning to emerge where strangers are not to be afraid of and instead to be befriended. I think this was a great experience for me and that I should not underestimate the process of making new bonds.
Investment Management Group
I went to a club meeting for IMG, also known as the Investment Management Group.
I went, less because I was actually interested, and more because my friends, Mike and Audi, were going, as well as the fact that I had to wait until 2:55 before my writing class started, so I had time.
The meet itself was interesting enough. It was hosted by a man name Zouhare Al-Baroudi.
The meeting started off rather dull, with all the members of the club introducing themselves.
I feel as though it was meant to be a way for them to build up the clubs credibility, because they all interned for a lot of impressive sounding companies, like JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs, and a whole bunch of others.
Thing is, it took so long for them to get around that my eyes glazed over by number four.
The total number of introductions was close to sixteen if memory serves correctly.
There were six head directors, a bunch of advisers, and a few analysts.
After the boring part was over, things started getting interesting.
They started talking about what we would actually learn. They held weekend workshops, most of whom anyone could drop by, where they taught essential skills.
The one that I remember, for whatever reason, was that they were going to teach us how to use Microsoft Excel without a mouse.
Apparently, its a lot faster if you just use the keyboard.
I was considering joining, when I learnt just how much work was involved in actually being a member. It was less what I was expecting from a student club, and more like getting a job.
You had to first submit a resume, and then you had to go through an interview.
I thought about it for a while, before deciding not apply to join this year, mainly because it sounded like a lot of work for something I don’t think I want to do.
I’ve decided to attend a few workshops, and if I enjoy it, then I’ll join next year.
Visited a Museum
It was not my first time at the Metropolitan Museum, but I had forgotten how huge it actually was. The museum was closing, and I realized that even after spending multiple hours exploring it, there was still much more to see. I had no problem leaving. I figured that since I get free entry with my Baruch Student ID, I could go back any time to finish what I had started. Of course, there are still many other Museums in New York City that I would like to visit, but I guess I will have plenty of time to see them all.
I chose to go to the Met first because of the great variety of its exhibition. As you walk through the wide and bright corridors, it’s as if you were touring around the world. You can easily notice the differences and similarities between exhibits as you walk from one room to another. These are all consequences of the proximity between the civilizations responsible for these artworks. Also, as I travelled through the years, the evolution of mankind was quite evident. The use of different technologies by different societies in different time periods, highlighted this advancement, and also brought to my attention the different methods used by different populations to achieve the same goal. Chopsticks and silverware, for instance. They both serve the same purpose, but are completely different. One was invented in the East, and the other in the West.
Another great perk is how close the Residence Hall is from the Museum Mile. Along this section of Fifth Avenue, many other museums can be found, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, which I have always wanted to visit. Soon, I will be back to finish my tour, and once that is done, I will still have a whole mile to walk in search for the next exhibition.
