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The Student Activities department is very dedicated to helping Brandeis students better appreciate the many bonuses of living in Waltham, as some may have noticed through the most recent strew of fliers around campus advertising an apple picking trip. Student Activities was developed as a department in 2000, and in addition to organizing trips, it runs major programs such as Orientation, Fall Fest Weekend, Winter Week and the Junior/Senior Formal. It co-sponsors programs with clubs and manages the Shapiro Campus Center, Usdan Game Room, the Student Service Bureau in Usdan and Cholmondeley’s Coffeehouse. The off-campus events part of the program has grown in popularity, as noted by Director of Student Activities, Stephanie Grimes. Grimes mentioned in an interview with The Hoot that they recently had to increase the number of buses for student transportation for the apple picking trip from two to three based on demand. Grimes has been Director of Student Activities since July 2004 but has served a total of 12 years as part of the Brandeis staff.

Student Activities organizes a variety of different trips during the course of the school year. An average of approximately 40 students go on these trips. There are six planned trips for the semester and two to four possible trips for the spring. The most recent trip, apple picking, is established as an annual fall favorite. There is typically at least one activity that allows students to see Massachusetts’ winters in a positive light. The event is usually something along the lines of ice-skating or snow tubing. Part of organizing the event is procuring transportation (either buses or vans) to get the students to the fun. “Movie Tours and the Kayak trip were new this year,” said Grimes.

Students can find out about trips and purchase tickets as well as other programs for this semester by visiting the Department of Student Activities on the Brandeis website and clicking on “Programs and Events.”

“We try to give students different things to do and experience. We give students opportunities with no commitment needed—if you want to go off campus and pick apples—you can; If you want to go to the Natick Mall and window shop with your friends, you can. You don’t have to be a part of a group, club or any other affiliation,” said Grimes via email this past week.