Loyola offers plethora of boredom busters on and off campus

Whether students are looking to explore the city, enjoy music, partake in a thrilling roller-coaster ride, exercise or indulge in a late-night breakfast buffet, Loyola has a multitude of on-campus activities and off-campus resources to provide solutions to down-time dilemmas.

First-year students have a monthly opportunity to experience the Best of Baltimore, a program that introduces them to the area’s finest cultural and sporting events and provides chances to socialize with other new students. All transportation is provided, and each event includes a reception. This fall’s lineup included the Duck Boat Tour of Baltimore followed by a dinner in Little Italy, Hairspray at the Hippodrome and a Navy football game.

The Late Night program offers a wide array of wee-hour social activities on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights including concerts, a coffeehouse, karaoke, outings to Orioles games and a free Midnight Breakfast every Friday night.

There is even a campus club, OPTIONS, dedicated to planning inexpensive programs for students each month including simulated skydiving, a bus trip to see a Broadway show in New York City, ice skating excursions, bowling and much more.

The Fitness and Aquatic Center (FAC) facilitates a variety of club and intramural sports including non-traditional favorites like badminton, sailing, ultimate Frisbee, table tennis and flag football. Students who enjoy the outdoors can find numerous activities in the Outdoor Adventure Experience program such as rock climbing, kayaking, caving and backpacking.

The College’s close proximity to the city of Baltimore adds a wealth of additional cultural, sporting and student-oriented activities to fill free time. In an attempt to encourage college students to experience the city, The Baltimore Collegetown Network has created a safe, convenient, free option for the more than 100,000 college students in the greater Baltimore area to traverse and explore the city.  Collegetown buses run between six colleges (including Loyola) several days a week and on the weekends, shuttling students to such destinations as the Inner Harbor, Arundel Mills Mall, Fells Point and the Towson Town Center.

Their Web site, BaltimoreCollegetown.org, includes shuttle schedules as well as a listing of campus and community events. It encourages students to attend exhibits, support local service projects and explore Baltimore neighborhoods, and many organizations offer half-price student tickets. It’s also a resource for the local weather, restaurants and hotel packages.

For more information on student activities on campus, click here.