OPTIONS Club Offers Low-Cost
Entertainment Alternatives

One of the most widely held myths about college students is that their entertainment interests revolve solely around the use of alcohol. At Loyola, the three-year-old OPTIONS club offers a wide array of on- and off-campus social programming as an alternative to the drinking scene.

Founded by Omani Guy, ’09, OPTIONS operates on the philosophy that no student should feel pressured to drink or go to bars in order to have fun and be social. 

OPTIONS events are planned by an all-student executive board which takes great care to develop, and participate in, programs that encourage a sense of community among OPTIONS program participants, known as the “OPTIONS Experience.” The Experience provides students opportunities to change their outlook on college, as well as themselves, by becoming active and engaged members of the Loyola community and interacting with others interested in having fun without drinking. OPTIONS also aims to engage as many students as possible in its programs by keeping per trip costs low, with funding assistance from Student Development.

“As a senior, I have been able to see what Loyola was before OPTIONS and what Loyola is now because of OPTIONS,” says April Grant, ’09. “It is more than just monthly trips. It is more than just a temporary escape from campus. OPTIONS is place where students can go and know that it is all right that they do not go out and drink. They can find peers who share the same views and know that OPTIONS is an outlet that is always there for them. I am proud to be a member of OPTIONS and truly hope that after I graduate it will remain a permanent fixture on campus.”

First-year student Fatima Rodrigues, ’12, agrees:

“OPTIONS gives you a chance to meet new people in a comfortable environment and the trips are always fun,” she says. “It's not just about making friends. A lot of people also view it as a way to get out of the dorms and do something different every once in a while.”

Recent OPTIONS trips have included:

Phantom of the Opera at local dinner theater
Bowling at Perry Hall Lanes
Hershey Park in the Dark
A Broadway production of “Stomp!”
Laser Tag