Bonnies face Broncos, looking for strong start in Charleston

photo courtesy of gobonnies.com

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team heads south this week for the Shriner Children’s Charleston Classic after they survived an upset scare from Canisius on Sunday evening.

“We know what we’re up against, tremendous coaches, tremendous teams, programs,” said Bonnies head coach Mark Schmidt.

The Bonnies head south this week for the Shriner Children’s Charleston Classic after they survived an upset scare from Canisius on Sunday evening.

The Bonnies started slow at the Reilly Center against Canisius and Siena but managed to win both games. Schmidt knows his team cannot afford a similar start at TD Arena.

“At home sometimes you can get behind, you can catch up. On the road it’s that much more difficult,” Schmidt said. “We like to make teams adjust to us.”

Despite the excitement surrounding their participation, the Bonnies remain focused on Boise State, their first opponent in the tournament.

“Coach Rice, he’s a tremendous coach, runs good stuff, plays good defense. He’s successful for a reason,” Schmidt said. “All respect in the world to Boise State. They’ve done it for a number of years.”

The Bonnies, heralded for their experience, face an opponent with a similar makeup in the Broncos. Boise State touts a starting lineup of all seniors, including Marcus Shaver Jr. and Devonaire Doutrive, who both average 14 points per game.

“Overall just really really talented,” Schmidt said. “They’re long, athletic, aggressive.”

Boise State comes off a home loss to UC Irvine, 58-50, a game where they shot 14% from three. Just like the Broncos, the Bonnies have struggled behind the three-point arc this season. Both teams sit well under 25% through two games.

Since the Bonnies have had their own offensive problems to start, they could rely on their defense in this matchup. They have allowed 54 points per game through two games and have a defensive effective field goal percentage of 38.8%.

“You win by playing defense especially early in the season,” Schmidt said. “Offense is usually behind the defense on every team.”

The Bonnies now enter a stretch of three games in four days, all against quality competition. Schmidt knows other contributors besides the five seniors will need to step up.

“We’re gonna need to have our bench come in for us and be productive,” Schmidt said. “Playing three games in four days is a lot to ask our five seniors. There’ll be an opportunity and hopefully, our young guys can come through.”

In this stretch of games, the Bonnies have a chance to earn even more respect on a national stage.

“For the guys that came before us and the guys on the team now they deserve to play in a tournament like this,” Schmidt said. “It’s a tremendous thing for our program to be on ESPN and get some national recognition.”

Tip off is at 2 p.m. on ESPN2.

Taylor Swift: Rewriting (and re-recording) her narrative

By Iris Archer
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Acclaimed musician and songwriter Taylor Swift announced on June 18, 2021, that she would re-record her fourth studio album Red, including 10 never-released songs in addition to the 20 original tracks. She releases the album Friday, Nov. 12.

Swift, 31, is one of the most influential female artists of the twenty-first century. She continues to reinvent herself and her music to this day.

On a personal note, Taylor Swift is my favorite musical artist, and Red is an album that I loved as a kid. I sang my heart out to “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” at the age of 12, as if I’d been hurt in a relationship myself. I also remember dying of laughter to “I Knew You Were Trouble” goat remixes with my mom in our living room.

And a few years ago, my mom and I actually performed “Red” together at my guitar recital. That was a real full-circle moment. Obviously, there’s a lot of sentiment attached to this album for me, so I’m super excited for Red (Taylor’s Version).

A lot of excitement surrounds Red (Taylor’s Version) for “Swifties” and the general public alike. First, it includes 10 never-released songs that Swift wrote during the time of the original release of Red. One of these songs, “Nothing New”, features breakout indie artist Phoebe Bridgers, and another, “Run”, features original Red contributor and singer-songwriter, Ed Sheeran.

Second, one of the most iconic and heartbreaking songs from the original album (“All Too Well”) gets transformed into a 10 minute (yes, you heard me right) extended version on Red (Taylor’s Version). And if that wasn’t enough, a short film starring Stranger Thing’s Sadie Sink and Teen Wolf’s Dylan O’Brien accompanies the 10-minute masterpiece. The actors share the same age difference as Swift and actor Jake Gyllenhaal, about whom the song is written.

Third, the album is known for its fall aesthetic, so its release in the midst of the season must be no coincidence.

This isn’t Swift’s first dabble in re-recording her albums. On Feb. 11, Swift announced she would re-record her second studio album, releasing it as Fearless (Taylor’s Version). This being one of her most iconic albums, the project was well received by both fans and musicians worldwide. The new record included the 20 originals as well as six never-released songs deemed “from the vault”. Fans were delighted by Swift’s mature vocals as well as her ability to bring old feelings and emotions to life; Swift wrote the original Fearless album at 18. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) was released on April 9.

After the re-release of Fearless, fans wondered which of Swift’s albums she re-recorded next. After weeks of fan theories and speculation, Taylor announced the release of Red (Taylor’s Version) on June 18, 2021. Red (Taylor’s Version) had an initial release date of Nov. 19, but the anticipation was so extreme that Swift moved the release up a week to this Friday.

Before discussing how important this re-recording is, we first must deluge in a Taylor Swift career retrospective; what brought her to re-record her previous work?

Taylor Swift began her career as a country singer, attracting listeners with a heart of gold and words that resonated with all ages. Her early music touched on motifs such as first love, first heartbreak, and the importance of family. Songs like “Teardrops on My Guitar” and “Our Song” catapulted her into the spotlight at 16. Following the success of her eponymous debut album, Swift released Fearless, her first true country-pop album, in 2008. It included some of her biggest hits to date, like “Love Story”, “White Horse”, and “You Belong with Me”.

Following the success of Fearless, Taylor shocked the world with Speak Now in 2010, an album furthering her pop leanings, with heartfelt tracks like “Mine”, “Dear John”, and “Enchanted”.

Whereas Speak Now was still reminiscent of her earlier work, enter Red. Swift fully embraced pop-star status on this totally innovative album featuring some of Swift’s most popular songs, including the title track, “Red”, and radio hits like “22”, “I Knew You Were Trouble”, and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”. The album also included beautiful melodies (listen to “All Too Well”) with lyrics to match.

In 2014 Swift released 1989, which may be Swift’s best album lyrically, melodically, and conceptually (and it’s my personal favorite). 1989 continued Taylor’s work rewriting the rules of pop, with smash hits like “Welcome to New York”, “Blank Space”, and “Shake it Off”, among several others.

After the extremely successful release of 1989 and its equally successful stadium tour, the media began alleging “snake” behavior by Swift following a leaked audio clip of her apparently giving consent to Kanye West to use her name in his song, “Famous”. The two have had a rocky relationship since West’s infamous “I’mma let you finish, but…” in the middle of Taylor’s acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Music Awards. But in 2016, when “Famous” was released, Taylor denied ever approving of having her name in Kanye’s lyrics. Six months after the release, West’s wife Kim Kardashian tweeted out a video, later revealed to be edited, of Taylor on a phone call with the couple approving of Kanye’s vulgar lyrics about her in his song.

After a year of hiding from the media, Swift turned the harmful words into the smash hit reputation, with visuals and lyrics referencing snakes and betrayal. She used the negativity that once brought her down to build herself up again.

This edgy era received mixed reviews from the media as well, and even from loyal “Swifties”— her fanbase—which motivated Taylor to write a better and more cohesive record that she could be proud of, and soon she revealed Lover to the world. As the title implies, Lover explores themes of love, commitment and loyalty and honors Swift’s boyfriend of over 3 years at the time of the album’s release, actor, Joe Alwyn.

Less than a year after the release of Lover, the COVID-19 pandemic struck Taylor Swift with inspiration. In mid-July, Swift shocked the world by surprise-releasing her eighth studio album, folklore, a hauntingly beautiful work of fictional stories about heartbreak, loss and self-reflection. Swift then dropped evermore, a self-proclaimed sister record to folklore, less than six months later, expanding on the themes from the previous album. These albums were a shift of pace for Swift and caused her to regain some of the Swifties who have not listened to her music since her release of reputation, as well as garner a new fanbase comprising indie/alternative listeners. Swift gained respect from the music industry for not only releasing folklore and evermore in such a close timeframe and during a global pandemic, but also for completely shifting genres once again while still keeping her same fanbase despite doing so. folklore was so successful that it won Album of the Year at the 2020 Grammys.

You might be wondering: what’s the big deal with these rerecordings? Many might believe it is a quick cash-grab, but the choice to re-record means so much more than profit; it symbolizes ownership and taking back what is rightfully yours. In 2019, Republic Records sold her master tapes to Scooter Braun, a popular music producer, without her consent. Taylor does not legally own any of her music or have any licensing rights despite writing and singing practically everything that she has ever released.

Thus, re-recording her music is a way for Swift to regain control over what is rightfully hers. This sends a message not only to fans but to everyone in the music industry to fight for what is right and claim what is yours. This message comes across clearly in “Change (Taylor’s Version)”, from Fearless (Taylor’s Version), which is an anthem to standing up against those who bring you down.

“Because these things will change / Can you feel it now? / These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down / It's a revolution, the time will come / For us to finally win”.

It is also a way for Taylor to prove her strength and her willingness to stand up against adversity. I am beyond excited for this record, first for the nostalgia and second for the amazing symbolism and deeper meaning behind Swift’s time-consuming and monumental career choice.

So grab your favorite scarf and a box of tissues and get ready to settle down for the almost two-and-a-half-hour masterpiece that is Red (Taylor’s Version) on this Friday, Nov. 12. Can you feel my excitement?

And– even if you’re not a “Swiftie”, I hope you have a musician or a band that makes you smile and brings you undeniable joy and comfort. Listen to that artist today. Take a walk and breathe in the fall air, which is feeling more like a pre-winter chill.

Iris

(Iris Archer is a feature contributor for The Intrepid and is also a Taylor Swift superfan.)

“What pasta shape do you identify most with?”: Iris Archer asks 22 ridiculous questions to the St. Bonaventure cross country team

By Iris Archer
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The 2021 Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championships take place Sat. Oct. 30 in Cedarville, Ohio, starting at 10 a.m.

On a rainy afternoon last week, I had the privilege of interviewing some of my wonderful teammates on the St. Bonaventure cross country team. I wanted to give some of my teammates, friends, an opportunity to introduce themselves to the campus community. Both the men’s and women’s teams have been extremely successful this year, setting top ten program times in nearly every race. You can obviously attribute our success on the course to hard work, but we also have a positive team atmosphere that factors in. One of the best things about my team is that we are very serious about our sport, but also know when to have fun. That leads to our fantastic team chemistry. The questions that follow are not the typical interview questions that my teammates were expecting when I asked them if I could interview them. The questions start normal and then become increasingly chaotic. My goal here was to allow you to get a deeper and more in-depth understanding of who these people are beyond just stats and times.

Though the rain had stopped by the time we started the interview in the comfortable environment of Café La Verna, the storm of ridiculous questions was yet to begin.

The lucky interviewees for the women: Amber Robertson, senior; Lindsey Lytle, senior; Emilie Weinbeck, sophomore; Lauren McGee, sophomore; and Olivia Ippolito, freshman.

For the men: John Pullano, senior; Hayden Barry, junior; Zach Buckner, freshman; Thomas Dachik, freshman; and Ryan Lewis, freshman.

Question 1: What is your favorite running event?

Though we are technically in cross country mode right now, many of us prefer track events. Hayden and Ryan are both fans of running a mile on the outdoor track, while Lindsey, Lauren and Olivia would rather stick to a 5K on grass.

Question 2: Would you rather run a 5K on the track or on a cross-country course?

Everyone agreed that cross-country 5Ks are better than track 5Ks. Well, almost everyone. Zach advocated for the superiority of the track 5K but convinced absolutely no one that 12-and-a-half laps is better than a nice, open field.

Question 3: Ideal running conditions?

Fall weather (50s-60s with a slight breeze) was the most popular answer here. This raised an interesting sub-question: how do you feel about running in the rain? Rainy running gathered mixed reviews. Except from Emilie, who was very passionate about her dislike for it.

Question 4: Running role model, sports role model or favorite athlete in general?

Amber answered Josh Allen because of her Bills loyalty. Plus, as track runners, who would be a better example of proper hurdling form?

John answered that his running role model is teammate, Hayden. How wholesome! Was this because Hayden was sitting right next to him? Perhaps, but I’d like to suspend my disbelief.

Question 5: If you could have a walk-up song for cross country, what would yours be?

Lauren and Amber wanted anything made by Taylor Swift. I wholeheartedly agree with this.

Zach quickly answered with “Kickstart my Heart” by Motley Crue, which caused Thomas to freak out (because that’s exactly what he was going to say).

Question 6: If you could do another sport besides cross country what would it be?

Lindsey and John both answered basketball. Maybe they can help the Bonnies this upcoming season?

Question 7: You are on a deserted island: What are three things you would bring?

Hayden: “A box of tools, a lighter and a volleyball.” Name that movie.

Question 8: You are on a deserted island: You can only bring 3 artists’ music. Who are they?

Post Malone and Taylor Swift appeared in four different answers.

Question 9: You are on a deserted island: You can only bring one person. Who is it?

Thomas would take this journey alone, while Olivia and Lauren would bring survivalist Bear Grylls. Is that cheating? Maybe.

John’s answer was, again, close to home, choosing teammate, Darion Gregory, who is an avid fisher.

Question 10: If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?

Lindsey would buy a reliable car; either a Subaru Cross Trek or a Tesla—if she felt like splurging. Ryan would buy a nice 70s house, complete with funky rugs and groovy wallpaper. Thomas presented a well calculated answer and would donate 35% of the money (once again, so wholesome) and invest the remaining 65%.

Question 11: If you could switch lives with one person for a day, who would it be?

Olivia would swap with the Queen of England, while Hayden would swap with Jeff Bezos and, quote, “write a check to Hayden Barry for one billion dollars.”

Question 12: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Lauren and Ryan both would like to freeze time.

Question 13: If you had a time machine, would you travel to the past or future?

All but John and Zach chose the past.

Question 14: What is one ridiculous thing you believed as a kid?

Emilie: “That green Gatorade made you better at everything.” This caused confusion. Is there a green Gatorade? Green-apple flavor? This was news to some. It was news to me.

Question 15: Who is your go-to Mario kart character?

Emilie, Amber and Olivia ride or die with Princess Peach. Ryan rolls with Bowser.

Question 16: If you could be any animal what animal would you be?

Lindsey and Thomas would both like to be flying squirrels. This answer surprised me when Lindsey said it. It shocked me when Thomas said the same.

Question 17: What is something you can talk about for 10 uninterrupted minutes and still have more to say?

Amber and Lauren could both go on an extended rant about The Bachelor. With almost 300 episodes and failed proposal after failed proposal, I guess they never run out of things to talk about.

Question 18: If you could get rid of one state, which would it be and why?

Zach was quick to say Arkansas because he got stranded there on a road trip once when his car broke down. Apparently, Arkansas is nothing but an empty highway. It should go without saying, Zach will not be the spokesman for Arkansas anytime soon.

Hayden wanted to say New Jersey (I, the question asker, am a proud New Jerseyan), because it is “just a wannabe New York”, but he came to his senses—as he should—and selected Nebraska (I apologize to any Nebraskan readers out there; nothing personal). Emilie and Lindsey would both say goodbye to Florida.

Question 19: What pasta shape do you identify most with?

Olivia: “The thick round ones.” This resulted in confusion until a quick Google search revealed she was referring to macaroni noodles (specifically the ones in the Red Robin mac and cheese).

Question 20: If you had to eat the same thing every day what would it be?

Lauren went with a chicken-finger sub. I wanted to correct her terminology, because she obviously meant to call it a chicken-finger hoagie.

But I resisted the urge.

Question 21: You can only use 2 utensils for the rest of your life, what are they?

After a tight battle, spoon and fork win over knife and fork, 5-4.

Question 22: Lastly: Would you rather fight one horse-sized frog or 100 frog sized horses?

Thomas and Zach were the brave souls who decided to fight the large frog. Very courageous. But probably a little misguided.

I hope this interview was as exciting and fun to read as it was to moderate and witness. If nothing else, I hope you leave with some new (and definitely goofy) insight into some very talented and dedicated runners. And keep an eye out for some of the interviewees’ performances at the 2021 A-10 Cross Country Championships Sat. Oct. 30—spooky! Go Bona’s!

And smile!

(Iris Archer is a feature contributor to The Intrepid and a junior cross-country runner and track runner at St. Bonaventure University. She also enjoys asking ridiculous questions.)

The genius of MF DOOM: An ode to the king of underground hip-hop

Part of The Intrepid’s “The Genius Of…” series.

By Akim Hudson
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“Your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper” is the utmost praise an emcee can earn in their career. MF DOOM, or DOOM for short, garnered this acclaim before his untimely passing last year. Yet, I bet many of you have no idea who DOOM was. That was part of his genius.

Just remember, it’s all caps when you spell the man’s name.

1. The Mask

The very first feature of DOOM you noticed was his mask. I thought at first, why the hell is he wearing a mask? According to DOOM, he rarely revealed his face to the public. He wanted his audiences to revere his emceeing abilities over any of his other extraneous features.

You can see that DOOM wasn’t your prototypical celebrity or entertainer. His luminescent, silver Doctor Doom mask enthralled any eyes that glanced upon it, and, ultimately, the mask further enhanced DOOM’s mystique.

2. Covertness

MF DOOM is arguably the most inconspicuous hip-hop legend ever. No sources could detect or verify any of DOOM’s personal information besides him and maybe his wife and his closest friends. For the longest time, the general public didn’t even know his birthday.

And peep this—you could attend an MF DOOM show, and not have even seen DOOM. Yes! DOOM had doubles he used to substitute for himself!

Who else does absurd things like that?

MF DOOM also had many self-proclaimed monikers that contributed to the shield around his actual identity. Each of his aliases had distinct personalities and styles of rapping, along with their own albums and projects. MF DOOM also featured his own personas in songs to make an even greater distinction between his true self and his aliases.

3. Eccentricity

DOOM’s hip-hop career, and everything that surrounded it, was rather abstract. He spelled his name using all capital letters, even though DOOM doesn’t stand for a damn thing. No one else in hip-hop had DOOM’s distinct cadence, flow, lyricism and voice.

His rhyme scheme, specifically, was quite eccentric because of his elite ability to deceive the listener. DOOM would take words and phrases from everyday prose and leave them hanging on a cliff or replace the word we expect with an unexpected word or phrase.

Take his song ‘Great Day’, off his classic album Madvillainy, featuring Madlib. MF DOOM had a classic example of this when he rapped:

Last wish/I wish I had two more wishes/And I wish they fix the door to the matrix’s mad fridges/spit so many verses my sometimes my jaw twitches/one thing this party could use is more…booze.

We all know what word rhymes with ‘twitches’ that would be more ideal for a sentence pertaining to a party. We’ll leave it at that.

So you may never have seen or heard of MF DOOM. In some ways, it seemed like he wanted it that way. The inconspicuous emcee, the metal-faced villain, became a legend of the hip-hop zeitgeist. In my opinion, there will never be another DOOM.

(Akim Hudson is a feature contributor for The Intrepid.)

‘Family Weekend’: A new experience for second-year students

By Ryan Surmay

Students and family members at the St. Bonaventure Family Weekend festival. — St. Bonaventure students and their family gather for the annual Family Weekend festival last month. (Courtesy St. Bonaventure University)

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (Oct. 20, 2021) — Last month, many second-year students experienced ‘Family Weekend’, the weekend of Sept. 25, for the first time.

Last year, the school cancelled ‘Family Weekend’ due to its COVID-19 policies, which prohibited on-campus visitors. However, this year felt different because of the various activities the school planned.

“It was fun,” sophomore Bonaventure student Nolan Demitrovic said. “There was a lot of interesting activities.”

A fun walk/run on the trail around the Allegheny River began the weekend. Then, a reception took place in the Reilly Center where alumni, particularly parents of current students, gathered. A fundraiser took place outside the Reilly Center to benefit various campus clubs. Many of the clubs sold assorted items to help benefit whatever financial needs they need for the year. To end the day, the school held a mass and a hypnotist mystified watchers-on in the Quick Center.

Many also gathered on the Marra Athletic Fields Complex to watch the men’s and women’s rugby teams play. “Everything felt back to normal,” Demitrovic said. “We didn’t have to wear masks outside around campus.”

“It was good to experience a more normal college experience since we didn’t get to experience anything like that last year,” sophomore Connor Beal said. “A lot of us got to feel the sense of community at St. Bonaventure.”

The lack of Covid restrictions this year has presented a new experience for students in many ways—this year’s Family Weekend included.

University trustees discuss moving Center for Student Wellness to Serra House; no timeline for move

By Dustyn Green

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (Oct. 10, 2021) — Last Friday, the university’s Board of Trustees discussed moving the Center for Student Wellness, currently in Doyle Hall, to Serra House.

“A financing strategy for moving the center from Doyle to Serra House… was positively received by trustees and the university is proceeding with a plan to relocate the Center for Student Wellness to the Serra House,” communications officer Tom Missel told The Intrepid Wednesday.

Student Government Association originally passed a Serra House recommendation to administrators in 2018.

“The logistics of the formal plan are being worked out,” SGA president Meghan Hall said Wednesday.

The recommendation addressed student needs for a welcoming location for counseling and health services. It also raised concerns about the name of the structure, due to namesake St. Junípero Serra’s evangelical practices that forced Native Americans to convert to Catholicism.

The university says the board made progress during last weekend’s board meetings but have yet to form a timeline for changes.

St. Bonaventure University mandates COVID-19 vaccine for on-campus students

By Anthony Goss

ST. BONAVENTURE, NY — St. Bonaventure University will require all residential students returning to campus for the Fall 2021 semester to receive a COVID-19 vaccination and provide documentation when they return to campus this fall. This news comes days after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that virus restrictions would be lifted in the state.

Noting similar action taken by other colleges and universities in New York, the school will require all residential, off-campus and commuter students to provide proof of vaccination. More information about uploading documentation will be released after July 4.

In a statement released to students and parents, Acting President Dr. Joseph E. Zimmer stated, “We’ve carefully reviewed ways in which our community can return to delivering the unique and welcoming educational and residential experience that most returning Bonnies will recognize and new Bonnies will embrace.”

Zimmer also mentioned the university’s choice to relax and/or discontinue many COVID-19-related measures from the 2020-21 academic year. The school notes a fully vaccinated campus was necessary to take this step.

The statement also provides information for those seeking religious or medical exemptions and accommodations regarding vaccine requirements.

This story will be updated as we receive more information.

COLUMN: Uveino says goodbye to Intrepid, SBU

By Jeff Uveino

The weather matched the collective mood of the campus community.

As clouds leaked rain across the Southern Tier of Western New York, St. Bonaventure University sat in disbelief over the previous day’s decision.

It was a Monday, and the calendar read March 14, 2016. My first visit to SBU.

The day before, an NCAA selection committee decided to leave the Bona men’s basketball team out of its championship tournament field. Despite a 22-8 record and a share of the Atlantic 10 regular-season title, the committee excluded the Bonnies from March Madness.

“The snub,” as Bona fans now commonly refer to the incident.

To my parents and I, however, the disservice done to this private, Franciscan university of about 2,000 undergraduates located 75 miles south of Buffalo didn’t matter much.

We were there to learn about the university’s journalism school. Not its basketball sob story.

Each person we met mentioned the snub. It was as if a hammer had been dropped on the head of the school’s soul. The pain radiated from each passer-by, a campus community dumbfounded over the exclusion of its beloved Bonnies.

It’s not that we didn’t care. We just didn’t understand.

Five years later, I spent March 14 sitting court-side at University of Dayton Arena.

There, the Bonnies played VCU for the 2021 A-10 men’s basketball championship and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

The six-hour drive to Dayton to watch the game? A small ask for myself and the dozens of Bona students that will become lifelong friends.

After all, that dreary post-snub visit to campus had all but convinced me to attend the university’s Jandoli School of Communication. With that decision came an abundance of professional opportunities, including covering that A-10 final for student media.

The Bonnies beat VCU handily.

On the outside, objectivity fueled my stoic demeanor from the media section. My heart, however, filled with a sense of pride that could only be matched by the hundreds of Bonnies fans that scrambled toward the court to join the celebration.

Five years prior, those moments would have meant nothing. Now, the image of the confetti-laden, on-court celebration will stay with me forever.

That’s the impact that St. Bonaventure University has on its family members.

It’s hard to find the words to describe the school’s dynamic to those who haven’t attended. SBU alumni refer to the community as a family, while outsiders often prefer the term “cult.”

I still remember the guide that led my parents and I through that rainy, downtrodden tour over five years ago. He and I shared a drink over the matter a few years later.

I could write dozens of cliches to convey my love for SBU, but have been taught better than to do so.

All I can say is that the best four years of my life have been spent in the Enchanted Mountains. Thank you to every single person who has made that statement possible.