A freshmen takeover of my Husky Life

In the four years I’ve been at BU I have discovered some of my favorite restaurants, coffee drinks and places to hang out. Sometimes having all these favorites make it hard for me to decide where I want to go. So, I decided to let the incoming Class of 2022 make the decisions for me!

Monday: Chick-fil-A vs. Qdoba

These two new dining choices were all students could think about as they returned to school this past fall. While neither of them take meal plans, they’re both delicious and you can use Flex, Husky Gold or a credit card to eat there. The Class of 2022 voted for me to have Chick-fil-A, which I was definitely not mad about. My go-to meal is classic nuggets with fries, and of course, Chick-fil-A sauce. However, Qdoba is also a great option if you’re in the mood for Chipotle or something Mexican. They have bowls, tacos, quesadillas, you name it! With fresh ingredients and delicious queso, it’s hard to say no.

Tuesday: Starbucks vs. Java City

It’s safe to say I’m a coffee addict, so having multiple options on campus is like music to my ears. The great thing is that while there are two Starbucks and one Java City, they’re spread out so wherever you are on campus, coffee’s not far away.

Starbucks won the poll, so I got my usual Iced Blonde Americano with vanilla (which is SO good, trust). While I get the same drink every time I go to Starbucks, I do like to switch it up and get Java City. They have amazing iced coffee and their bagels are delicious.

Wednesday: BUnow vs. The Voice

If you’re a news lover like me, Bloomsburg is a great campus to be on because there are so many ways to find out what’s happening on campus, in town and around the country.

The Voice is BU’s student newspaper that comes out every Thursday. BUnow is the online news source, also run by students. Both are full of great information, with entertaining articles and important current events.

Thursday: Cardio vs. Pilates

Our Rec Center is one of the best that I’ve seen on a college campus, with a cardio room, weight room, rock climbing wall and so much more. Every day there are classes offered like Pilates, yoga or cardio sculpt.

Friday: Filet 18 vs. West End Ale Haus

One great thing about Bloomsburg is that if you’re sick of eating campus food, there are so many great options just a five minute walk away! If you’re too tired from your Pilates class the night before, there are also busses that leave from campus and go downtown. The bus stop is located behind McCormick, and comes every 30 minutes. It has stops by the fountain, by Old School apartments and behind Papa John’s on Iron Street.

Filet and West End are just two of the great restaurants downtown, and personally, two of my favorites. West End won the poll option, so I got to have a delicious mac and cheese grilled cheese for dinner.

— Danielle Backowski, senior mass communications major #HuskyLife

The First Month: Time Moves Quickly

Though hard for me to believe, I have been a college student for over a month. It has not taken much time to get acclimated to campus life. For the first two weeks, it seemed slightly overwhelming with all of the club interest meetings and finding time to joggle class readings with tangible homework and than tossing in eating, sleeping and actually attending lecture, but I quickly developed a routine.

The Campus Food

I purchased a smaller meal plan than most other students. I have ten meals a week, while most other dorm residents have fourteen meals a week. I purchased the smaller plan because a meal plan can be increased but not decreased.

So far, I have run into no problems with my meal plan and am glad that I picked the smaller plan. I always eat breakfast in my room, I normally eat lunch in my room and than I eat dinner at the dining halls with friends. I enjoy eating lunch in my room for it forces me to do homework instead of spending the hour in between classes socializing. By the time dinner rolls around, I normally have the majority of my work done and I can afford an hour of socializing.

When I do eat in the campus facilities for dinner, I normally eat at Scranton Commons. There are many different choices and the selection helps to keep my food options exciting. The Commons, as it is often referred to, has many stations that rotate the choices. My favorite is the soup, I have a bowl nearly every day, and the pasta station.

When I eat lunch on my meal plan, I often choose Subway. I have eaten more Subway in the month I have been here than in the last two years combined. Since I get a six inch sub, it is only a few cents over my meal swipe (the dollar figure assigned to a meal on the meal plan).

The one thing I have not been able to experience yet with dining is Monty’s restaurant night. Monty’s, on upper campus, is transformed into a sit down restaurant. Unfortunately I have a Wednesday night class, so maybe next semester.

Downtown Bloomsburg

I have not experienced much of what the downtown has to offer as of to date. One Sunday morning, a group of friends traveled down to Blooming Bagels. I enjoyed my bagel, though I must say it is large. I struggled to eat the second half of the bagel, but I guess that just means it is worth the money.

The night of the power outage (the campus lost power for a night and all classes were canceled) I ate at one of the Chinese restaurants downtown. The food was better than the Chinese restaurants in my hometown, so I must say that I was impressed.

From the second I entered the restaurant, the aroma filled the air and I was ready to eat. By far my favorite place downtown is the frozen yogurt shop. I have been there multiple times and am working my way to a free cup on the stamp card. I have not yet visited the shops downtown.

Hopefully by my next blog I will have visited a few shops and the burrito shop! It is convenient to have downtown Bloomsburg only a few blocks away, especially late on the weekends when you get a food craving.

Bloomsburg Invades Kutztown

A group of my friends made the drive over to Kutztown to support the Huskies football team. It started on an adventurous note when my GPS decided to take us on nearly all backroads. At one point we traveled a one lane dirt road for close to five miles. It made for some laughs and us praying that we were not part of a horror movie.

Once we got to the game, the Bloomsburg section was full. One of my friends found it to be a bright idea to invade the Kutztown side and cheer loudly for the Huskies. The people surrounding us stared every time the Huskies pom pom was waved in the air and we were screaming loudly for Bloomsburg, anything to support Bloomsburg!

Last, But Not Least, The Fair

This year is my first time at the Bloomsburg Fair. I walked down to the fair, for I went on a day that the shuttle was not running.

The walk was not bad, though it seems far away.
Before I made any purchases, I looked at everything that the fair had to offer. The games do not strike my interest too much; I find them to be a waste of money. I went to the fair for the food.

A week’s worth of calories were consumed in a matter of two hours. I started with old fashioned lollipops, than purchased cream soda from a tap. These were my starters, I tried wings for the main food of the night.

There was homemade ice cream that they were making right at the fair. I tried peanut butter and it was by far the best ice cream that I have ever had. I thought that I was done until I passed the beef jerky stand. Of course I had to try one, it did not disappoint. As you can tell, I highly enjoy food.

To finish this blog I will end with the most interesting thing I saw at the fair. There was a small “zoo” set up under a tent. At the “zoo” you could hold and get your picture taken with a baby kangaroo. I find this to be nearly one of a kind to the Bloomsburg Fair!

— Morgan Lewis is a biochemistry major with a pre-medical studies concentration. 

#FutureHusky #HuskyUnleashed