UC Outings Gain Few, Hope to Improve

Although few students attended the first two events of the Undergraduate Council’s new program “UC Outings,” UC representatives said they hope to further develop the program.

The program aims to create a better sense of community at the College by holding events in the greater Boston area.

Last weekend, the UC sponsored ice skating at Frog Pond and a tour of the Taza Chocolate factory, its first two UC Outings events.

“The UC has been really dedicated to improving social life on campus, and this is a great effort to have Harvard students meet each other, create new experiences, and form new relationships elsewhere in the Boston community,” said UC Cabot House representative Akshay M. Sharma ’14.

The new program was inspired by the “Through the Gates,” a series of trips the Freshman Dean’s Office sponsors to encourage freshmen to explore Boston.

A total of 68 students entered the lottery for the ice-skating event, while the Taza Chocolate factory tour lottery drew 90 students.

UC representatives said that these numbers were larger than expected given the hectic nature of shopping week.

Although ten students won the lottery for each event, only five attended the ice skating event and four toured the Taza Chocolate factory.

Sharma and Jen Q.Y. Zhu ’14, who led the ice skating trip, said that they felt the event was a success.

“It was a beautiful day, the pond was packed, and the Zamboni machine had just been on the ice,” said Sharma.

Nicholas S. S. Pomata ’13 said low attendance did not prevent him from enjoying the afternoon.

“I certainly fell down a few more times than I intended,” he said, “but it was a lot of fun.”

UC representatives attributed low attendance to being in the program’s beginning stage.

“It’s a start, and we’ll definitely keep moving forward,” said UC freshman representative Salena Cui ’15, who led the trip to Taza Chocolate Factory.

UC representatives hope to improve attendance by adding new incentives for invited students to participate in the outings.

Though members of the UC Student Initiatives Committee said that they hope to see the program grow in the coming months, they also said that the success of their new initiative rests on students attending events.

“We want to take it slow so we can really develop a program that’s worthwhile for the students,” said Sharma. “We encourage students to let us know what they want out of UC Outings.”

Possible UC Outings in the future include a paintball event, a visit to Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park, and a trip to Salem during Halloween in the fall.

—Staff writer Michelle Denise L. Ferreol can be reached at mferreol@college.harvard.edu.