Activities

Activities are held at all sites. They are structured, non-class events that students can sign up for each day. Although some activities occur at nearly every site, each site has its own traditional activities, too.

What, When, Where

Activities are held in the afternoon, between the after-lunch class session and dinner. There are two per weekday, one right after the other. At some sites, one is a weekly activity, while the other is a daily. Some also call the first activity the "A.M." activity; the second, logically (or not?), is known as the "P.M." activity, although this is rare, seeing as both occur in the afternoon.

Activities last either 45 minutes or an entire hour, depending on the site. There are usually many choices for activities, and for the most part, one will sign up for activities during hall meeting on the day before. However, at the JHU campus, students sign up for all activities for the week on Sunday night, which often causes great upset among flying squirrels, who are accustomed to the night before method. The activities are led by one or two RAs or other staff members, and can range from doing absolutely nothing, to traditional games like Silent Football and Mafia, and even to extremely active, physical sports on the campus's sports fields.

Other non-Activity activities include Mandatory Fun and Quad Time, which is known at some sites as Meet Market or Social Time.

Standard Activities

These are standards at most sites, and occur frequently.

• Music Practice - During this activity, students go with an RA to a free building on campus to practice assorted musical instruments. It is usually cramped, noisy, and/or un-airconditioned, and there are only ever a few pianos, if any, and some students instead practice in their own rooms (although it is sometimes against the rules). At Saratoga, this is a morning activity, much like morning run.
• Running - This activity can occur both during an activity and, at some sites, in the morning, when it is called "Morning Run."
• Book Discussion - A very common activity when a new Harry Potter book has come out, which won't ever happen again.
• Movie Watching - During this activity, films are shown: Harry Potter movies, Musicals, Monty Python... basically anything rated PG-13 or lower. Lancaster has none of these.
• Generic Free Time - These activities usually go by different names like Cloud Watching or Sleeping, and take place indoors or outdoors, depending on site. Basically, it is free time at an appointed location.
• Dinner Alternatives - Usually in the Activity period just before dinner, this activity can range from anything from a BBQ to a vegan party to Jewish Cooking (Carlisle). Sign-ups are limited, and the activity occurs very rarely or not at all, such as at Lancaster, Los Angeles, or Saratoga.
• Mafia - The classic game.
• Sports - Assorted organized sports on campus.
• Swimming/Tennis - Only offered if the campus has facilities (such as Lancaster and Carlisle) and sometimes takes up both activity blocks for that day.
• Pilates, Yoga, or Meditations
• Braveheart - Students put blue war paint on their faces (like Mel Gibson as William Wallace) in the movie Braveheart, and storm through other activities, screaming "FREEDOM!" Best fun you'll ever have.\
  • Meh - A variant. Students walk silently into other activities, and the leading RA asks questions like "What do you think of this activity?" or "What do you guys think of [insert person]?" Students always reply with "Meh."
  • Canadian Braveheart -

Traditions

Each site has its own traditional activities. Feel free to add yours onto the lists.

Lancaster

• Acting Improv (AI) - Funniest. Activity. Ever. You can participate or just watch the madness.
• Alright - Wacky and clumsy, all for what? To make up yet another rule in this game! It's pretty alright!
• Agreedball - Bounce a ball agreeably across sidewalk squares.
• Bad Acting Appreciation- started by John Wolfe and Leo Feldblyum. Watch clips from films, music videos, and TV shows so bad that they're fantastic. Featuring much Nicholas Cage and Hasselhoff.
• Board Games - Offers a variety of games, but many students prefer to bring their own due to the inevitable shortages.
• Card Games - Bring some cards and enjoy the many CTY card games such as Mao, President, and ERS.
• Cloudwatching, Chillaxin', Reading Under the Trees, Naptime, Invisible Fireworks, Daytime Stargazing, Extreme Inactivity - Assorted names for free time; usually held outside on the Quad near Thomas.
• Competitive Number Counting
• The Couch Game
• Courting and Wooing - RAs take it very seriously; handouts are sometimes included. Can be absolutely hilarious.
• CTY Jeopardy
• Discussion Group (DG) - CTY Traditions, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Harry Potter, World Domination, etc. No other book discussion groups besides Harry Potter are common.
• Evil Plots and Plans - Students and RA's devise 'evil' plots to disrupt activities or other RA's. These actions do not cause actual harm, and are lawful evil at best.
• Extemporaneous Debate - Created by RA David Bing.
• FLAAR - "FLAAR cannot be described, but only experienced."
• Follow the Hager - Follow RA Brain Hager around for an hour, chanting his name. Helps some squirrels get to learn the layout of the campus (on the last day of activities). Some just think it's fun. There was also a variation of "Follow the Wang/Frank" and in 08.1, an activity called "Follow the Tom." The activity was on a temporary hiatus in 2007 due to a lack of Hager.
• Fun With Duct Tape - It's DUCT TAPE! Of course there's an activity for it!
• Fitness Bootcamp- The most physically exerting activity on cammpus. Lead by the one and only, Asher Collins. Current bootcamp trinity (those who did bootcamp every day for two sessions 17.1-17.2): Will Chu (abs), Steven Liu (legs), Michael Zhang (arms)
• GLOW (Gay, Lesbian, or Whatever) Discussion Group - A fantabulous activity with lots of awesome people.
• How to Survive a Zombie Invasion - ...Pretty self-descriptive.
• Interpretive Dance- run by RAs Spencer and Wes, a soulful, life-changing journey of conveying the music through movement
• LARTH (Languages of Antiquity Research for Thrill and Honor) - These consist of one-hour introductions to some obscure language. In LAN 06.1, Etruscan and Cuneiform (mostly of the Sumerian variety) were offered.
• The Lottery- has a cap of one (1). If someone has ever been in this activity, please let us in on the secret.
• Music Singalongs - Disney, Wicked, Rent, Canon, etc.
• Movie Trailers - But no movies.
• Mural Painting - On South Ben, to 'give back to F&M College', or some such. It looks nice.
• Philosophy Chat - run by the Feldblyums, this activity has been said to change lives.
• Silent Football - The traditional Lancaster game. Two circles are usually formed, one for experience players (with a student dictator) and another for newcomers (with an RA dictator)
• Sports in Mayser Gym - More competitive.
• Sports on Hartman Green - Less competitive.
• STARCRASH - "Imperial Battleship, HALT THE FLOW OF TIME!" (Bring SKL for the drinking game)
• Sudoku
• Talent Show Practice
• The Rave Circle - The new name for the group of people who rave to the rave song at the dance. To become a member of the Rave Circle, one just needs to participate in the performance for at least two dances. P.L.U.R. is the sacred code of the Rave Circle.
• Tournaments - Quiz Bowl, Ultimate Frisbee, Agreedball, Soccer, Tennis, Swimming, etc. The Poker Tournament is always held on a weekend.
• Tree Hugging
• Ultimate Frisbee
  • Non-Ultimate Frisbee - If one hits a tree one must acknowledge this terrible crime.
• Watch Asher Flail Like an Idiot - Run by RA Asher Collins, this activity consisted of watching him play Just Dance, which occasional participation from students.
• Worst Activity Ever - Run by RA Wes McClung; included listening to bagpipe music and counting bricks.

Carlisle

• Kline - First activity on the list for each activity period. Double-Kline: to do Kline both activity periods.
• Ballet 101 - To get in touch with your inner Rina.
• Bizarro CTY
• Chalk Graffiti
• Challah Baking
• Chillaxin', Cloud Watching, Naptime, Staring blankly at the ceiling with your mouth hanging open - Assorted names for free time.
• Colonization - Because Rich is British and Chris is insane (and likes to wear capes). BURN THE PAGANS!!!!!!!!
• Craps in the Super Quad Arch
• Crying in the Corner - A cult founded and ran by RA Sim (Grand High Shamer) every year, who dons robes and shames campers for doing things such as laughing, talking, or breathing. A person is shamed like so- Sim: CRY! Camper: *cries* Sim: Are you crying? Camper: (tearfully) Yes. Sim & Everyone: *points at them and yells) That was BAD and you should FEEL BAD! SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!

   - Note: At the end of 18.1, Sim passed down his robes and title to RA Gaynor, who has faithfully kept the activity alive since. Sim has moved on to become World High Shamer. Sim returned 19.1 to take back his position and robes, though was his last year as an RA.

• 80's Dance Party/Singalong
• Discussion Group: East Coast vs. West Coast Rap
• Discussion Group: Feminism
• Don't Pick This Activity! - A Skidmore tradition brought by a flying squirrel, C.J., and run by the amazing Dan.
• Feet Painting
• Fun With Duct Tape
• Fun With Fluff That Marshmallow Stuff
• The Game
• Guitar Circles
• How to survive a Zombie Attack - Run by RA Drew. Learn handy phrases and ways to survive Zombie atacks. Such as how to say "Are you being eaten by a Zombie?" in sign language.
• Kill Murray/Save Murray
• Meditation
• Model United Fiefdoms - Activity run by RA Sim Rivers where students are organized into nations to solve a crisis, but usually ending with everybody killing each other.
• Music Appreciation - Various types, including Indie, Showtunes, and the Beatles. Many were run by the RA (now SRA) Mike (08, 09)
• Musical Theatre Singalongs - Out of tune pianos (with pieces falling off), Oberlin RAs, and piles of sheet music.
• Pirates vs. Ninjas
• Places You Can't Go - During 08.1, some of the tour stops were Brett's room and the catwalk above ATS Auditorium.
• Poetry Circles
• Rave Dancing (aka Dance Like Your Grandma)
• Silent Football, which was not, in fact, run during 10.2. Sad.
• Slackjaw
• Sock Puppet Super Fun Time
• Swing Dancing - Usually run by Chris White. The main goal of swing dancing is to, "Look cool."
• Uninformed Bird Watching (with Dr. Montgomery (insert many British names) Montgomery)
• The Worst Activity Ever. - Usually a pointless activity rewarded with Massey's, although sometimes not.
• What would you do for a Klondike Bar?
• RA Gaynor Has A Story For Everything - An activity wherein RA Gaynor asks for a word from the audience and then tells a wild story from their life based on it. Important stories include "How Minions Almost Caused Gaynor to Fail Out of High School" and "The Last Family Reunion I Ever Went To". This activity lead to the common joke about how RA Gaynor constantly cries in public. During 19.1, Gaynor told a story about their first glowstick, which lead to their saying of "WHAMBAM!". This activity ran once during 24.2 in which the new stories told included "Gaynor and the Purple Leg," "The Saddest Campfire Story Ever," and "The Time 36000 Tampons Fell Out Of The Ceiling and Caused the Culprits to Get Kicked Out 1 Hour Before The Last Dance."
• Pirates if the CaribbeaSim - An activity run by RA Sim the first time during 18.1 in which he plays The Curse of the Black Pearl without audio and does all music cues, sound effects, and dialogue. He can do this because he apparently managed to memorize this ENTIRE movie (and Shrek) when he was a child and bored and watched the movie all the time. It was so great the first time he ran it that he was asked to run it a second time during the session to everyone’s delight (a ton more people came). Sim decided to run it again during 19.2 on the first Friday during the second activity period, and was again so popular that he ran a double period during the second week.
• Jack Krentz Appreciation/The High and Holy Church of Jack Krentz - In 19.2, RA Gaynor ran an activity called Jack Krentz Appreciation, but it was unfortunately on the first Friday, so many of the students who would’ve come were at Pirates of the CaribbeaSim (see Activities). Gaynor decided to attempt to run such an activity again, and the second time, it was called The High and Holy Church of Jack Krentz. This event was much more populated, and it was greatly enjoyed. In it, Gaynor presented some important information on Jack, including his schedule and his workouts as well as the name of his falcon (Robirda). Unfortunately, when the students were attempting small portions of Jack’s workouts (which was very extensive and contained lots of “Oh, yeah”s and “Nice”s), one of the students accidentally stepped on and destroyed the screen of the laptop (proving the intensity of the workout). Supposedly, Jack later used his immense powers to fix it.
• And most importantly...Starcrash.

Saratoga Springs (Skidmore)

• Chillaxin', Cloud Watching
• Colonel Mike Panther
• DOOM
• Do Not Sign Up For This Activity!
• Fun with Duct Tape
• Boffer Wars
• Talent Show Weekly
• Got Game? - Learn how to pimp out the ladies (and gents).
• Ninjas vs. Pirates vs. Cavemen
• Noodle Bashing!
• "Reading" by the Duck Pond
• Ultimate
• Improv
• Pet Rocks
• R.A.S.K. (Random Acts of Senseless Kindness)
• Sidewalk Chalk (Sidewalk Chalk is no longer allowed on campus)
• SNAKES!!!
• Man Talk
• Woman Talk
• "Making Stuff with Your Hands I Guess" (13.1)

Los Angeles (LMU)

• Art of War
• Backstreet Boys Appreciation
• Bananaphone Appreciation
• Braveheart
• Castles
• Cavemen
• Cloud/Smog Watching
• Color Book Brian
• Disney Movie Appreciation
• Duct Tape Jason and Brian to a Tree
• Extreme Selfie
• Glue stuff to (insert 1-2 DRL, SRA, or RA here)
• How to be a Central American Dictator
• KBBQ Fan Club
• Kemps
• Love Tape 101 (planned one day before Love Tape Day, strangely enough)
• Make Bil' a Merman
• More Active Than Sleep (But You Probably Won't Break a Sweat)
• MP3 Appreciation
• Protest (Down With the Man)
• Robot Wars
• Sidewalk Chalk
• Sudoku
• Swimming
• Swing Dance
• Talent Show
• Time Bomb
• Trench
• Ultimate Frisbee
• Wah!
• The Worst Activity Ever (seriously)
• The Worst Movies Ever (over 100 kids signed up for this weekly)
• Throw Bagels (or Donuts) at ____ RAs
• Yearbook

Baltimore (JHU)

• Acting Improv (of course)
• Arts and Crafts
• Bunny Hunting - Basically consists of wandering the campus looking for bunny rabbits
• Do You Want To Buy A Duck? - Involves waterguns and RAs holding you hostage.
• Downhill Rolling
• Friends Trivia
• Friends Watching
• Friendship Bracelets
• How to be a Beast - This seeming odd activity was actually quite fun, and participants were rewarded with "Certified Beast" cards
• Hula Hoop Contest
• Kindergarten Games - Involved inappropriate phrases during Whisper Down the Lane.
• Manga Appreciation
• Mafia - In 10.2 The RAs actually taught the game wrong, which led to much upset among fans.
• Music Practice
• Ninja - One member of administration appeared suddenly, did very well, and left. His identity is unknown for sure.
• Ninjas/Cavemen - See the Memories:JHU for details.
• Pinata Making
• Real Men Wear Pink - Inspired by RA Ben walking around in very, very, very pink shorts.
• Ridiculous Dancing
• Salsa Dancing- Taught by the wonderful, and ever popular, RA Bradley
• Silent Reading, Cloud Watching
• Speed Friendship
• Spelling Bee - In which not one person spelled a word correctly in the first round.
• Sports: Tennis, Basketball, Soccer, Ultimate Frisbee, etc.
• Starburst Flowers - Yummy.
• Swimming
• Talent Show Rehearsal
• The Worst Activity EVER
• Water Games
• The Activity of Silly Walking
• Chic Bedazzlin'
• How to Be a Bro
• How to Be a Hipster
• People Watching
• Latin Dancing (Goes with Salsa Dancing, I guess.)
• Movie (There would be specific movie(s) for your entertainment.)
• Lanyard
• Friendship Bracelets
• Wizard's Chess
• Skits in a Bag
• Dance Party (usually held before dances)
• Naturology
• Gimp
• Raving
• Squirrel-watching

Easton

• SNAKES!!!
• FLAAR - A card game developed by the RAs.
• Easton Science Theater 300(0) - Based off the show Mystery Science Theater 3000. Oftentimes showed the Rambo animated series episode "Battlefield Bronx."
• Star Wars Galactic Senate - Sit and talk about Star Wars.
• Ultimate Frisbee - March Field, usually run by Richard and Alex.
• Gordon Ramsay Appreciation - Started by Jim and Allan in 16.1, cont'd by Allan and Tim in 16.2. Students watch Gordon's shows and appreciate his ultimate savageness.
  • "What are you?" "An idiot sandwich."
  • "This meat is so oily, George Bush wanted to invade it!"
  • "This squid is so undercooked, it's still telling SpongeBob to f**k off!"
  • "Why did the chicken cross the road? Because you didn't f**king cook it!"
  • "This is f**king Gandhi's flip flop!"
• SRA Safari - Students chase the SRA around campus. Once caught they do something vile, such as emptying a water cooler on the SRA.
• Sidewalk Chalk (LONG LIVE THE PENTAGRAMS!)

Bristol

• Castles - Monkey in the Middle, writing poems, getting rolled up a hill
• Meerkat Rugby - not actually rugby
• Spit contests - the card game, not actual spitting
• Squirrel Hunting - catching RAs, it is really only fun the first time because the RAs catch on later
• 8 Triangles - 4 square but with the 8 triangles that make up the center of the quad (arranged in a circle)*not an official activity, just one that several classes near the quad enjoyed playing during their breaks

Santa Cruz (SCZ)

• Volleyball Circle
• Tennis Baseball
• Cloud Watching (sometimes without clouds)
• Pet Rock Making
• Fuse Beads
• Bookmarking
• Origami
• Dance Decorations
• Intergalactic Space Battle
• Friendship Bracelets
• Pointless Debates
• Dancing
• Critic (students go around and critique other activities performance)
• Pokémon Go
• Casino Practice
• Nature Walk