Weekend Activities at FUS!

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Last weekend was quite a big one for Franklin University Switzerland! It felt like a marathon of incredibly cool and fun events, I'm admittedly pretty exhausted now after spending so much time with Franklin friends and new students! We had the annual Spring Play, Holi - an Indian festival of colors that welcomes spring for the Franklin community. On top of that, we also had one of our Earth Month events - a cleanup of the walking trail in our area, called Laghetto, where Franklin students spent their morning cutting back invasive species and picking up any litter in the area.

 Additionally, it was Open House for Prospective Students, which was so exciting to meet some of the faces who will be joining us come August - from all around the world! It feels like spring on campus in every sense, people are out enjoying the gorgeous weather, it was 24° C (80° Fahrenheit) yesterday! I truly cannot believe how fast this semester has flown, and luckily there is still so much to look forward to in the coming weeks, including a TedXLugano conference, Latin Night, Travies, the Gatsby Gala hosted by our Literature Society, Vagina Monologues, and the Luau! I'll definitely be checking in to cover those events on campus as well, but for now, enjoy a taste of life on campus with these pictures from the various Franklin events this weekend.

As you can see, Holi is a cherished event on campus here, and the turnout is always incredible. I love the message of Holi, it's nice to see the entire campus so united. It's also an awesome opportunity to talk to people you might not have known before, and strengthen relationships you already do have. The idea of Holi is to break down boundaries, it is the festival of love, after all. It is a festival meant to bridge social gaps and renew relationships, as well as to welcome spring. I love that it has become such an inherent part of the spring semester, and I know I'm not the only one who looks forward to it every year.

 The Laghetto cleanup is also a wonderful Franklin tradition, and brings students together to spend a morning outside cleaning up our community. I love that it's not only environmental studies-related students who participate, but the larger Franklin community as well.

Our awesome Spring Play was selected to be "Failure: A Love Story" written by Philip Dawkins and directed by two Franklin students! Everyone did a fantastic job and the show ran on both Friday and Saturday nights.

I get really excited for Open House, to meet the students who are considering, or have already decided, to attend Franklin. Each graduating class carries a very different energy and dynamic presence on this campus, and it was fascinating to learn the backgrounds of the students who are considering Franklin. Of course, our visitors had extremely diverse experiences thus far in their lives, but I loved watching them explore campus together and make friends with one another - it brings back memories of my own initial awe at our campus and community as a visiting prospective student. I am so looking forward to meeting the new class at orientation in August.

 Welcome to Franklin, Prospective Students!

What a weekend, huh? I hope you all have a relaxing weekend and be sure to check back next week for a series of interviews I've conducted with some of our professors on their Franklin perspectives!

 Until then,

 Morgan

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