By REGINA IANNIZZOTTO
Opinion Editor

The College of Saint Rose does many things to keep up with the times and entice students to enroll. Saint Rose has put up new buildings, given greater support for students through clubs like Identity, updated their equipment, and even built an entire sports arena. The thing I like most, however, is their ability to keep up with the times and get involved in crazes.

Last year, it was the “Call Me Maybe” craze. Everyone was singing it and quoting it; even the Girls Next Door put an arrangement together for their concert! This year, the Harlem Shake has taken over our school and made its way to Youtube.

There are several reasons why I love Saint Rose, and this is one of them. The amount of school involvement and school spirit can be overwhelming at times. On February 22, 2013 at 3 p.m., the entire school was invited to take part in a recording of the video in the EAC Atrium. Many people showed up in crazy outfits and danced around to the Harlem Shake. My favorite aspect was the involvement by our own college president, Dr. David Szczerbacki, who stood against the column with neon sunglasses as his students danced around him. The fact that Dr. Szczerbacki was involved means the most to me because it means he is supportive of his students and wants to show that he wants to be a part of the school. I do not know of many other college presidents that would participate in a Youtube video like this. His involvement helps his relationship with his students as well as gaining our trust and my personal respect.

Not only did the students participate in the EAC, but certain areas of the school were shown. For instance, the track team, Student Association, and even Undergraduate Admissions, who ended the video in wigs, umbrellas and a dinosaur costume. It is so nice to see that students and staff are coming together to show school spirit and to show their sense of school community.

This video keeps up with the modern times of social media and shows incoming students that we are not only a college who takes pride in their studies, but a school that can take a moment to act silly and let off a little steam. This is also shown through many events that happen on campus, but little videos like the Harlem Shake can be the decision for a student to enroll and join in our craziness, or choose a different path. The use of social media with Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and the number of other sites that are becoming popular these days can only help our school become filled with new students who have the same love of technology. I have come across many students who know their way around social media and have helped some of them get involved and find a way to use that knowledge to help our school. For many clubs, social media is one of the only ways to get their name out to the students. What a better way than to participate in craze videos?

I can only hope that the members of our school community can continue to come up with ideas to keep up with the crazes and fads, and continue to make our school fun and unique.