top of page
Residential Life Week 3 News
At The End of the Day: Sarah Madden
Out of the various things to enjoy at UCI COSMOS, one of the most undervalued aspects of residential life is a night walk. After dinner or one of the nightly activities, my friends and I often wander around Middle Earth until quiet hours. We always take a slightly different loop and talk about anything on our minds. It is the time of day to get any complaints or troubled thoughts off our chest; or share any joyful moments that occurred in our clusters. Finally relaxing on these walks after hours of labs and writing is my new favorite way to end my evening. The night is also quite beautiful, and since none of us have anywhere to be, we can stop and appreciate a delicate spider in its web for a few moments before continuing. I have become much more close with my new COSMOS friends because we make time to wander and share our thoughts together.
Casino Night: Leanna Lo
Page 5, “What to Bring,” Line 4: “Fancy attire for casino night (think winter formal or homecoming).”
The COSMOS student handbook set the stage, and the students delivered. In the hours before the party, common rooms became getting-ready hubs, mirrors on desks, and curling irons using up all sockets. The engineering bridge became a photo spot, with digital cameras capturing friend groups and smiles to last a lifetime.
At 7:30 pm on Friday, students lined up outside the Dome of Stars, greeted by a fleeting red carpet and lively music. Dressed to the nines in suits, dresses, and heels, and their blue COSMOS lanyards, they approached the check-in counter and received tickets to start their gambling adventure.
Several gaming stations were set up, including Texas Hold’em, blackjack, Egyptian War, Uno, and Lotería. Students spread out across the stations, betting tickets in hopes of expanding their stashes. Some made extreme bets, like wagering 38 tickets on a round of blackjack and doubling their stash with a lucky 10 and 8.
In the corner, the COSMOS snack station buzzed with activity. Students lined up at the bar for COSMOS specials, Shirley Temples, and sodas, or gathered around the snacks for delectable salt and vinegar chips and other treats.
As the night progressed, a dance circle formed. A student performed a backflip, and the crowd erupted in cheers. Line dancing commenced as a Spanish song blasted through the speakers. The photo booth, with its glittery gold background and fun props, became a hub for capturing moments.
Casino Night, a COSMOS special, was truly a night to remember.
The COSMOS student handbook set the stage, and the students delivered. In the hours before the party, common rooms became getting-ready hubs, mirrors on desks, and curling irons using up all sockets. The engineering bridge became a photo spot, with digital cameras capturing friend groups and smiles to last a lifetime.
At 7:30 pm on Friday, students lined up outside the Dome of Stars, greeted by a fleeting red carpet and lively music. Dressed to the nines in suits, dresses, and heels, and their blue COSMOS lanyards, they approached the check-in counter and received tickets to start their gambling adventure.
Several gaming stations were set up, including Texas Hold’em, blackjack, Egyptian War, Uno, and Lotería. Students spread out across the stations, betting tickets in hopes of expanding their stashes. Some made extreme bets, like wagering 38 tickets on a round of blackjack and doubling their stash with a lucky 10 and 8.
In the corner, the COSMOS snack station buzzed with activity. Students lined up at the bar for COSMOS specials, Shirley Temples, and sodas, or gathered around the snacks for delectable salt and vinegar chips and other treats.
As the night progressed, a dance circle formed. A student performed a backflip, and the crowd erupted in cheers. Line dancing commenced as a Spanish song blasted through the speakers. The photo booth, with its glittery gold background and fun props, became a hub for capturing moments.
Casino Night, a COSMOS special, was truly a night to remember.
Where is Peter the Anteater when you need him? | Cake for Breakfast?: Eva Palmeri
Where is Peter the Anteater when you need him?
On Sunday night we made a surprising discovery: there were a bunch of small winged bugs in our room! Katie Decker quickly came to our rescue and contacted the building managers to get us a new room. STAT!! After analyzing (after all this is COSMOS) some pictures of the bugs (with help from Google) to figure out which species they were, we realized they were carpenter ants! Where was Peter the Anteater when you needed him? But luckily we had Katie Decker. Soon we settled into our new room and were able to sleep. I ended up sleeping in, waking up at 10 AM, but that’s another story.
Cake for Breakfast?
My grandfather had a motto: cake for breakfast. Sadly, I can’t really do that at Brandywine, since other than sweets such as pancakes, cinnamon rolls, and muffins, there’s no dessert until lunch. Anyway, for lunch and dinner, there are so many options: ice cream, cookies, cake! My favorites are the red velvet cake and chocolate pudding. So while I can’t have cake for breakfast, I still enjoy eating it at other times. I do get to eat cake for breakfast on my grandfather’s birthday, two days after mine.
On Sunday night we made a surprising discovery: there were a bunch of small winged bugs in our room! Katie Decker quickly came to our rescue and contacted the building managers to get us a new room. STAT!! After analyzing (after all this is COSMOS) some pictures of the bugs (with help from Google) to figure out which species they were, we realized they were carpenter ants! Where was Peter the Anteater when you needed him? But luckily we had Katie Decker. Soon we settled into our new room and were able to sleep. I ended up sleeping in, waking up at 10 AM, but that’s another story.
Cake for Breakfast?
My grandfather had a motto: cake for breakfast. Sadly, I can’t really do that at Brandywine, since other than sweets such as pancakes, cinnamon rolls, and muffins, there’s no dessert until lunch. Anyway, for lunch and dinner, there are so many options: ice cream, cookies, cake! My favorites are the red velvet cake and chocolate pudding. So while I can’t have cake for breakfast, I still enjoy eating it at other times. I do get to eat cake for breakfast on my grandfather’s birthday, two days after mine.
This Week at COSMOS: Harshini Sanjay
The start of Week 3 of COSMOS marked the halfway point of the program, a bittersweet realization for many. With only a little more time on the clock left, it’s a race to not only finish our final projects and secure the academic side of COSMOS but to also make the most out of our social life together. With Week 3 picking up speed and equal amounts of fun through its activities, cluster lives, and field trips, UCI COSMOS has been a rollercoaster ride that is gradually nearing the final stretch.
Sunday began with another COSMOS Petr drop held around 9 PM at the School of Business building, redistributing the previously designed Petr stickers for anyone who missed the very first drop. Nearly half of UCI COSMOS joined the exhilarating run to get their hands in on the tradition and collect a few stickers for themselves. After the members of my suite had traded a few of our stickers and looked around for more, we began our return trek to Calmindon, which according to the local talk and whispers in the walls, is the greatest hall of four at COSMOS. But nothing would have prepared us for the sight we were met with on Floor 3: three girls (from Floor 2), all carrying their luggage, blankets, pillows, and spare items, standing in front of the spare room on our floor looking confused, tired, and disgusted. After further inquiry, we discovered that a bug infestation had occurred directly on the floor below us, in what used to be their room, hypothesizing that a nest of some sort must have been the cause. And now Calmindon, Floor 3 has three new roommates, to whom we extend a warm welcome and an un-bee-lievable amount of disinfectant.
Continuing with our UTC runs on Monday and Thursday, we also had a College Application activity on Monday, Trivia night on Tuesday, Jeopardy on Wednesday, Funny Presentations on Thursday, and Casino Night on Friday, all activities were planned, hosted, and successfully run by our RAs. The events themselves were a blast, with Calmindon performing spectacularly at every one of them! On Friday, we had a special UCI Petr drop, hosted by university students independent of COSMOS. They dropped three stickers per person, based on a video game and show, with some rare holographic stickers thrown in the mix. Additionally, Casino Night was definitely a memorable night for all of COSMOS, with its variety of games, snacks, drinks, and dancing - much thanks to the RAs and COSMOS admin for always showing up and showing out! The field trip on Saturday was another great event, the third and last for this year’s UCI COSMOS.
Aside from the weekly activities, however, Calmindon has been consistently having movie nights or karaoke nights as a hall bonding time. Movies such as Mean Girls, Hunger Games, and more were played in our common room, with Calmindon karaoke another night, resulting in a comment on our Discord server asking us “When were quiet hours again?” Aside from the normal screaming that ensues at night and our contribution to them, Calmindon has been decently peaceful yet exciting, as we come to a close. My favorite part of residential life has been the walks that I go on with the girls on my floor - not only does it allow us a chance to catch up with one another but it also gives us the chance to soak in the scenery and tranquility of the night.
If I could reflect on one aspect that helped me have a great residential life, it’s having a wonderful roommate (shoutout to Sharada!) and suite in general. Making friends with the girls on my floor and essentially going anywhere and everywhere with them has allowed me to have fun at any social event, knowing that they’ve got my back and I’ve got theirs. While I will definitely miss them and this experience of living together, this has given me incredible friends whom I hope to keep for a lifetime.
Sunday began with another COSMOS Petr drop held around 9 PM at the School of Business building, redistributing the previously designed Petr stickers for anyone who missed the very first drop. Nearly half of UCI COSMOS joined the exhilarating run to get their hands in on the tradition and collect a few stickers for themselves. After the members of my suite had traded a few of our stickers and looked around for more, we began our return trek to Calmindon, which according to the local talk and whispers in the walls, is the greatest hall of four at COSMOS. But nothing would have prepared us for the sight we were met with on Floor 3: three girls (from Floor 2), all carrying their luggage, blankets, pillows, and spare items, standing in front of the spare room on our floor looking confused, tired, and disgusted. After further inquiry, we discovered that a bug infestation had occurred directly on the floor below us, in what used to be their room, hypothesizing that a nest of some sort must have been the cause. And now Calmindon, Floor 3 has three new roommates, to whom we extend a warm welcome and an un-bee-lievable amount of disinfectant.
Continuing with our UTC runs on Monday and Thursday, we also had a College Application activity on Monday, Trivia night on Tuesday, Jeopardy on Wednesday, Funny Presentations on Thursday, and Casino Night on Friday, all activities were planned, hosted, and successfully run by our RAs. The events themselves were a blast, with Calmindon performing spectacularly at every one of them! On Friday, we had a special UCI Petr drop, hosted by university students independent of COSMOS. They dropped three stickers per person, based on a video game and show, with some rare holographic stickers thrown in the mix. Additionally, Casino Night was definitely a memorable night for all of COSMOS, with its variety of games, snacks, drinks, and dancing - much thanks to the RAs and COSMOS admin for always showing up and showing out! The field trip on Saturday was another great event, the third and last for this year’s UCI COSMOS.
Aside from the weekly activities, however, Calmindon has been consistently having movie nights or karaoke nights as a hall bonding time. Movies such as Mean Girls, Hunger Games, and more were played in our common room, with Calmindon karaoke another night, resulting in a comment on our Discord server asking us “When were quiet hours again?” Aside from the normal screaming that ensues at night and our contribution to them, Calmindon has been decently peaceful yet exciting, as we come to a close. My favorite part of residential life has been the walks that I go on with the girls on my floor - not only does it allow us a chance to catch up with one another but it also gives us the chance to soak in the scenery and tranquility of the night.
If I could reflect on one aspect that helped me have a great residential life, it’s having a wonderful roommate (shoutout to Sharada!) and suite in general. Making friends with the girls on my floor and essentially going anywhere and everywhere with them has allowed me to have fun at any social event, knowing that they’ve got my back and I’ve got theirs. While I will definitely miss them and this experience of living together, this has given me incredible friends whom I hope to keep for a lifetime.
Resident Life Pictures
bottom of page