Many clichA?© college towns are quaint, wealthy areas where there is always plenty to do. Numerous students at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish find it difficult to seek out entertainment regularly. With some thought and a lot of searching it is possible to go out for a night on the town or have a day of non-stop fun in the area, even on a college student’s budget.
There are plenty of times when the workload gets heavy and you just need to get away. According to Amy Tetreault, a senior at St. Joe’s, “A quick afternoon spent at Bull Moose and Mexicali Blues is sometimes just what I need to escape campus.”
For people who enjoy the outdoors there is always the option of ice fishing. Even though this year has been unusually warm in southern Maine, there are many lakes in the area that are frozen over enough to enjoy a day of ice fishing. Billy Chapman, also a senior at St. Joe’s, went ice fishing just last week, “It’s just fun to get out and go have a good time.”
If ice fishing really isn’t your thing, then perhaps you could warm up with a cup of coffee at the new local coffee shop The Mad Monkey CafA?© behind Ray’s Barber Shop on Route 302 in Raymond. Last Thursday night, the cafA?© hosted two students from the college to play acoustic music. Andrew LeTellier and Justin Richardson had the opportunity to play their guitars at the cafA?© for their peers.
“I just like to perform my own music, stuff that comes from me. Not only was it fun playing there but, as an artist, I like the feeling of becoming closer to being a professional. Overall, there was a turnout of 40 to 50 St. Joe’s students while we were playing,” says Richardson, a St. Joe’s sophomore.
Many students hang out at The Mad Monkey CafA?© because of their reasonable prices and the friendly atmosphere that is welcoming to anyone who enters.
It would be naA? ?ve to deny the fact that students on a college campus consume alcohol. Even the school has recognized this and opened up an on-campus pub to the 21-and-older crowd on Thursday nights. This not only is an effort to prevent drinking and driving but it also minimizes the chance of alcohol being consumed around underage students.
Another place of interest to the St. Joe’s community is Montebello’s, in Raymond, which has drink specials on Wednesday nights along with karaoke and dancing. Many of the students jump at the opportunity to go to hang out and have a drink. Senior Julie Sulzberger has gone to Montebello’s on many occasions, “I think it’s just a fun place to go on a Wednesday because you see mostly St. Joe’s people that regularly you only get to interact within a classroom setting.”
There are many students that do not have vehicles on campus or are on a budget and St. Joe’s accommodates them. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, the campus activities board always puts on an activity for students to attend. Whether it’s a concert, comedian, dance or playing bingo to win a bag of groceries, it is always on campus and free.
Maine is full of eclectic shops and relaxing atmospheres. Dee Mazzeo, also a St. Joe’s student, says “I’m glad there are places for college students to go locally. It took me a while to find some but the area is quickly building up.”
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