Fostering Friendship Over Frisbee

With many feet of snow on the ground outside, it’s hard to imagine students woud be playing frisbee this time of year.

But on Tuesday, Feb. 17, the sport was taken inside by the Transfer Student Union.

The Transfer Student Union (TSU) is a campus organization that helps new or transfer students meet students like themselves through different types of events.

James Auer, a fourth-year political science and communication major and co-founder and President of the Transfer Student Union, created the organization.

“[Our goal is to] create a community for transfer students, help them meet new people and assist in their transition to campus life,” Auer said. “Our motto is ‘Community. Friendship. Involvement.’ These three words are the mission of our organization.”

Auer said frisbee is something the Transfer Student Union members and other transfer students naturally seemed to enjoy playing together, so it has become a TSU tradition.

He said the teams are mixed up so often, everyone has a chance to meet new people.

Kevin Finer, third-year English major and Andy Tarachand a third-year industrial organizational psychology major, are two TSU members who participated in the frisbee event on Feb. 17 and said they both enjoyed the idea of frisbee indoors.

Tarachand said he felt the idea of indoor frisbee was a “cool concept,” while Finer felt a benefit of indoor frisbee was that “the sun doesn’t get into your eyes.”

Finer heard about the frisbee event through his fellow transfers, but Tarachand came about the event through the organization’s Facebook page.

Don Tracy, a fourth-year public relations major and the vice president of the Transfer Student Union, said he felt the game of frisbee is a good bonding experience for members of the club. Tracy, a creator of the event, said he definitely would want to hold this event again.

The Transfer Student Union holds a variety of events for its members throughout the academic year. Frisbee events, a welcome week and seasonal celebrations are a few events that are available for transfer students through the organization.

Along with being a group for transfers to get acquainted, the Transfer Student Union is also an advocacy group for students for issues like on campus housing for transfers.

To see what other events the Transfer Student Union is holding, check out their Facebook page: SUNY New Paltz Transfer Students.