Community Activities Bloom on Campus Throughout the Summer

By Anne-Marie Kent

Some university campuses lie dormant during summer months--not UMass Boston! With a popular summer school program, arts events--including a special June showing of alumni Charles Merrill's watercolors--plus athletics activities and community outreach endeavors, the campus has been alive with activity this summer.

"We had an outstanding summer, with enrollments exceeding our expectations," said Dirk Messelaar, dean of Continuing, Corporate, and Distance Education. "Students see UMass Boston as a great place to take summer courses: the list of offerings is large and varied, the quality of instruction is excellent, the fees are reasonable, and our location by the Harbor is a point in our favor, especially at this time of year."

The waterfront truly is a magnet. Each day, a steady stream of men, women, and children have walked, jogged, biked, and rollerbladed their way along the Harborwalk. And when July temperatures soared, the indoor gyms and swimming pool became more popular with students, employees, and more than 365 community members.

For those preferring spectator sports, the Bay State Games competitions, which ran July 10 through July 13, attracted more than 6,500 athletes and spectators to campus. These Olympics-style competitions involved some 10,000 participants from across the Commonwealth. The following week, the Reebok Pro Summer League featured 10 NBA teams, including the Boston Celtics, the New York Knicks, and the Philadelphia 76ers.

"More than 40,000 attended and 10 of the 14 sessions were sold out, making this the most successful Summer League to date," reported Charlie Titus, athletics director, who added that 14,000 free tickets were distributed to community and youth groups.

The youths who cheered their favorite NBA teams were not the only community kids on campus. Thirty-five local middle-schoolers and 63 high-schoolers took part in the Urban Scholars seven-week summer program. "The theme this summer was ‘Government and Me: How do we affect the economy?'" said director Joan Becker, who noted that the Kennedy Library collaborated to offer the high schoolers electives in civil rights and "museums in motion." Additionally, reported Becker, 30 middle school students participated in the Project REACH six-week academic summer program for college-bound students with special needs here at the campus.

While some young people reached for new academic skills, others--a hundred or so, aged eight to 18--developed nautical ones. Participants in the Courageous Sailors program at UMass Boston learned how to sail in Dorchester Bay. These sailors came from organizations including the Dorchester YMCA, the South Boston Boys and Girls Club, the Colonel Marr Boys and Girls Club, the South Boston Neighborhood House, and Freedom House.

For people of all ages interested in seeing Boston Harbor sights, free lunchtime cruises left each Tuesday at noon from the Fox Point Landing. These cruises continue through September, offering a taste of summertime to anyone who wants August to linger just a bit longer.

Images:

Top: Excited new sailors from the South Boston Boys and Girls Club donned life jackets and journeyed onto Dorchester Bay as part of the Courageous Sailing Program, held at UMass Boston from August 11 through 22. The group was one of five community organizations invited by the university to participate in the program.

Bottom: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers drew large crowds when he made his professional NBA debut at the Clark Athletic Center during the Reebok Pro Summer League. (Photos by Harry Brett)

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