RSCO Feature: Ski club

Alexis Lovewell, Staff writer

The Campus Involvement Center manages all of the recognized student clubs and organizations (RSCOs) on campus, Ski Club included.

The advisor for Ski Club is Steph Przepiora, who is also the Leadership and Outreach coordinator for Campus Involvement. President of the Ski Club is senior Business Economics and Finance double major, Andrew Hoover. Vice President is senior Biology and Forensic Anthropology double major, Kristina Croucher. Both Hoover and Croucher work together to make the Ski Club possible for students every winter.

Since both are seniors this year, they will be handing down both positions to rising upper-classmen students for next fall. “Ski Club is an opportunity for students, faculty, and staff to come together and spend time off-campus at Peek’n Peak Resort in Clymer, NY,” Hoover said. The Club helps to make skiing, snowboarding, and winter activities accessible to students, whether they need a ride, instruction, or a ski pass. In the winter, depending on weather, Mercyhurst’s Ski Club members are able to utilize their pass and spend the evening tub-ing, skiing, or snowboarding. This gives the students here at Mercyhurst the opportunity to get away from campus and school-work and have some fun in the snow.

Due to the COVID pandemic, there have been a few restrictions put on the club. Croucher spoke on some of the struggles COVID has brought to the club.“COVID has made it difficult for Ski Club. Normally in the spring semester, the club members ride in a Mercyhurst van to Peek’n Peak every Thursday evening to ski, snowboard, or go tubing for a few hours.

Due to COVID, we are not able to transport members in the van, which makes it difficult for those without vehicles, such as freshmen,” Croucher said. RSCOs were not able to travel at all during the fall 2020 semester. Ski Club had some hope of potentially being able to travel in an official sense as for the spring semester when they typically begin their season, but due to the new COVID clusters that have emerged, off-campus travel with clubs is highly unlikely this academic year.

Despite COVID, the club was still able to offer members a dis-counted pass which made it much cheaper for students to purchase a season pass and travel to Peek’n Peak themselves. While all members are responsible for paying for their individual passes, the discount makes it a lot cheaper for college students. Although the deadline to turn in the forms for the discount-ed price has already passed, students who are still interested in going to Peek’n Peak for fun this season can reach out to Hoover (ahoove34@lakers.mercyhurst.edu) or Croucher (kcrouc55@lak-ers.mercyhurst.edu) and they can help provide more information on regular-season prices.

The club is a great way for all students to have some fun outside during the cold season, and it can act as a great stress reliever to take one’s mind off of school. “We both have greatly enjoyed the stress relief of hitting the slopes as a club in previous years and are eager to pass it on to other individuals who are as excited about the club as we are,” Croucher said. While we all look forward to the end of COVID-19, we are hopeful that students can once again travel with their clubs to enjoy the many great locations in and surrounding the Erie area.

Even in the cold winter, out-door activity is not only a good way to reduce the spread of COVID, but it is also great for the mind and body. Bundle up and embrace the winter!