TUESDAY
ja nua ry
PAGE 11
29, 2013
the daily orange
the sweet stuff in the middle
luke rafferty | asst. photo editor Syracuse University skiers and snowboarders take advantage of the snow at Toggenburg Mountain on Saturday, Jan. 26.
ALPINE ADDICTS Students get their adrenaline rush while participating in SU’s ski and snowboard program at Toggenberg Mountain By Danielle Roth
L
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
ast year, the unusual weather conditions in Syracuse hindered the experiences of skiers and snowboarders alike. Ice overpowered the slopes and made for an unfavorable experience. This year is looking far better. “There was only one trail that was sort of icy, but the rest were fine and a lot more fun to go on than last year. You have much more control without the ice,” said Zhenya Muravyova, a sophomore writing and rhetoric and English and textual studies major, of her experience at Toggenburg Mountain on Saturday. With Song Mountain, Labrador Mountain and Toggenburg Mountain within driving distance, students are
taking advantage of the slopes this winter. Syracuse University skiers and snowboarders will take over the mountains thanks to a program offered by Recreation Services that starts this weekend. “Snowboarding and skiing is a good way to get in shape while spending time with friends,” said Muravyova. “You don’t think about it because you are going down the mountain. Even your arms get a work out.” Recreation Services’ six-week ski and snowboard program to Toggenburg Mountain had 250 spots available for students to sign up, but is sold out for this season. Students receive a lift ticket for Friday or Saturday night, transportation to the mountain and weekly lessons, all for $105. For an extra $90, students can rent their equipment from the mountain for the duration of the program.
SEE SKIING PAGE 12
Obscure Cinema Society returns to SU after semester-long hiatus By Vince Loncto CONTRIBUTING WRITER
After a semester-long hiatus, the filmlovers club Obscure Cinema Society is back in action this spring and ready to attract new members. “Obscure was a huge part of my entire college experience,” said Kat Smith, a senior advertising major, The Daily Orange technology columnist and president of the club.
“Especially on a campus that’s so dominated by Greek life, you want an alternative presence a little bit.” Smith said she met some of her best friends in college through the group, which is dedicated to students who enjoy watching and talking about films that are normally overlooked by mass media and critics. The club, devoted to watching and talking about films that are normally
overlooked by mass media and critics, has been a small but close-knit community for Syracuse students since its inception. In 2009, Renee Reizman and Steven Lutsky became friends watching cult classics, and decided to create a student organization and open it up to the rest of the Syracuse community. Eventually, Obscure was promoting at Juice Jam and bringing in
lots of students for screenings of cult classics such as “The Room.” The group also became involved in the student film festival, and awarded the first-place finishers with two tickets to the world-renowned Tribeca Film Festival. The group even attracted Basil Al-Sayed, a Syracuse film student who became internationally famous for his coverage of the Syrian uprising in late 2011.
Obscure didn’t run last semester because of changes within the staff, often due to founding members graduating and working in the television and film industries. Smith admitted the hardest part of running a group like Obscure is drawing in lots of students, since many don’t know much about independent and cult films. However, Smith said even when
SEE OBSCURE CINEMA PAGE 14