The Student Activities Association (SAA), assisted by the director of student activities, plans events on campus and in Boston for all students. Boarding and day students often play at carnivals on the East Campus quad, laugh at comedy improv teams, watch a game at Fenway Park, hike or raft with the Outdoor Program, or volunteer at Boston-area schools and food pantries. Between athletic contests on Saturdays and evening activities planned by and for students, the Milton campus is a busy, well-lit center of life all week long.
Weekends
Play, or watch and cheer at athletic contests; perform or watch your friends perform in King Theatre; read your poem at the Beatnik Café; work out at the fitness center; sit around talking in the Schwarz Student Center; hike, rock climb, or kayak with the Outdoor Program; bake cookies and watch a movie with your housemates; play pickup basketball or Frisbee; sleep in and then go to brunch; visit friends’ rooms and listen to music; meet your friends at a dance; catch a game in Boston; watch a college comedy improv group at a dorm open house; get to know someone you don’t know well yet; relax and laugh.
My weekends at Milton are usually occupied by a sporting event whether I’m competing in a sport or cheering on classmates when I’m out of season. I really think these sporting events help build the sense of community at Milton. I also enjoy SAA (Student Activities Association) activities when they are hosting something exciting. One of my favorites is Dance Concert. It’s a very engaging event to show support to a range of classmates who end up participating in the show.
—Jake Holtschlag, Hingham, Massachusetts
How We Have Fun
- Entertainment from hypnotists and magicians
- Lots of dances—including the popular Boat Dance
- Outdoor movies and s’mores on the Quad
- Trips to mini-golf, laser tag, bowling, and snow tubing
- Dodgeball tournaments in the ACC
- Vans every weekend to the South Shore Plaza, and surprise trips to the movie theater, Starbucks, and the Ice Cream Smith
- Buses to see theatre shows in Boston
- Monte Carlo Casino Night
- Improv Night, with live entertainment from classmates
- Salsa dance lessons
- A fall festival with candy apples, popcorn, and pumpkin painting
- Watching friends play in weekend games, or perform in plays and concerts
- Buses to college football games or local sports’ teams competitions
- Beatnik Café open-mic nights, and the outdoor Beatstock on the Quad in the spring
- A capella night, with Milton and college groups performing
- Movies and snacks sponsored by student groups on campus
- Sundae bars and a campus-wide scavenger hunt
- Dance class taught by Afrobeats Dance Boston
- Trip to the Chinese New Year Parade in Boston
Beatnik Café
The popular Beatnik Café—an evening of live entertainment, for and by the students—has grown since 1996. Eagerly anticipated by students, and fondly remembered by grads, Beatnik always draws a full house.
Three times a year, students pack Straus Library, lounging on couches and beanbag chairs, feet dangling between rails of the second floor balcony, to see their classmates’ artistic talents. Music of all kinds—classic guitar, rap, rock, hip hop, acoustic—along with original poetry readings and improv comedy round out the night’s performances. Though most of the acts are by students, faculty members occasionally get in on the action, delighting with skills on the guitar, the piano or vocals.
Beatnik shares the music and mood of a coffee house; it’s hosted by the board of Magus/Mabus, Milton’s literary magazine. One former Magus board member says, “Any event that taps into the vast supply of talent among Milton’s students is going to be great, but Beatnik is unique because of its relaxed atmosphere. The emphasis is on having a good time, not putting on the best performance. There is always plenty of food, couches and friends to go around.”
View photos from the Beatnik Café.
