Syracuse University Students Celebrate the end of the year with academics and alcohol.
She had one more week of classes until she graduates and moves onto the real world. For the past four years Milan Esco has enjoyed Syracuse University to the fullest extent. As a social work major, she has endured multiple group projects, essays, and terrible winters. I had the opportunity to follow Milan around and shadow her activities throughout the day.
I arrived at her apartment in the UV apartment block around 12:30PM. She was finishing her makeup when I arrived so I was hanging out in her bedroom. For a university student, the UV apartments are quite large. She lives with 3 other roommates who have rooms all to themselves. The apartments also include a fully furnished kitchen as well as a large living room.
While she was still putting makeup on, we conversed about the day’s activities. I wasn't sure that we would get to go to ALL of them since everyone was going pretty hard already on South Campus..
Went went from South Campus to Euclid and eventually ended up at Walnut park where we finally parted ways.
Each year, the university cancels classes for the day to celebrate the achievements of their students. However, many students use the cancelled classes as an excuse to come together and celebrate in a typical college fashion.
The students consume large amounts of alcohol.
The school gated off walnut park into two sections. The section closest to the school hands out beer to students over the age of 21 and the farther station gives out free corn dogs, hamburgers, and grilled chicken to students. Many students went to the walnut park area to listen to A$AP Ferg and student DJ, Nicola Bernadini.
Later, students walked to the dome for ‘BlockParty,’ the second part of ‘Mayfest’ where two headlining artists performed rap and dance music.
In the DOME students started to gather together around 7pm for LA based DJ, Brasabelle. During the performance, the crowd was at it’s lowest point however, there were at least 300 people present for her performance.
The next artist to perform was 2Chainz. He is famous for his songs such as ‘I’m Different’ and “Used 2.” His performance was decent.
The final artist, Zedd, drew the largest crowd. Since the EDM movement is still popular and many kids at Syracuse know and listen to EDM music, this gave them an opportunity to hear the music live.
When the concert ended, a few kids still went out to have fun at different parties but the majority stayed in and just went to sleep. Everyone was exhausted from the day’s activities.
Milan Esco or Milly as her friends call her starts her day off by prepping her white shoes for the day's activities. Milly gets ready in her apartment room located in the UV apartments. She lives with four other roommates who are seniors as well. This will be her fourth Mayfest day party she celebrated with her friends. She will be out all day so she needs to make sure she has all of her supplies with her. Her long time friend Melissa also came out to visit for this last weekend party.
Milly adjusts her hair and finishes her makeup before she goes out to meet her roommates in the common room. Milly is from Brooklyn, New York and is currently a senior social work major. She plans to work for the 'Teach for America' organization after she graduates. She will be working with under-resourced urban and rural public schools to help improve education.
Milly chooses a song to play for her roommates while they eat breakfast and start drinking. She chooses a mixture of rap and edm music to fill the apartment with. She uses two small speakers to pump out the music. Her roommates also appreciate the music she chooses. This will help pump her up for the block party concert with 2Chainz and Zedd.
Milly went to hang out with neighbors next to her UV apartment. She was with them for about 30 minutes. She shared a few shots with them and taught them how to dance. You could hear the music all the way down the hall even with the door closed. They all were having a good time and this group was most likely going to stay on south campus and keep the party there.
When Milly finally got to campus, she was walking with her friends when a utility truck full of guys stopped at the corner of comstock and euclid and were very excited to see Milly and her friends. Valentina (left) and Milly responded back to them by enthusiastically yelling.
While Milly and her friends continued to walk towards her friend's home, I stopped at a few interesting scenes along Euclid. I saw a group of guys sitting in a pool together drinking beer together. They have been sitting there for about 2 hours. They didn't want to do anything during Mayfest except sit there and drink.
Another party that students were attending was at the 'Delt House.' This home was owned by a few members in the fraternity 'Delta Tau Delta.' Last year they also hosted a party during Mayfest. They set up a giant bounce house to entertain partiers as they arrived. Surprisingly, students were aware enough to take their shoes off to enter the bounce house. Luckily no one threw up in the bounce house while it was at the party.
When Milly and her friends arrived at Tenzing Chonzom's home, they were greeted with pizza and more refreshments. A man named Shamphel Tenzin (pictured) was the life of the party. Written on his back was a saying that said 'Ain't got time for that.' He came up from New York City because he wanted to visit his cousin and partake in the Mayfest festivities.
A couple is caught sharing an intimate moment in Walnut Parking during the Mayfestivities. An onlooker points as they proceed to kiss before Nico Bernadini performs his set. Walnut park housed hundreds of students while A$AP Ferg and Nico Bernadini performed. While in the park, students also had the opportunity to receive chicken, hamburgers, hotdogs, and corn dogs free of charge.
A popular venue for students to visit is 'Castle Court' at the end of Walnut Park. Students gather there to socialize and drink while music is loudly played throughout the apartment complex. Many residents house their own parties during Mayfest and numerous visitors request to use their restrooms while partying at 'Castle.' The aftermath of the Castle Court party results in piles of trash and cups left unattended for someone else to pick them up.
While Mayfest ends, Block Party begins. Over 20,000 students and local residents come to enjoy the artists the University brings to the Dome. This year Zedd and 2Chainz were the headlining artists. The majority of students came for the Zedd concert because they wanted the EDM experience.