What did you do last Saturday? Boston, in spite of its massive student population has limited options when it comes to collegiate nightlife. One UMass Boston student has refused to take this as fact and has created a social networking club that exists, get this… away from the internet. Chuck Zeogas, a familiar face for many students, has taken the initiative to form “Chuck’s Night Out”. This organization focuses on creating a sense of community between UMB students by hosting events at various destinations around the Bean. They have had events at Fenway Park, the Aquarium, Boston Bowl, and even New York City.

Beginning in January of 2008, Chuck’s Night Out hosted their first event at Redline in Harvard Square. This past Saturday marked their 50th outing. Over 33 students stopped by the petite Italian restaurant Il Guardino’s on Brookline Ave for an 18 chance to mingle, dance, and laugh the night away. The location was selected on a whim when the founder shared a meal at the restaurant. They were seated in a back room where they enjoyed tasty and reasonable priced entrees and a behind the scenes bar with a modest wine, beer, and Orangina selection. The owner agreed to let CNO throw a party in this private room for free and with some bumping tunes.

CNO Business Manager, Brian Tse remarked while at Guardino’s that while learning how to be a better entrepreneur, he values over all the fact that all these people head out simply to “have a good time and meet new friends in a safe environment”.

CNO website designer and vice president Royce Stubbs got involved with CNO once he moved from upstate New York. According to him “It’s difficult to move to a major city where you don’t know anybody. CNO is an essential tool for school.” With the launch of the highly interactive ChucksNightOut.com, the organization is looking brightly into the future with hopes to expand its reach to more Boston campuses.

Graduate student Tsion Motkin, a CNO regular, has a more sociological take on these outings. Tsion sees CNO as a way of “opening social horizons” for students to pause their busy lives and break down walls between strangers.