'Campus Events' guy e-mails to quasi-fame

"Hey, you're the e-mail guy!" students yell at Ezegozie Eze '09.

It may not be first-name recognition, but it's not bad for a freshman.

A member of Wilson College, Eze is the man behind the weekly student activities e-mail, the compilation that condenses seven days' worth of activities into a single resource for the entire undergraduate body.

The service, which went on a brief hiatus last year, has been revived through Eze's enthusiasm.

"Welcome back! Welcome back! Welcome back! How's everybody doing? I hope the break was enjoyable while it lasted," Eze wrote in his first e-mail after Intersession. "This month is full of events that you should come out [to], so be supportive of your fellow students. Have a FUN first week!"

Eze began writing his e-mail in the fall. "Dean Dunne asked me to do it," he said. "I knew the guy who used to do them, Justin Reed ['05]. It stopped for a while because not very many people were reading the e-mails, but you can't always rely on Point. To keep it interesting, I try to change the format and the order of the e-mails."

This isn't the only way that Eze is involved on campus.

"I make most of the flyers you see around campus. I do most of the flyers for the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students, and I do a lot of Internet stuff for them."

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Eze, whose name is pronounced Ez-eh-goh-zea Eh-zay, is also a member of diSiac, Black Student Union, Akwaaba and the Sesame Street Crew, a new reggae dance group. He is interested in majoring in the Wilson School and is a premed who plans on pursuing a M.D./Ph.D. degree.

Since coming to Princeton, Eze says that he has assimilated to the campus.

"It takes a while to get used to the work. I'm a lot more open-minded. I'm trying out new things."

Campus events

Every week, Eze compiles all the e-mail advertisements he receives from student groups into the huge e-mail that every student sees.

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Granted, not all events are particularly interesting, he said.

"One time, the physics department was doing a scavenger hunt. I just tried to make it interesting."

Though the job may seem straightforward, Eze said it's anything but relaxing.

"I just get nervous [when I press the send button]. I just make sure everything is correct in the e-mail," he said. "Just knowing that the entire undergraduate student population is reading this makes it all the more [nerve-wracking]."

As calm as he tries to be, Eze still can make mistakes, and when he does, hostile e-mails await him.

"I get threats from groups if their event doesn't get on the list or their event is typed the wrong way. They threaten to come to my room or to get me fired. I usually don't respond."

Although he recognizes that every student faces stress, Eze said he got used to the workload and wanted to share his words of wisdom.

"As stressful as Princeton is, you don't realize how many people would want to switch places [with you]. As hard as it is to get out of bed to go to an 8:30 class, every minute of every boring lecture is shaping your future."