Seeing a human body fall from the airplane was so unreal that it chilled me. The body fell in spread-eagle position and disappeared from my vision with incredible speed. I was next.I heard Paul, the professional skydiver jumping with me, speak and felt him stand behind me, so I unbent my knees and rose to my feet. Our bodies tightly cabled together, we awkwardly waddled forward. Finally, my feet parallel to the door, I peered out to evaluate the 2,500 feet of nothingness between my body and the ground.

Paul counted, "Four, three, two..." as my cameraman shuffled to the door and disappeared to an outside ledge.

"One."

Paul leaned outward and let go, and my trustingly attached body fell from the realm of solidity into empty air.

At first I felt nothing but the void beneath me as I hurled downward. I felt weightless and vulnerable, powerless against the pull of gravity.

My cameraman floated above me for 30 seconds as I freefell, capturing the muddled flurry of expletives escaping my open mouth. The rush of air was so cold-and so loud-that I couldn't even hear myself scream.

Then Paul's hand waved over my face-our signal for me to act-and I pulled the orange cylinder hanging by a string at my side that marked the ripcord that would open my parachute.

For a moment nothing happened, then a hollow noise thundered from above as the parachute billowed with air. Our feet swung harshly to a sitting position and we began to float.

As I recovered from the shock of decelerating, the scenery stilled and I finally surveyed the horizon.

The land below was a jumbled mix of shapes and colors. I saw red farmhouses and winding gray roads cutting through thick forests and noted the sharp contrast of bare branches against vibrant golden-red foliage. The only human presences were Paul on my back and my fellow skydivers shuttling down behind me.

Paul pulled the toggles and we swayed left and right, zigzagging through the cool autumn air toward a vast sand pit below.

The land grew closer and closer, the shapes below gradually growing large and more lifelike, until we slid to the surface and my feet dug into the sand. I sat up and grinned at the cameraman standing above me.

"What are you going to tell your friends at home?" he asked.

"I'm going to tell them that skydiving is the coolest thing ever," I responded.

The Brandeis Skydiving Club subsidizes students, at a facility called Jumptown in Orange, Mass., an hour west of Waltham.

The coordinators, Jay Hyne '06 and Dana Padgett '06, were very friendly. They scheduled our trip only a week in advance and worked hard to accommodate all the students interested in jumping.

They said the club has 427 students on its listserv, though coordinator Hyne estimated that only about 50 people jump per year.

Hyne said that the club serves three purposes: to provide undergraduates and graduate students with the opportunity to skydive; to educate the Brandeis campus on the sport of parachuting; and to create a sense of community among Brandeis' skydivers.

Hyne said that while many college students want to attempt skydiving, money constraints or nervousness often prevent them from trying.

"We allow [students] to jump with their friends, and for less money than if they went skydiving on their own," he said.

Hyne also said that while skydiving is considered a daredevil sport, it has significantly lower injury rates than more commonplace sports like basketball or hockey.

The club also provides information on training to advance beyond the tandem phase of skydiving; jumping solo requires a special license.

The subsidy the club gives student skydivers varies every year depending on the funds allocated by the Finance Board and also on the number of students who jump. This year, the F-Board increased its allocation by $500, for a total of $2,500. The rate for a tandem jump this fall at Jumptown was $190, and the club was able to subsidize $60 per student.

I skydived with four other students, and we had fun meeting and fussing nervously on the drive there, then swapping stories of our jumps on the way back.

This club seems to have very low commitment since most students only jump once-while the price is subsidized, it's still too hefty to go frequently. However, as a one-time activity, my group members and I agreed it was well worth the price. The exhilaration and the breathtaking view of fall in New England were simply unmatchable, and it would also be fun with friends.

"I have jumped six times now, and each one is as amazing as my first," Hyne said. "I wish that everyone could experience that feeling.