Students who might usually find a quiet place to read or do homework in between classes at the Brower Student Center found a different, more exciting environment there the night of Feb. 8th. With the Sesquicentennial Midnight Madness, the Student Center buzzed with energy and entertained students in the countdown to the College's 150th birthday.
"Midnight Madness was a huge success," Christie Heyer, senior chemistry major and event coordinator for the College Union Board (CUB), which hosted the event, said. "There were many people there throughout the night and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. There was never a dull moment."
Steven DeLaura, senior finance major, financial director of CUB and the event coordinator of Midnight Madness, estimates that over 300 students attended the event.
From a six-hole miniature golf course to tarot card readings and temporary tattoos, students found plenty of free fun at the late night event. There was also "Gladiator Joust," a game in which two contestants balance themselves on unstable pedestals and try to knock each other off with soft, oversized jousting poles.
At "Sports Speed Cage," students could test the strength of their throwing arm. They could also try their hand (and feet) at "Inflatable Twister," which is the classic floor game using a giant inflated twister mat.
"It was successful not only because many students came out and attended the event, but it was also very successful for CUB as an organization, because it allowed us to put on different events that we have never tried before," DeLaura said.
The food court of the Students Center was crowded with students hoping to play the ever-popular "Dance Dance Revolution," an arcade game that CUB brought to the big screen.
"We all wanted to play DDR, but it was too crowded, but oh well, there were plenty of other things going on to keep us busy," Jenn Geigert, junior engineering major, said.
DeLaura said that the idea for Midnight Madness started when the Sesquicentennial Committee came to CUB and asked for an exciting program to help kick off Founders' Day, Feb. 9.
"We thought that this program would be a great way to give back to the College and the campus community," DeLaura said.
Midnight Madness was based on a former CUB event called "The Latenighter," which was previously held during spring semester in the Student Center. "We as an organization were no longer budgeted for the Latenighter anymore and thought that Midnight Madness could be the program that would allows us to create that famous Latenighter feeling, only with a different twist," DeLaura said.
There was a countdown at midnight to the beginning of Founders' Day and students were quite entertained with the entire event. "There were plenty of activities to keep people entertained for a couple of hours," Niki Ostrum, sophomore history secondary education major, said.
"I didn't think I was going to want to stay the whole time, but before I knew it, it was 2
a.m. and everything was over," Jenn Geigert, junior engineering major, said.
Pictures helped keep the students coming at Midnight Madness. There were "Picture Puzzles," where students got their picture taken and then it was made into a puzzle to take home. There were also "Big Chair Photos" were students got their picture taken in the Student Center on the "Big Comfortable Chair."
"I really liked getting all the free pictures with my friends, it's a great way to keep the memories," Geigert said.
"We had a lot of different activities during Midnight Madness that all students seemed to have enjoyed. I personally was most excited about the Battle of the Bands competition," DeLaura said. He was not alone - many loved the Battle of the Bands at Midnight Madness.
"We got there early and watched our friends' bands play, which was, in my opinion the best part of the whole night," Emily Lukacs, junior journalism major, said.
"I loved listening to all the bands," Geigert said. "My friend Rob was in the band that played first and it was really cool to see him and all the other bands play for all the students."
There were seven student bands participating in the competition. Lunch Money Criminals won over the crowd at the end of the night with their Ben Folds-like sound and ended up winning the entire competition and $400 dollars.
"Blizzard Of Bucks" was another favorite of the night. It was a game in which students tried to catch money in a whirlwind and could have won up to $500.
"The game show was really fun to watch. My friend ended up winning the money so it was really cool," Geigert said.
And no one can forget the Texas Hold'em Tournament. "The Texas Hold'em Tournament also went over very well and filled up immediately when the competition began," DeLaura said. "I hope that CUB continues to put on a Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament in some of their events in the future."
"Overall I thought it was really fun and it was a good way to bring a lot of the students together," Geigert said. "They had a great variety of activities for the students and I definitely think they should do more stuff like this cause it was a great success."
