By: Alex Houdesall
For: The Daily Campus
Published: August 27th, 2018
The crowd of students milling around the Student Union and the pounding music heard all the way from East Campus signaled the traditional semester-kick off Block Party on Saturday night, sponsored by the Student Union Board of Governors. One of many events that account for Weekend of Welcome (WOW), the Block Party aimed to give students an idea of what SUBOG will be hosting in the upcoming year.
“We wanted the overall Block Party to feel like a preview of the types of events that are to come throughout the year, but on a smaller scale,” Adam Sherif, SUBOG president and seventh semester finance major, said.
On the Student Union lawn, the White Panda concert reflected events like UCONNIC on a much smaller scale, the endless line for Stuff a Husky gave a sample of what Special Events will be working on this year, the outdoor movie gave the Film committee practice for movie events in the future and Major Weekends provided a preview of what One-ton Sundae will look like.
Out in front of the Union, Sports provided the inflatable obstacle courses and games. While the Comedy committee wasn’t present at the Block Party, they planned a show for Sunday night.
The setup of this year’s Block Party not only gave the SUBOG committees practice for the rest of the year, but aimed to be more activity-oriented, Sherif explained.
Other organizations showed out Saturday night as well. The Breakdancing Club gave a performance on the lawn near the concert area, rolling out a linoleum mat for existing members as well as students in the audience to show their moves.
“It was a great opportunity to expand the community,” Neils Peschel, breakdancing club member and fifth semester computer science and engineering major, said of the dancing. “The audience embraced it and they made it their own.”
As one of the many WOW events this weekend, a number of freshmen were present at the Block Party.
“It seems like a good time,” Matt Donlon, first semester engineering and Spanish student, said. “There’s lots of free stuff and I get to spend the night with friends.”
The Block Party offered freshmen yet another opportunity to meet new people and start getting involved in the school community and spirit.
“I didn’t want to hole myself up in my room,” Katie Arpino, first semester American sign language and deaf studies student, said.
Despite the emphasis of many events this weekend on first-year students, the Block Party attracted older students as well.
“We heard the music and saw the cool lights and remembered going last year,” Carina Cassano, third semester pre-pharmacy student said.
Whether students at the Block Party were old-timers attending the event for the fourth time or newcomers coming straight from their last WOW event, it provided an idea of what SUBOG has in store for this year.