Featuring live music, games and laughter, Outdoor Pursuits and Recreational Sports hosted the Winter Welcome on Tuesday, Jan. 13, co-sponsored by ASNIC Student Events.
“[The purpose of the event is] to kinda welcome students back to the campus,” event co-host Stephen Moeller said, 28, Sacramento, Interdisciplinary degree at UofI, “and give everybody the opportunity to come out, socialize, have some fun, play some games, you know—get to know everybody and win some prizes.”
Games included Root Beer pong and a relay race in which two teams of two had a partner crawl on the floor blowing a ball within tape boundaries across the room and then back, into a large makeshift receptacle hat the other partner wore—who was challenged to stand up without the ball falling out.
Raffles resulted in the winning of gift cards for the Kroc Center and gear rental for Outdoor Pursuits, a magnetic dartboard and many other items.
While the fun was felt, the turnout was small and opinions of the event were critical.
“I thought it was awesome because we were actually able to do the relay, which was really fun,” Alex Foelsch said, 19, Post Falls, Pre-Med Veterinary. “But the hat was really loose so it almost fell off my head.”
Foelsch continued, “The cookies were a little overcooked, which made it tough for people with sensitive teeth or braces to eat them.”
“The hot chocolate was way too chocolaty,” Anna Ashcraft said, 18, Colfax, Music. “The next time they pull out a Twister board, they should actually play Twister!”
“Maybe some more food,” Moeller said, pointing to the snack supply. “Like; food, food.”
One of the highlights of the event was a live musician playing Ukulele renditions of popular songs.
“Jess [Bennett, Recreational Sports coordinator] walked up to me yesterday and was like, ‘Hey! We need some music for this event, would you like to come play Ukulele?’ So, I showed up,” the event musician Katie Taylor said, 24, Coeur d’Alene, Outdoor Recreation Leadership. “People don’t hear Ukulele on a regular basis so they’re like, ‘Oh, what a novel instrument!’”
“The ukulele was really cool,” Foelsch said. “It’s something you don’t get to hear a lot so it was cool being able to have her doing that and playing the different songs you don’t usually hear played like that.”
One opinion of the event was unanimous and might explain why ASNIC Student Event representatives left over a half an hour earlier than the event ended.
“I think it would be more fun if more people came,” Taylor said. “But the deterrent is probably the winter weather, like; ‘I don’t want to leave my warm room.’”
