Before the sophomore class separates to live off campus, students had a night to collectively celebrate their half-way point until graduation. From March 1 through March 4, Sophomore Weekend took place in multiple places in the Lloyd P. Young Student Center with a plethora of different activities for attendees.
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This was the first year the Sophomore Weekend event has happened on the Keene State College campus. The weekend-long event was predominantly for sophomores, but anyone was welcome to come and celebrate the class of 2020.
Sophomore Weekend began Thursday, March 1, with bingo in the Night Owl Café in the Student Center. On Friday, March 2, there was tie-dying on the student center’s lawn from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., students paid a $3 fee to bowl at Yankee Lanes in Keene. Giant Connect Four, giant Jenga, giant Yahtzee and a piano mat were set up on the Student Center lawn on Saturday, March 3 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.. At 7 p.m., a movie night was presented for students in the Mabel Brown Room.
According to the class of 2020’s advisor Cory Davis, the class of 2020’s executive board organized and sponsored the event. The executive board is made up of student government class officers and class representatives. The event was funded by annual funding to student government and a Pepsi Grant from the Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Kemal Atkins, Davis said. Davis got the idea from a friend who began the event at Boston College five years ago.
Aside from events senior year, there are a minimal amount of opportunities for underclassmen to bond together, Davis explained. “The executive board plays a good role in bringing the classes together, especially when people tend to break off or go live off campus in their junior and senior year. It’s important to have those events that gather them now as opposed to only trying to pull people together [senior year],” he said.
Sophomore class president Madison Olson said the activities for the event were agreed upon by the executive board because of their variety. “[We] decided on the events because we believe that they are all very different, so we can appeal to a large and diverse crowd of students,” she said.
Olsen continued and said the event is a way to praise the sophomore class and their accomplishments. “I would describe Sophomore Weekend as a way to celebrate the class of 2020’s halfway point to graduation. We feel that sophomores seem to be forgotten too much, but we would like to recognize them and all of their hard work,” she said. With the array of activities provided, the event strived to unite the sophomore class by making relationships with unfamiliar peers, Olsen added. “Sophomore Weekend brings the class together because we are offering a variety of events so that everyone has something that they would enjoy… We hope that strangers will meet each other at the events and that friendships will be created,” she explained. Olsen said she hopes that the event will become a tradition for sophomore classes in the future.
Sophomore safety and communications major Taylor Lindquist attended the tie-dye event and said it allowed her to relax and meet new people. “With midterms coming up, I’m glad I was able to take a break from my studying and projects… I got to connect with some people in my grade I’ve never meet before. It was a really cool experience overall,” she said.
To suggest event ideas, students can contact their student government class officers or their class representatives.
Ashley Arnold can be contacted at aarnold@kscequinox.com
