As the academic year comes to a close, all the stress and hard work of students studying for exams and preparing final projects was juxtaposed on campus last Friday by KSC Student Government’s Spring Carnival.
The annual event has become a tradition for the last weekend of each spring semester, drawing large crowds of students every year for carnival rides and free food. This year’s event was no different, as countless KSC students flocked to Appian Way to enjoy the festivities on a beautiful spring day.
Attractions at the carnival once again included the Scrambler ride, a Ferris wheel, a dunk tank, food provided by KSC Dining and free t-shirts. The new features at this year’s event were several traditional carnival games, such as balloon darts and a water gun race, for students to enjoy.
Senior and Student Body President Kylie Nelson said Student Government hosts the annual Spring Carnival each year to celebrate the end of the semester with the KSC community.
“It’s just an opportunity for all students across all of campus, commuters and non-commuters, to come and celebrate,” she said.
Nelson said she had a heavy hand in organizing the carnival and gave insight into what the planning process for the event looks like. Though the carnival takes place in early May, Nelson said the planning process began all the way back in January and February, when she was getting into contact with the companies that provided the rides and games and working with the dining team to prepare a wide-ranging menu for the event.
She also said she personally selected a “town fair” theme for the carnival, which accounts for the new carnival games at this year’s event.
Overall, Nelson said she hoped the carnival provided students with an opportunity to meet new people and celebrate their work this semester.
“My freshman year, I met a ton of new people or people that I had in class that I got to see outside of class, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re going to hang out right now and eat food.’ It was very cool,” she said. “We all put a lot of work in to go to college, so this is just a fun way to celebrate and be together before we all go home for the summer.”
Among students who were able to make it to the event, one of the common sentiments was a sense of gratitude for a chance to have some fun and relieve stress before finals week.
“I really liked that they have it now because it does help with everything,” said sophomore Chloe Stewart. “Though I do wish that it wasn’t as stressful of a time that they did it during, but it’s give and take.”
“I think having it right before finals is a nice way to have your last chance of fun before it’s not fun,” added sophomore Sofia Hayward.
Junior Julia Bucharne echoed this statement and said she came to the event with the specific goal of escaping finals-related stress.
“Finals are stressful and it’s like the one little treat they give us of, ‘Hey, this is hard, but here’s the carnival,’” Bucharne said.
“I would love if stuff like this happened more often,” she added. “I think it’s really fun and everyone really gets into it, and it’s a nice community-building kind of thing.”
Justin Dearborn can be contacted at
jdearborn@kscequinox.com
