Costume Bingo Brings Students Together; Multiple Prizes Given Away
Teresa Masteller
On Friday, Nov. 3, the Manchester Activities Council (MAC) officially ended the Halloween festivities by hosting Costume Bingo in Haist Commons.
Minions, tacos and M&Ms shared the space with Michael Jackson, Winnie the Pooh and Waldo. Students came at 8:08 p.m. to enjoy socializing and a chance to play bingo in order to win various prizes.
MAC, one of the major programming groups on campus, is made up of students who meet weekly to plan campus events. They provide social, recreational and entertainment activities. Lauren Wade is a junior accounting and finance double major, and she joined MAC last spring. “MAC puts on events like costume bingo so that other students on campus can have fun on a Friday night, especially since it’s a small town,” Wade said. “Most of our events are created to get students out of their dorms and meet new people.”
Every year, the members of MAC choose a costume theme. This year their theme was the 70s. Wade and senior accounting and marketing double major Tyler Gipson dressed as hippies; junior sports management and marketing double major Storm Shortt as Han Solo; and senior sport management and business management double major Austyn Rybicki as Luke Skywalker.
MAC members huddled around the prize table in the middle of the commons as they waited to check the bingo cards of potential winners. “MAC puts on these events to not only give students the opportunity to win awesome prizes, but to bring students from all walks of life together to socialize and make lasting memories with each other!” Shortt (Han Solo) said.
The night started with the promise of gift cards for the winners of traditional-style bingo. The TVs displayed the correct bingo patterns in order to battle any confusion. It took only minutes for someone to claim the first prize. As the night went on, the bingo styles changed from traditional, to x-bingo, to full board coverage bingo as students played to win various gift cards, a Polaroid camera, a TV, an iPad Pro, tailgate bundles, Colts Tickets and much more.
Becca Kaplan, a junior Spanish: Secondary Education major dressed as a 50s girl, won prizes for the first time in her three years of going: a couple of gift cards and a Manchester University hammock. “This is easily my favorite MAC event, and I’m so lucky to go to a school that offers fun activities like this for their students!” Kaplan said.
The night took a break from costume bingo and switched focus to the costume contest, which also included prizes. “The costume competition is always a great part about the event, because you get to see people dress up individually and as a group,” Rybicki said. “It brings out some amazing and hilarious costumes.”
Individual costumes were judged first. A male student dressed in a seashell bra, fairy wings and a hula dancer skirt gained popularity with the crowd for his look. Students used their applause to decide the winner, and they chose him.
Group costumes were judged next. Scooby Doo and the gang were finalists against the cast of "Mean Girls," which included the bus that hit Regina. “I was very impressed with the group costumes this year,” Shortt said. “I particularly thought the group that dressed as Scooby-Doo and the gang were awesome. Seeing them brought me down memory lane.” The students in the crowd agreed, as they chose Scooby Doo and the gang as the winners of the group costume contest.
“For anyone who is interested in being involved in campus, creating tons of memories and making amazing friends, MAC is a great organization to join,” Rybicki said. Check your campus email regularly for updates on MAC events!