First of many ‘game nights’ this year a huge success

Students and Faculty alike came out for free Papa John’s pizza and several hours of fun and relaxation last Friday night at the semiannual Game Night in the Jackson Library.  The event, that took place that evening from 6pm to 9:45pm, included numerous board and videogames.   For one Friday night per semester, an area on the main floor of the library is closed off to host game night.  It usually kicks off within the first 3 weeks of the new semester in order to attract new students before course work gets too demanding.  Drawings for door prizes took place every hour.  Many attendees won gift cards from Coffeeology on Tate Street and other local business.  Game Night founders Lynda Kellam and Amy Harris started hosting this event in the fall of 2006.  “There was a lot of talk at that time [in 2006] about gaming in libraries and using it as an outreach tool to get students in and also as an educational tool.  We thought it would be fun to do a game night that got freshman into the library to help them feel comfortable here in the library early on,” says Kellam.  She continued to say that Game Night “started as a pilot, we had such a good outpour of support so we did it every semester and It keeps growing.  Last fall we had over two hundred students!”  Last spring it snowed on the day of the event, yet, they still managed to have a good turnout of about one hundred fifty attendees. “We had quite a lot for a snow day,” added co-founder Amy Harris.

Students gathered around different tables scattered throughout the room to play board games like battleship and a variety of card games from speed to spades.  Playstation 2 and Xbox stations brought in an eager crowd as well.  At the X-man Legends gaming station for Playstation 2, freshman, Mike Stone looked along, waiting for his turn to play.  Like many freshman in attendance, Stone went to the event in order to fulfill a requirement for his UNS class and also, “to meet new people.  I’m new to the campus so I wanted to see what’s happening.”  On the other hand, many students, like Michael Leonard, decided to take advantage of the first day of the weekend and this once in a semester event, and came to Game Night, “to hang out and just have a good time.”

Several faculty members stopped by Game Night as well to take advantage of the free pizza, drinks, and games.  Jackson Librarian, Kathy Bradshaw said, “I think it’s a nice event, this is actually my first time.  I haven’t been here that long so this is my first opportunity to participate and it seems like [everyone is] having a good time and enjoying themselves.”   

 The next game night is set for Friday, January 21, 2011, which will mark its 10th occurrence.