UPC welcomes winter

By D.NIKI BURNETTE
Just after last week’s snowstorm hit the University of Mary Washington, The University Program Council celebrated winter with the annual Winter Carnival. Students packed into Lee Hall on Jan. 24, with students celebrating the winter season with the promise of free food, games, personalized giveaways and trivia.
The master planner behind this year’s Winter Carnival was the UPC Big Events Chair. Harrison Miles a junior in psychology and elementary education. Miles told the excited students to “have fun! Everything is free!”
UPC Advisor/Program Coordinator Megan Petter attributed all the planning to Miles. “Everything you see was him. I’m proud of him.” said Petter.
Out of fall the activities at this year’s Winter Carnival, the favorite activity was the room on the fourth floor designated to stuff a bear, complete with a large selection of furry animals, two kinds of stuffing and miniature Winter Carnival shirts for the animals.
“It’s satisfying to have a stuffed animal to hold and cuddle! And there are so many to choose from,” said Rachel Rogers, a freshman English major.
The event housed such activities as operated pig races, scratch ornaments, cookie decorating, caricaturists and a massage therapist. Students were willing to wait in long lines in order to participate in the activities.
The second floor of Lee Hall was rearranged to accommodate a table for cheese and pepperoni pizza from Vocelli’s Pizza, a dual ski ball machine, Snocross, a video game that involves riding a motorcycle and a station to have photos taken and inserted it into a snowglobe.
The Winter Carnival is an event that is known for the large staff of volunteers it requires.
“37 of my sorority sisters volunteered to work the various shifts involved in this year’s Winter Carnival.” said Sam Amos, a senior psychology major, a member of Alpha Mu Sigma and vice president of UPC. “It takes two months and the sisters of Alpha Mu Sigma stepped in to volunteer.”
Not only does this event bring students together, but it helps the student body become more aware of UPC.
“A huge goal of the event is to get our organization to have a bigger name on campus,” Said Amos.
By 8 p.m. the Underground was transformed to the set of a game show, complete with screens, lights, Disc Jockey and contestant podiums for the trivia game known as “ThinkFast.”
Teams of students were handed a remote in exchange for their university ID and were to respond as quickly as possible to the questions by answering with the buttons on their remote. After two rounds, four individuals competed for the $200 dollar cash prize.
Dean Cedric Rucker, the associate vice president and Dean of Student Life, was also seen with a remote in his hand, competing against the 40 other teams, but it was Steven Brown, a senior accounting major, who stole the win.
“I was nervous at the end and kept getting them wrong, but thanks to the accounting question, I pulled it off. It was definitely fun and I’m sad I can’t do it next year,” said Brown.