Sarah Varnadoe, Campus Carrier staff writer
The end of March and beginning of April are busy times for Berry students, with it almost being the end of the semester. Apart from classes and homework, students have a variety of events hosted by the college that they can attend. Two notable ones that are highly anticipated every year are the Krannert Center Activities Board’s (KCAB) Spring Formal and Casino Night.
Formal was held recently on Saturday from 9 p.m. to midnight. Typically, spring formal is hosted at the Forum in downtown Rome; however, it deviated from tradition this year. KCAB held formal outside on the Ford Quad, matching its theme of “A Night Under the Stars.” Also unlike past years, this year the event had free admission. The COVID-19 pandemic was the root of this years changes.
The formal would have been held at an off-campus venue, and students would have been charged a small admission fee ranging between five and 10 dollars. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Forum is currently occupied long-term. According to Lindsey Taylor, the dean of students, other venues were either unavailable or would be unable to hold a large number of students.
This did not stop Berry from hosting the event in a safe manner that was well received by students though. Freshman Lilly Dunn was just one of the many students who had a fun experience.
“It was fun,” Dunn said. “I liked it.”
The outdoor venue did not pose too many issues. Students were warned that they would have to walk on grass and to take that into account when picking shoes. Dunn commented on the negative effects of the wind but made it clear that she understands the weather is not something Berry can control.
“It was chilly, a little windy, but it was fine,” Dunn said. “They had candles in white paper bags, and I feel like it could’ve been cool, but [it was] poorly executed [because of the wind]. Berry doesn’t control the weather, so it’s not their fault.”
Overall, the vast majority of students who went to the even had a good time as it was the topic of conversation in the weeks leading up to it, regardless of the negative factors that were uncontrollable. Now, conversation has switched to anticipation for Casino Night, an event that was originally planned for earlier in the semester before being postponed due to concerns of large crowds and the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
KCAB works annually with an external company for the games used for Casino Night. The company was uncomfortable with hosting the event at the originally scheduled date due to the high COVID-19 case numbers in Rome. KCAB decided to move the event to its current date, April 4, to ensure the health and safety of attendees and vendors.
Casino Night will be hosted as normal as a result of the postponement. Like usual, all the games will be found in Krannert decked out to match this year’s theme of a fancy Las Vegas. Students can experience classic gambling games such as Black Jack, Poker and Craps, all while feeling like a million dollars. Prior knowledge of the gambling games is not needed for Casino Night.
“We make sure to plan this event out where any student can come, whether they have gambling experience or not, and enjoy the event,” Adam Guyden, a KCAB member, said.
The dealers are known for being helpful in explaining the games and making the experience fun and not stressful. Dealers consist of people from the company that provides the games, student volunteers, faculty and staff. Taylor has been to numerous Casino Nights and finds it a fun time.
“Faculty and staff are dealers,” Taylor said. “They’re out there too. It’s fun. It really is just a fun night.”
For those still hesitant about gambling with the provided fake money, though, there are more casual card games like Uno.
Games are not the only form of entertainment that students can look forward to. Considering the event’s Las Vegas theme, Guyden came up with the idea of a “drive-thru” wedding chapel. Couples can be transported by golf cart to a fake wedding chapel where they will be married with Ring Pops and given a fake wedding certificate.
The event will also have a DJ, photo booth and prizes. Prizes were donated from local businesses and will consist of a variety of raffle baskets. Food trucks such as Speak Cheesy will provide food in addition to an array of finger desserts and mocktails.
KCAB has had their hands full planning two large scale events back-to-back. In order to accomplish this feat, they split into teams and had each group plan a specific aspect of the events. Once the individual parts were planned, the groups converged to put all their ideas together. Taylor was proud of what they were able to accomplish.
“Shout out to KCAB and our friends there because they are pulling off a miracle. I think KCAB has done a phenomenal job turning lemons into lemonade,” she said.
According to Guyden, now that Spring Formal has passed, students can look forward to the fun that comes with Casino Night thanks to the hard work of the entire KCAB team.