A-Day of fun in the sun
What do live music, school spirit and blood-sucking leaches have in common?
All were a part of Friday’s A-Day on the Quad sponsored by the Student Alumni Association.
Students came to the Quad in large numbers to enjoy the first signs of Spring, free food and games and the opportunity to socialize.
“The weather is great and it’s nice to see all the students out here supporting USU clubs,” said Justin Reeves, a junior majoring in English.
Reeves walked away from the Quad with a pet leech after visiting the Bug Lab booth. The Bug Lab, normally located in the Biology of Natural Resources building, took a field trip to the Quad to showcase their creepy crawlers.
There were more than 40 clubs and organizations in attendance, according to Meghan Johnson, SAA vice president over A-Week activities. With such a diverse representation of clubs, students had the chance to pick and choose their involvement of choice. Student groups in turn feel that this event is a great opportunity to recruit for their organizations.
Sara Gilmore, a senior majoring in exercise science, is a two-year member of the USU Women’s Rugby team. Gilmore said the club participates in A-day to recruit more members.
“We are losing some seniors this year and want to get more girls for our fall team,” Gilmore said.
While the day offered opportunities for campus involvement, most students were interested in the entertainment value of the event.
Showcasing on the main stage were Hasenpfeffer and the Bomdiggity, Swill and Justin Hopkins. Hopkins traveled all of the way from Portland, Ore., to perform at USU.
Other entertainment was found at individual booths. At the Campus Recreation booth students had their shot at hitting a golf ball into the goal, thereby winning a T-shirt, said Cornell Brown, an intramural supervisor and longtime Campus Recreation employee.
“(A-Day) is a chance not only to have fun, but to let students see all the services we have to offer,” Brown said.
A-Day was founded in 1910 when a group of students were released from class early and decided to do a campus-wide cleanup, said Darby Cowles, SAA president. Since then, A-day has evolved into an entire week of service activities.
“This is the biggest A-day we’ve had in 10 years,” said Cowles.
Though final numbers have not been calculated, student support at the week long activities, including the Midnight 5K Fun Run, has helped to raise around $2,500, Cowles said.
The proceeds from A-Day will all be donated to the disaster preparedness fund at the Cache County chapter of the American Red Cross.
Cowles said the credit for the success of the A-Week donations should be given to the USU student body.
“They really came out and supported us this year. It truly was a week of service and school spirit,” he said.
-kjleslie@cc.usu.edu
Hassenpfeffer and the Bombdiggity perform on the Quad during the Student Alumni Association sponsored A-Day, which included activities and booths, Friday. (Photo by Michael Sharp)
Student leap headfirst into the jumbo obstacle course set up for Friday´s A-Day on the Quad activities. (Photo by Michael Sharp)