As part of the week-long substance abuse awareness event “Don’t Be a Statistic”, the Office of Student Life has teamed up with the Student Recreation Center to hold Afterhours activity night. This will be the second Afterhours event this year. Volunteers and staff will be working well into the night in order to put on the entirely free event. Students have the option of massages, fitness classes, intramural game contests, and more.
The event will kick off tonight with a concert by the campus band Musk. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. in the rec center bonus room. A rock wall open climb, team sport tournaments, Dance Dance Revolution, and many other activities start at 9 p.m. All events will be free to students with University ID.
Marisa McGilliard, a law student and an intervention specialist with Student Life, is helping to put on the event. She said the event is funded by various student groups and campus departments, most notably Physical Activity and Recreation Services, which donated the facilities.
“Numerous departments have donated time and money to support this event, including University Housing, PARS, Athletics, Cultural Forum and Student Life,” McGilliard said.
The theme of Afterhours is mind, body, soul; and with finals week coming up, McGilliard said she hopes the event will help relieve stress for students. She also said that a main concept behind the event is to offer an alternative substance-free option for students.
“Our intention behind Afterhours was to appeal to a diverse group of students with an array of programs ranging from rock climbing to free massages, fitness classes and henna tattoos, all in the hopes of providing a substance-free, late-night event for students to attend,” said McGilliard.
Facebook has been a good tool in getting the word out, McGilliard said. University freshman Jake Taylor said that he and his roommate will be attending Afterhours.
“I heard about the event through Facebook and it seems like it’s going to be fun. I’m most excited about the dodgeball tournament,” said Taylor.
A turnout of around 500 people is expected, McGilliard said. About 200 to 400 people attended the last Afterhours event, she said.
Third-year resident assistant and Afterhours committee member David Wu has said that the biggest obstacle in putting on Afterhours was the promotion of the event. Wu feels that the most popular events will be dodgeball, Dance Dance Revolution, henna and basketball.
“While the summer months enable students to be active outdoors, during the winter, there are not as many choices for students after 9 p.m. Afterhours provide a safe, fun environment for students to socialize and workout,” said McGilliard.