Hundreds of students filled Fairfield Way during the annual block party this past Saturday night to celebrate the beginning of the school year. (The Daily Campus/stock photo)
Hundreds of students filled Fairfield Way during the annual block party this past Saturday night to celebrate the beginning of the school year. This UConn tradition is one of much excitement and anticipation, which was proven by the type of energy brought by students of all ages, from freshmen to returning upperclassmen.
As soon as students arrived, they were bombarded with a bunch of different activities to do. The first of many was the UConn Recreation tent which featured a freebie table and a back area to do games and win shirts. As you walked through, you also noticed people in life-sized hamster balls enjoying themselves as they tried to travel from one place to another without bumping into themselves or anyone else.
Directly after that was the most “lit” feature: the stage. Music ranging from 21 Savage, Playboi Carti and Meek Mill to Amine and Kesha were played, so no matter what their interests were, students were having a great time dancing, walking around and hanging out. There were also smoothies being passed out, so if you and your friends got dehydrated while dancing, you could get a Piña Colada or Strawberry smoothie, go right back on the dance floor and repeat.
Students were provided different activities to do. (The Daily Campus/stock photo)
Not only was the music making everyone excited, but the giveaways were as well. There were endless tables for students to grab free things such as frisbees, laptop stickers, tote bags, pens and more from SUBOG. They also gave out tickets to the comedy show featuring Mike Recine and Moses Storm happening Sunday, Aug. 27th at Jorgensen at 8:30p.m.
There were a lot of things that students were able to get for their dorm. Right across from that was a make-your-own flag booth, where students can personalize their own flags with their names. People were also able to grab cacti, which are very popular every year, and this time was no different.
Sasha Polanco, a first-semester human rights major, said that she was “very happy to hang out with her roommate and friends and chill with everyone” as they walked around to see what other things they could get.
A huge hit was the Insomnia Cookies table where there were about 100 boxes of cookies with favorite flavors such as M&M, snickerdoodle, chocolate chip and more for students to eat for free. As long as you got back in line, you could have as many cookies as you wanted.
Hundreds of people were also in line at the food trucks. The most popular was distributing tons of gourmet grilled cheeses, where everyone walked away happy and even got back in line for seconds. Next to it was another food truck serving chickpea curry, which was equally as popular. Needless to say, if you came hungry, you left full.
In front of the library were AdrenalineRush bounce houses that you could race through with friends. There were three different ones to choose from and the line was long for the full four hours of the party. Here, students burned off the calories they were eating and were able to channel their inner kid as they ran through the inflatables. Brian Meyers, a third semester business major, said that the “block party never disappoints. Just happy to be back at UConn.”
At the block party, students were not only able to reunite with their friends who they have not seen since last year, but build bonds with new faces as well. Every person who went experienced the excitement in the atmosphere as everyone laughed, ate, sang, danced and partied non-stop until the end.
Gabrielle Ferrell is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached by email at gabrielle.ferrell@uconn.edu.