Last MAC Event of Semester Brings Larger Crowd than 2016
Teresa Masteller
The Manchester Activities Council was in the spirit of giving as they presented students with four different campus events on Friday, Dec. 1, at 8:08 p.m. There was a large crowd in the upper JYSC as students enjoyed Coffee andCanvas, a Mario Kart tournament, and a FIFA tournament; students also ventured into an escape room in the PERC.
MAC is one of the major programming groups on campus. It is made up of students who meet weekly to plan social, recreational and entertaining events in order to encourage students to get involved in campus life. “MAC puts on these events to allow students with all different types of backgrounds to come together to make unforgettable memories,” said MAC member Storm Shortt.
Multiple events increased the likelihood of students enjoying at least one of them. “We did this to try to appeal to different groups of students, whether they liked video games, painting or big puzzles like the escape room.” said MAC member Michael Cheesman.
In 2016, MAC hosted the exact same four events, but this year, the turnout was noticeably larger. “Last year we had a good turn out, but I believe everyone had a great time last year, so they told more people to come this year,” said MAC member Austyn Rybicki.
Students signed up prior to the FIFA and Mario Cart tournaments events, MAC members put them in brackets and then the games began. “I think many students came just for the chance to win a prize, but we also have a lot of students who show up to support their friends, which is pretty cool,” Cheesman said. The winner of each tournament got their choice of a new gaming console.
Students who weren’t in the tournament cheered on their friends and fellow students and were just as included as the competitors. “My favorite part was how involved students got even if they weren’t playing in the tournament,” Cheesman said. “As the night went on and students lost games, they would still stay and cheer, which made the event really fun.”
Students were still battling it out at the FIFA tournament at 10:45 p.m. that night, but in the end, senior Travis Richardson won for the second year in a row. Rachael Samm was the winner of the Mario Kart tournament.
Coffee and Canvas was so popular that there were almost not enough seats for all the students to sit and paint. MAC members were standing by to hand out canvases, paint, paintbrushes, water cups and pencils to anticipating students.
Students took different creative routes, as the tables were covered with their paintings of cats, trees, sunsets, inspirational quotes and more. There was a table of coffee, hot chocolate, cheese and trail mix that students were welcome to snack on as they painted and socialized. Some students didn’t even paint, and instead used the event to socialize with friends. The crowd was still lively almost two hours later at 10 p.m., but by 10:30, the crowd was mostly dispersed as students had finished their paintings.
The escape room was advertised as taking place in the JYSC, but due to some confusion with the company that runs the escape room, it was set up in the PERC. “The escape room was a major hit when we had it last year, and it had a lot of people eager to try it again,” Rybicki said. The escape room was set up in a room full of different obstacles and clues that students had to figure out in order to escape.
MAC members are available to listen to any input and feedback that students may have for any MAC events. “If any students have any recommendations for new MAC events for the future or changes to any current events, feel free to contact a MAC member,” Cheesman said. “MAC puts on these events for the students, so we are always interested in what the students would like to see. We want to provide events that the students are wanting to attend in order to make the MU campus the best it can be!”