On Friday, Aug. 29, Corbanites were turned up…in the most Corban appropriate, non-alcoholic way possible.
For the second year in a row, Corban kicked off another school year with a Block Party.
“The Block Party is basically a fairly large Jesus-party held on Corban’s campus,” said Kyle Boardman, ASB Activities Coordinator. “This is a way for ASB to own our home turf and use the campus for an awesome time.”
Starting at 8:30 p.m. and ending at about 10:30, the Block Party consisted of dancing, games, food, and other activities.
Toward the beginning, Ben Maison, ASB Vice President, announced the winner of the contest ASB had throughout the week, where students suggested what the “mn” could stand for in “Corban ASBmn” on Facebook. The winner was Sam Belleque, a junior, who submitted the answer “Master Nord.” Belleque won a $25 gift card to Starbucks.
“I didn’t expect to win,” Belleque said. “I didn’t really think it was that funny or clever.”
Soon after Belleque received his gift card and a few other announcements were made, students were surprised when the sprinklers went off around the area at 8:53. However, the sprinklers were turned off in minutes and the festivities continued.
The amphitheater was anything but dull with flashing, colorful circles lighting up the floor, as a crowd of people danced to the songs played by DJ Ben Maison.
“I pretty much danced the whole time,” sophomore Bertha Mendez said.
While some students danced, others spent time playing games like spike-ball, Frisbee, Gaga ball, and Ninja.
“A group of friends and I played many games of Ninja,” junior Rebecca Stevens said. She added that even though she didn’t win any of the Ninja games, she still had a lot of fun.
Meanwhile, Museum Without Walls, the campus art club, held a chalk-art contest throughout the night. Winners included Timothy Ethell and Rachel Baugh, Katie Lynn Stover and Zoe Thatcher, and Marie and Caroline Smith. Each winning pair won a $5 gift card to Dutch Bros.
“The style Timothy and I went for is very traditional and we’ve both had many classes,” senior Rachel Baugh said. “We planned to spend some good time on it, plus he was part of the team that won last year.” Baugh said future art projects include doing a mural in the commuter’s lounge, and encouraged all interested students to attend an art club meeting.
Food and drinks were provided by the Alumni Office and were available near the Davidson parking lot.
“Honestly, not a whole lot of planning went into this event,” Boardman said. “It’s a pretty easy event, which is nice because it’s a simple way for us to give Corban students a common place to hang out at the beginning of the year.”
Some students appreciated the timing of the event.
“Orientation was kind of a blur,” Lacie Wheeler said. “It was good to celebrate at a time before things get super crazy.”
Boardman said “as far as ASB goes, we really just want to see the Corban community grow, and we think that the Block Party is an excellent way to officially kick things off.”
Whether they were dancing, playing Ninja, or participating in the chalk art contest, Corbanites didn’t seem to turn down- even when the sprinklers turned on.