At 10 p.m. on Friday, the Barone Campus Center looked like a scene from the running of the bulls as students stampeded up to the dining hall for the second annual Wild West Buffet, sponsored by IRHA.
By midnight, however, with two hours of the event left to go, tumbleweeds could have blown across the cafeteria floor without running into more than a couple of students’ legs.
“There really is a need for programming between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.,” said Karen Donoghue, associate director of Residence Life and advisor of IRHA. “We want to have free food, a lot of games and a crazy event; we want to give students what they want.”
Despite IRHA’s hope and intent, only a small number of students were interested in stopping by the program in the early hours of the morning, even for an event that cost IRHA over $3,000 to run.
There is no doubt that there were some students who were actually excited for the Wild West Buffet.
Over 150 students lined up on the stairway to the cafeteria and along the third floor in order to be one of the chosen few to receive coveted giveaways.
IRHA members handed out tickets to the first 100 students to arrive for the much desired “stuff-a-friend,” where students could stuff their own toy horse or cow and dress them in a tiny t-shirt.
“I came here last year and I had a really good time, but I didn’t get a build-a-bear, so this year me and my friends got here an hour early,” said Renee Borghesi ’10.
Those who were not lucky enough to get a ticket could opt for the make-your-own-frame station and take their pictures with a Wild West background.
A long line streamed from the henna tattoo station as well, while other students munched on treats such as potato skins, mozzarella sticks and buffalo chicken wings.
The most popular event was, by far, the mechanical bull stationed in the center of the cafeteria.
“I’m gonna grab the bull by the horns,” said Lawrence Rispoli ’11, as he waited in line to get to the buffet.
Freshman or senior, male or female, big or small, almost everyone took his or her chance on the bull.
“I love to ride bulls.” said Abbey Gallivan ’11, who rode the bull several times. Her friends cheered her on on the sidelines.
While she was not exactly sure how long she stayed on the tossing and turning bull, Gallivan said, “[the mechanical bull operator] had a hard time getting me off there.”
Sara Homewood ’10 also gave bull-riding a shot.
“I was the first one [to ride the bull]. The first time was kind of messy, but by the third time I got it,” she said.
Leave a Reply