April 4, 2016
Hannah Harvey
[email protected]
As the stress of finals quietly approaches, it’s important to remember to take some time and have fun with friends. The Office of Student Activities wants to help students do just that.
Hosted by OSA April 4-9, ROAR Daze will have a special event each day incorporating various departments, clubs and organizations on campus.
ROAR Daze has been around for 10 years and is the longest-standing tradition on campus, according to assistant director of Student Activities Stephen Cucchiara.
“Most universities have a spirit week, but this is our annual spring week,” said Cucchiara.
ROAR Daze was originally a two-day event, but over the years, it has grown to encompass an entire week. The variety of events has changed, but there are some events that have become traditional for the spring week, typically held in April.
“We usually bring in a hypnotist, which is our longest tradition. Over the past four years, we have incorporated the drive-in movie and black light dance. Over the past two years, we have also tried to incorporate sports and wellness,” said Cucchiara.
According to Cucchiara, 2,000 students attend the events as a whole. For events like the drive-in movie, 200-600 students attend. 300-400 students attend the black light dance and 300 students see the hypnotist.
While some traditional events continue, others, such as Family Day, have been done away with due to a lack of student interest.
If the events lack attendance and students don’t like them, the event will no longer be a part of ROAR Daze, according to OSA main stage programmer Alan Wilson. A survey is conducted every year to determine what students want to be a part of the spirit weeks.
Having one week of events engages both traditional and nontraditional students on campus, according to Wilson.
“If we do one event, it goes unnoticed a lot of the time, but one week builds a bigger audience and builds a sense of community on campus.”
The goal is to reach all student demographics. Commuter and nontraditional students are primarily targeted through events like the drive-in movie and black light dance.
“We’ve done a much better job diversifying and pulling away from having the same students show up at every event,” said Wilson.
ROAR Daze Schedule
Monday, April 4
Trivia, 6 p.m., Clyde’s
Tuesday, April 5
Hypnotist Sailesh, 8 p.m., Berger Hall
Wednesday, April 6
Sports Day
Bubble soccer, noon to 3 p.m., West Lawn
Dodgeball (7v7), 7-11 p.m., Rec Center
Thursday, April 7
Passport Conference, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., UC third floor (students must register on MLC)
Drag Show, 7 p.m., Berger Hall
Friday, April 8
Drive-in movie – ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ 7 p.m., Lot 580 (students must register on MLC)