Yesterday afternoon, the festivities for the University’s 125th anniversary in Reynolds Coliseum continued with a birthday party.
The venue was decorated especially for the party; balloons and streamers could be seen everywhere and tables were set up for people to eat the free cupcakes and ice cream.
The doors to Reynolds were opened to students at 1 p.m. Free anniversary T-shirts, “tradition” scarves and signs reading “Wolfpack Way” were available to be picked up by party attendees who arrived early on. In the first half hour of the event, volunteers also handed out beads, paper fans with a portrait of the University’s first chancellor and giant foam fingers.
The event began with a dance competition hosted by Kornelius Bascombe, senior in sociology, who has made a name for himself outside of the University as a winning host in national TV competitions.
The dance competition was informal, with students showing off their moves in hopes of being chosen as the best. Mr. and Mrs. Wuf got involved in the competition as well, dancing around Reynolds with the crowd.
“It was really cool that they held the party in Reynolds, since it’s a place with a lot of N.C. State history,” John Alcorn, senior in business administration, said.
Chancellor Randy Woodson got in on the celebration as well, visiting the stage long enough to play “Dueling Banjos” and show off his guitar skills.
There was also live music at the event; Old Man Whickutt, a band featuring two University alums, played a “Packology” tribute they created to honor N.C. State’s 1983 men’s basketball champions along with some other songs.
David Sterling, senior in communications, said while he enjoyed the celebration as a whole, he did not appreciate the band. One of the songs they played during the celebration, “When Jesus Comes Back,” talks about UNC-Chapel Hill students being left behind in the event of rapture.
“I really didn’t like the band; it was a bad representation of our school. [Their song] was supposed to be funny but they were just too serious about it,” Sterling said.
Head football coach Tom O’Brien, the present and soon-to-be student body presidents and the men’s basketball team also made appearances.
Cutouts of N.C. State football players and cheerleaders were available in both adult and child sizes for photo opportunities, and two photo booths were placed so students could get shots of themselves with their friends.
Although the birthday party was relatively successful, those who arrived later on were unable to avail themselves of the free merchandise. The massive crush of people trying to leave at the end of the party also made it difficult for many to get the cupcakes or ice cream.
Alcorn said he enjoyed the event, but wished there had been more food and opportunities for merchandise available for students who attended.
“I thought it was lame because they advertised free food and merchandise, and there was just cake and ice cream and these wristbands they gave out to people,” Alcorn said.
Thomas Stafford, vice chancellor for Student Affairs, had a very different opinion of the event.
“It was wonderful. We had a tremendous crowd at the Coliseum; I don’t know exact numbers, but it was definitely packed in here,” Stafford said.
One of Stafford’s favorite parts of the event was the video contest. In the previous anniversary celebration held in the Brickyard, students were given the opportunity to record videos talking about why they love N.C. State. The person with the best video received an iPad 2.
“Some of the videos were really silly, but some of them were great,” Stafford said.
Stafford said he was excited to see so many students turn up to celebrate the University’s anniversary and hopes it inspires them to learn more about University history.
“Students need to know the history of our University. In the beginning it was very small and all male; today, we’ve got a large campus, 33,000 students … so we’ve grown a lot,” Stafford said.
