Morgan Schooler joined her Colorguard team of about 30 on the Parade Ground Friday for this year’s Fall Fest to dance and wave her flag as the Golden Band from Tigerland’s music echoed through the campus. The graphic design freshman noticed the crowd was a little thin upon entering the festival but she didn’t mind — she had 50 kindergartners cheering her team on and clapping.
“Every time we play, I’m like, ‘that was me when I was a kid,’” Schooler said. “It’s always been my dream. You can feel the energy from the band, and it’s amazing. It’s a feeling like no other.”
With LSU’s vaccine mandate leading to over 80% of students being inoculated, the campus community was able to continue its 27-year tradition of holding Fall Fest as it moves away from the virtual environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kinesiology sophomore McKenzie Ryan Briscoe was among the performers for the 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. festival, with a rig of over 10 feet and a piece of hanging fabric allowing her to demonstrate her aerial silks abilities.
In celebration of Halloween, Briscoe and her fellow silks performers dressed in spooky attire, something she had been looking forward to ever since the lowering of COVID cases allowed for public events to continue.
“I don’t want to speak too soon, but I hope the pandemic will be coming to an end soon. To perform like this has really opened a lot of doors for us,” Briscoe said.
While it’s scary performing at great heights, Briscoe is passionate about the art form. She and her crew planned to perform throughout the entire festival for the crowd that accumulated around the silks structure.
Among her attendees included first-year law student Foster Willie, who sat with friends in the grass nearby and watched in awe. He didn’t know Fall Fest was happening Friday until his friends called him with hopes of grabbing free food. With a burger in hand and aerial silks in his view, Willie said he couldn’t have been happier.
“If it weren’t for the burger, I wouldn’t be enjoying the silks,” Willie said. “If it weren’t for the silks, I wouldn’t be enjoying the burger.”
The festival featured over 80 student organizations, all at individual tables lining the Parade Ground to promote membership.
A ‘Squid Game’ poster and ddakji cards sat at one table. Just like in the show, students could play a few rounds of ddakji, where the objective of the game is to flip your opponent’s card with a precise throw. Any winner could get a prize like snacks, teas, candy and chopsticks.
Psychology and biology junior Chloe Hoang tabled that booth for the Asian American Ambassadors (AAA) of LSU. Aiming to represent the Asian-American and Pacific Islander diaspora on campus, Hoang was hoping to attract attention to the club and was happy ‘Squid Game’ could bring mainstream recognition to the diversity and artistry behind Asian culture.
“I love seeing people’s faces when they see the sign and are like ‘Oh my god, we have to play.’” Hoang said. “‘Squid Game’ was such a big hit. What better way to gain members than by using something so mainstream and popular?”
Hoang says LSU hasn’t done a good enough job at speaking for their underrepresented community after increased xenophobia due to COVID. She feels that many important clubs like AAA are underpromoted and overshadowed by Greek Life. Despite ‘Squid Game’ and K-pop being popular in America, Hoang says AAA can represent their diaspora beyond the popular artifacts by embracing all Asian cultures.
“Asian people are more than just karaoke, ramen and nail salons,” Hoang said. “We have awesome stuff. We’re hosting an event soon that is just ‘Squid Game’ games. I mean, we’re not gonna kill y’all though.”
Clubs like these flooded the festival, each one with its own unique message and mission, like Model UN, Robotics, Creative Writing and more. Whether students came for the merch, the food, the entertainment or the opportunity to meet like-minded people, 2021’s Fall Fest was a hit for any students who caught it in the midst of midterms.
General business sophomore Carson Dodd had just stepped out of an exam when he heard the overwhelming roar of the Tiger Band and followed the music until he reached the festival and saw Mike the Tiger mascot strolling around, who “dapped [him] up” for a photo. He said the festival provided a nice reprieve from studying.
Chloe McGuckin, a mass communication freshman and fellow Colorguard member, had to leave after about 20 minutes to take an exam. By the time she returned, Fall Fest was closing down, and droves of students were collecting leftover food and drink from vendors.
Vendors gestured for students to haul away the last of the food and drinks as the festival neared an end. Students walked around with cases of varied canned beverages in their grasp, some gripping a case of Coke in one hand and Java Monster in the other.
McGuckin left with an entire bag filled to the brim with Monster Energy drinks, soda and Dasani water. She wanted to get more, but her arms were full.
“This is probably about $30 worth of drinks,” McGuckin said.
Business freshman Gabriel Hogan filled his backpack with Java Monsters. Hogan had ran into the midst of the chaos in the middle of the interview and returned two minutes later, this time bearing a full case of oat milk coffee Java Monsters like a hunter returning from a successful chase.
He arrived at the festival 20 minutes before it ended, around the time vendors began handing out bulks of food and drinks.
“I caught the best part,” Hogan said.
