At the end of a long week, students were able to find a laid back atmosphere and a change of pace at the Union.
Friday’s Late Night LSU event offered a variety of activities designed to attract students of all interests — including a critically acclaimed movie, a
talent contest patterned after “American Idol” and a game designed to inform students about financial aid issues.
Late Night LSU is a monthly event organized by the Tigers After Ten commission. It will be held again on March 12.
“There is something for everybody,” said Drew Haro, a music education freshman.
Haro said he decided to attend after promotional fliers in his dormitory sparked curiosity about the event.
At the “LSU Idol”
talent competition, contestants
were asked to sing a cappella, but an
exuberant audience was quick to provide musical background to the singers.
During one contestant’s performance of The Fugees hit “Killing Me Softly,” the audience provided a clap-beat and other sound effects.
For students who were more visually inclined, the event offered a free screening of the award-winning film “Whale Rider” in the Union Colonnade Room.
Most students came to Late Night LSU to indulge in all the things that were free.
Serge Villanova, a mass communication freshman, said that he attended the event because it offered free pool and bowling.
“That’s a plus in my book,” Villanova said.
Hand waxing and cookie decorating were popular activities for the students. Many kept the purple wax busts of their hands.
Others chose to play Playstation 2 games Dance Dance Revolution and Madden 2004 on large projection screens or various board games set up on surrounding tables.
At the end of the night, free pizza and soft drinks were served to the students — also factors that Haro and Villanova said convinced them to attend.
“As long as there is free stuff, you can’t beat that,” Haro said.
Students who were interested in winning prizes participated in “Dealing With Financial Aid,” a game patterned after the TV show “Let’s Make a Deal.”
The game offered more than $500 worth of prizes and rewarded participants who successfully completed challenges, answered trivia questions or had items to trade.
Other events that students participated in were a Cranium tournament and a bungee run, in which participants were attached to bungee cords and were snapped backward after running a certain distance.
The event provided students an alternative to the Baton Rouge bar scene.
“It’s a nice break from going out to the clubs,” Villanova said. “It’s a good night.”