Photo by Elena Mirus
Ben Miller
Layout Editor
The courtyard outside of Finnegan Fieldhouse was packed with students April 23 at 7 p.m. for a night of country-based fun hosted by Exc!te.
Students entering the courtyard were greeted by lights hanging from trees, scattered fire pits and country music blaring from speakers, as well as a long line for the free food being served. Lawn games such as cornhole, KanJam and spikeball were set up in the grass for students to enjoy.
Pulled pork and pulled rib sandwiches with barbeque sauce were provided by Mjb Bbq & Catering. These were accompanied by macaroni and cheese, baked beans, fried chicken — provided by Pepsi-Cola Roadhouse, a restaurant in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania — and slices of cheesecake. A variety of drinks were provided as well. Exc!te was responsible for safe distribution of the food.
In front of the fieldhouse was a space cleared of tables and chairs for dancers. Though the event was slow to start, within an hour, students had taken to the dance floor to enjoy themselves. Some dancers wore cowboy hats and boots to get into the country spirit while others stood to the side and enjoyed watching the dancers.
Junior Nevis Prieve, political science major, said that the students were enthusiastic about dancing.
“People fled to do the ‘Cotton Eye Joe,’” Prieve said.
As the evening went on, the fire pits were lit and small groups of students began to situate themselves around the fires. Dancing and lawn games continued well into the evening after the sun had set.
As the night came to a close, senior Christian Romero-Berumen, Exc!te’s administrative assistant, said he was relieved that the night had gone well.
“I’m glad we finally got to put on an event that was similar to our normal events,” Romero-Berumen said. “The food was good and people seemed to have fun on the dance floor and just hanging out by the fire pits.”
Exc!te meets every Wednesday at 11 a.m. in the St. Margaret Room of the J.C. Williams Center.