ASPB organized their first Rollercade on Wednesday, Jan. 22 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the Student Recreation Center (SRC) North. This annual event boasted free food, video games and roller skating.
In the past, Skate Night and the R’Cade were two separate events. This year, according to Laura Anaya-Morga, the director of special events for ASPB, the two events were combined to “make the events bigger and better than ever.” ASPB previously observed that during Skate Night, students had nothing to do while waiting to skate or after they finished skating; by combining the two events, they hoped to keep students entertained even when they weren’t on the skate floor.
Callee Heagney, a second-year environmental science major, expressed her preference for maintaining the two separate events. She felt the R’Cade was better on its own because it was held in the HUB. The room in the HUB was smaller than the Student Recreation Center (SRC), but Heagney thought it made the venue feel like a real arcade.
Regardless, there was a large turnout for the event, with people lining up long before the doors opened. First-timers seemed eager for their allotted 30 minutes on the skate floor. This limit ensured that there was enough time for everyone to enjoy the skating experience; even those that fell were laughing it off with their friends. As students skated around the SRC, modern pop songs blasted from the speakers, which helped bring up the energy in the room.
Afterwards, people could still hang out and play arcade games set up on the first floor and video games on the second. On the second floor, free stickers and buttons were being given out; many of the stickers referenced pop culture, such as the Youtube logo or characters from Mario Bros. There was also a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (SSBU) tournament taking place, which was projected onto one of two large screens. While exciting for SSBU enthusiasts, the tournament limited the opportunities for others to partake in different games. However, it was fun to watch experienced gamers compete against one another.
Food was provided and evenly distributed. Everyone who attended was given the choice between a slice of pizza and a churro or a chicken bake and a churro. Deanna De Leon, a third-year business administration major said, “The food is pretty bomb. It’s from Costco and everybody loves Costco.” The food added toward making the SRC feel like a real roller rink.
The event was pretty crowded throughout the night, which affected how many seats were available. Though the second floor did have a lot of bean bag chairs and glowing boxes to sit on, attendees were not allowed to bring food to the area. Many people then had to sit on the floor near the skating rink because there was not enough seating in the first floor.
The night continued on and students were able to skate and play games to their hearts’ content until the end of the event at 9 p.m. ASPB is currently accepting entries for their upcoming Film Fest, which will take place on Feb. 13 at the HUB 302 at 7 p.m.
Editor’s note: Laura Anaya-Morga, the director of special events at ASPB, us also the assistant news editor at The Highlander.
