During the Labor Day weekend, UCB (University Center Board) hosted one of it’s finest campus community building events on September 2nd, 2016. The event in question was Bingo! If you attended sometime around 7:30 pm on Friday September, 2nd then you would have seen that this was not UCB’s first rodeo at hosting a bingo.

In fact one might say bingo is just one of the many inventive programming UCB creatively plans and implements around our Milli-bubble. UCB is a student run organization that specializes in alternative programs on campus.  If you are interested in being a part of UCB feel free to join us in our open meetings held on Sundays at 8pm in the Wood room located in Richards Treat University Center. We would love to have you join us!

Did you know that bingo cards were first used by the Germans in the 1800s as an educational tool designed to help students learn their multiplication tables easily? Statistics also show that Americans spend over $90 million dollars on bingo cards alone per week. Also according to one calculation, there are actually 52,446,474,061,128,648,601,600,000 possible number arrangements in one bingo card. Bingo cards in the UK have number combinations ranging from 1 to 90 whereas in the US are bingo cards only have number combinations ranging from 1 to 75.

While this bingo was not UCB’s first, it was, however, the first bingo of the semester, and it did not disappoint. This bingo was held to not only entertain those bingo lovers on campus but also to give those who stayed on campus during Labor Day weekend an alternative event to attend and have fun at. Millikin students trickled in with their game face on and ready to go to potentially win one of the wonderful prizes UCB provided that night.

Bingo is always a crowd favorite and this first bingo of the semester can attest to that. Music, fifteen lovely prizes, bingo cards and containers full of beads greeted students as they descended the small amount of stairs to play rousing rounds of bingo. As soon as the first round of bingo went underway, you could see the determined look in the students’ faces who were adamant they would walk away with a prize that day.

I don’t know what it is about bingo, but it sure brings the fun and lovable competitive spirit out in everyone! Not to worry, no friends were lost during this bingo. The atmosphere in the lower level of Richards Treat University Center was so upbeat smiles could be seen across the entire room. This particular bingo drew a decent sized crowd, and I am sure it was due to the potential to win some of the prizes which included: four three and half pound bags of candy, a $15 Starbucks gift card, a $25 Olive Garden gift card and more. The big ticket prizes of the night were a JBL wireless bluetooth speaker and a Fitbit Flex. There was also a pinata filled to the brim with candy as a prize. Who wouldn’t want that?

Amanda Minetti, a freshman biology major and an excited bingo player had this to say about the first bingo of the semester, “I went because it was Friday and I didn’t have anything else to do and the prizes lured me in and it was really fun!” Minetti said, “10/10 would go again.” Another bingo-goer echoed her sentiments and stated the reason he went was because of a friend of his wanted him to go, and despite his expectations, he did in fact have fun at bingo.

There were no hard feelings that night. Even for those that didn’t walk away with a prize, they most definitely walked away with a smile on their face because of the all the fun they had.  Make sure to be on the look-out for all the other fun alternative programing UCB will put on over the course of the semester.

If you missed this first bingo of the semester, don’t worry. During the upcoming Fall Family Weekend on September 16th through the 18th an even bigger and better bingo will be held on Saturday the 17th.