Bingo typically belongs in first grade classrooms and retirement homes. The fact that it was planned as a big activity for Homecoming week at Millikin seems a bit puzzling—until you hear the prizes.
On Thursday, September 28, at 7:00 PM, students packed the UC Banquet Hall in hopes of walking away with a TV, a Playstation, or, at the very least, maybe an Applebee’s gift card.
The sheer amount of attendees meant winning was unlikely, but many students seemed convinced it was their lucky day. They shouted over one another to secure their bingo. Some tried to sneakily use two cards at once. And many felt aggravated when B12 was called for the twelfth time that night—a broken bingo machine seemed to bestow victory on a significantly less randomized few.
Sophomore commercial music major Audrey Soetermans was one of the lucky students who got a full bingo card. She went into bingo not expecting much luck, so she was shocked when she walked away with a brand new air fryer.
“I screamed when I won because I didn’t know how else I would be heard,” Soetermans said. “I’m not much of a cook, but hopefully this will make me a better one.”
However, the showy celebrations offered for students and alumni alike—from fireworks bouncy houses to big-prize bingo—seems strange when we remember the significant budget problems Millikin has faced the past few years. We have to question if the money used for festivities might not be better spent on more essential operations.
“I definitely think some of the prizes and some of the spending can be excessive,” Soetermans said. “While we want to hype up the students for Homecoming, we also need to be smart and frugal with our money.”
Instead of focusing on the materialism of Homecoming events, Soetermans thinks we could use more activities that connect current students with visiting alumni.
“It wouldn’t cost as much and it would unite people more. I think it would give the school a better sense of community and not as much competition,” she says.
Everybody loves a party, prizes, and free stuff. But we need to take a closer look at the money we’re spending and what we’re spending it on—aside from the prizes, what college student really enjoys bingo? Maybe we should be allocating more funds to things keeping doors open and professors on the payroll. Maybe before we give alumni lots of fancy things to do when they visit their alma mater, we should make sure they’re still going to have an alma mater to visit.
