On Feb. 13 at 7 p.m., Union University’s Student Activities Council (SAC) hosted its annual bingo event in the G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel.
This year’s 007-themed bingo event had students lining up as early as 6 p.m., wanting to make sure they secured their bingo cards and a seat up front. Once the doors opened at 6:30 p.m., students were greeted with music and SAC members.
Some of the prizes were a LEGO Infinity Gauntlet, a Valentine’s basket, Apple Beats headphones, a movie night basket, a succulent subscription and a TV.
Amy De Groot, junior public relations and history double major, has attended bingo every year, and this time, she finally walked away a winner.
“It’s really the thrill of winning something. It feels so much better than if I were just given the succulent,” De Groot said. “Is it a $50 succulent gift card? Yes. But does it feel like $10,000 when I’m walking on that stage? Yes, it does.”
Not every student was as lucky as De Groot. With only 12 prizes and over 300 people vying for them, students’ chances of winning a prize were slim. Despite this, students continue to come back each year, even after losing again and again.
“You can’t just not go to something where you could get something free, you know? Cause that’s just dumb,” De Groot said. “You can’t just say, ‘Oh, I could get a free TV, but I’m just not gonna try.’”
While the prizes drew the students to the event, the atmosphere kept them there.
“I think that the main appeal of bingo is that it is so tense and competitive,” Jackson Glas, junior digital media communications major and one of the three event chairs alongside Jake Snyder and Chandler Pierce, said. “It is such a simple game and it is a game that everyone knows and considers a little bit boring, so taking that tension and adding to it, whether it is through song or through light, to create that experience that is even more tense is just very special.”
With each round of bingo, the crowd would go quiet; everyone zoned in on their cards, hoping the number they needed was called next.
“My roommates and I had an agreement that if either of us would win, I would have to yell because she didn’t want to — but I didn’t want to yell either,” De Groot said. “Then once I got it, I was like screaming at the top of my lungs cause the adrenaline is coursing through my body.”
Despite the high-stakes nature of the event, SAC bingo continues to foster friendly competition and build community among students.
“Everyone is in the room for the same reason for bingo and it is so special,” Glas said. “It is so cool to all come together in one room — all these majors, all these backgrounds — to win free stuff and play games.”
