Reporter
The first Runner Nights at CSU Bakersfield was held on Oct. 30 and was presented by CSUB Student Affairs.
Up to five hundred students were expected to attend.
“It exceeded what we thought, and it provided something for students to do. It was awesome,” said Spirit Program Coordinator Arthur Smith at the end of the event.
The gates opened at 9 p.m. and by 9:50 p.m. a large line of students stretched from the student recreation center to parking lot K.
The Runner Nights staff kept the line calm by passing out boxes of pizza from Pizza Rev while students waited patiently to get their ID’s checked and to get their wristband and meal tickets.
The event held multiple activities for students to engage in through the night, including a few carnival games like Walt’s Concession Game “Mash a Mouse” providing stuffed animal prizes for the winners.
There was also laser tag, a superslide, a haunted house, a photobooth and a DJ that pumped up the crowd throughout the night. Psychology major Ellen Ijebor, 17, said that the night had started off a bit slow.
“It got fun with time,” said Ijebor. “There was super good music, fun games, and I got to meet new people. They should have it again.”
Many students came dressed up in a variety of Halloween costumes from witches and superheroes to even childhood cartoon favorites like Kim Possible and Helga and Harold from the ’90s Nickelodeon series “Hey Arnold.”
Winning the costume contest for the night was Velma from Scooby Doo taking first place and Tom Clancy taking second place. Runner Nights staff Maritza Segura stated she had a great night.
“It was really fun. Laser tag was great,” said Segura. “My favorite part of the night was the DJ.”
Runner Nights was free to all CSUB students, modeled after other colleges that put on the same event every year like CSU Northridge’s Matador Nights.
The event ran smoothly with much help from the Runner Nights staff, police officers patrolling the area, guiding out traffic, and the night wouldn’t have been successful without the turnout of students who came out to have a great time.
