Students converged on the MSUB Ballroom for an eight-hour e-sports arcade on Friday, Sept. 25.
The TAMUK Campus Activities Board (CAB) offered food, prizes and a safe environment for students to recreate and get to know one another. A wide variety of games ranging from Super Mario 3D All-Stars to FIFA20 were available to play on multiple gaming platforms.
“I dropped in because it seemed like a good opportunity to meet people and to play some games that I normally don’t have access to,” English major Simon Poe said.
The event’s organizers adhered to social distancing guidelines to create a safe environment for all those in attendance. Masks were required for all attendees. Each game station included enough space for proper social distancing and included disinfecting wipes for consoles, seats and controllers.
Students were happy that they could enjoy each other’s company in a non-virtual environment.
“It’s nice that the school and community can still get together for events like this. I’m really surprised that we could do this during the pandemic but I’m really glad that we can,” Poe said.
Networking, making friends and getting involved on campus can be difficult during the ongoing pandemic, but when given opportunities like the one presented Friday, students tend to capitalize.
Business major Fernando Palomo and education major Milka Mora attended the gaming arcade together hoping to mingle with fellow students.
“Events like these are great for meeting new people,” Palomo said.
Mora looked forward to entangling herself with the happenings on campus.
“I came because I want to get more involved with what’s going on at school,” Mora said.
TAMUK’s CAB hosts events sporadically throughout the semester. An Escape Room is slated for Tuesday Sept. 29. More information regarding events on campus can be found on all of the CAB’s social media pages and at calendar.tamuk.edu.