SCPC Kickoff defeats the heat for outdoor festivities

Photo Courtesy of SCPC

Friday, Sept. 5th, Tech Green was treated to the Student Center Programs Council (SCPC) Fall 2014 Kickoff. As SCPC’s first major event this semester the group tried to entertain while advertising for planned and possible future events.

SCPC representatives roamed the fair encouraging people to sign up for their Six Flags Night as well as talking about other upcoming dates.

The Kickoff ran from one to four in the afternoon, the hottest part of a summer day. The intense heat made the inflatable attractions, such as a slide and a mechanical bull less than inviting.  As it was though, the inflatable attractions seemed to serve as sirens, calling in the passersby to investigate the rest of SCPC’s Kickoff.

Once someone recognized the festival for what it was, he or she would be quite likely to join the lengthy food lines near the campanile. They offered pretzels, nachos and cheese, cotton candy and fried Oreos, a pleasant change from the usual popcorn offered at such events.

Fortunately, someone in charge of planning had the bright idea of having an individual line for each item. Otherwise, it would have been an insufferable wait in the hot Georgia sun.

Another grand idea was the presence of Slushy machines. While they started out by dispensing cool, flavored liquid, as the event progressed and the machines had been plugged in longer, the drink did eventually become something bearing closer resemblance to its intended Slushy-form.

While in line, one could hear the people in front and behind discussing where they came from or what they had intended on having for lunch.

It was apparent that few knew the Kickoff was going to happen before encountering the actual event.

Whether this is from SCPC not advertising their event sufficiently or from people generally not paying much attention to the deluge of advertisements flooding their student e-mails and being plastered all around campus is not clear.

Either way, those who did appear and take part in SCPC’s event seemed to enjoy themselves, though there were plenty more students surrounding the food tables near the campanile than there were huddled around the craft tables on Tech walkway—a commentary on student priorities.

For the adventurous, or at last for those with a bit of free time, Tech walkway offered several art projects. Tables were dedicated to four different crafts.

The first table held empty bottles, key chains and necklaces, each awaiting the application of colorful sand. Making sand art is considerably more difficult in the absence of a funnel, but if one was fortunate enough to snag one of the few that fit properly into the container’s opening, this activity could be therapeutic.

Another table held plain wooden frames and hangars for doorknobs with a plethora of patterned tape, paint, stickers and other artistic implements. Of the four offered crafts, this one drew the most attention.

The next table offered patterned paper intended as backgrounds for the offered calendars. Not many people stopped here. This is understandable as the demand for a paper month long calendar is negligible and the table offered little in the way of decorations for it.

The fourth and final table held thin corkboard and some of the tape found on the wooden frame decorating table. No one could really figure out what this was for, not even the SCPC representatives.

Though the inflatable attractions added little to the SCPC Kickoff event, the rest was a good show. The Kickoff made for a good start to SCPC’s plans and promises many future successes.

As the weather cools, outside events will surely become more inviting, while perhaps discouraging the use of inflatable attractions as an elementary substitute for easy fun.

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