“I love the atmosphere everyone gives off when I’m at bingo. I also love that even if you don’t win, they usually have little prizes to give you,” said Victor Capasso, an 18-year-old psychology major from Howell, who attended bingo at the Collins Arena Feb.9.
“I highly recommend going to bingo for everyone at the school. It’s a really fun way to see who’s at the school and maybe even make a new friend,” said Capasso. Capasso went on to say that his one recommendation for improving the monthly event would be to have “some music played in the background when we walk in.”
Organized by the Student Life Board, the bingo events begin at 6:30 p.m. on a Wednesday. February’s bingo was co-sponsored by the Student Athletics Department; the next Bingo program will be Thursday, March 10.
To attend the free event, Brookdale students interested need to fill out a form located on the Brookdale website. After doing so, participants receive an email from Erin Tierney, the Assistant Director of Student Life and Activities, with additional instructions and information.
On the day of the event, participants are directed to park in lot 7 and go through the arena doors. Masks are also required.
Upon entering, students give their name and student ID number. They then receive a bingo marker and boards. The students running the event direct participants to a line of food including snacks like chips, cookies, and pizza.
A cooler sits next to the food with water and soda for students to choose from. After that, students join their friends at the tables, which are lined with plastic tablecloths where they can eat until the games start.
“I wanted to do a group activity with my friends and bingo seemed perfect! Now we all try to go to every game,” said 19-year-old pre-social work major Madison Carroll of Middletown.
Once the game starts, Lauren Brutsman, the director of Student Life and Activities, and Tierney work together to call out the numbers and choose the different patterns for students to cover on their boards.
“Lauren rents out the arena a couple weeks before. The executive board of the SLB picks the prizes, and I email Lauren,” explained SLB vice president Molly Fennessy, a 20-year-old health science major.
The prizes at the front range from Brookdale merchandise and gift cards, to games and electronics. Once bingo is called, students walk to the front table where the prizes are located to have their board checked. If it is correct, they give their student ID number and take their prize, which was predetermined before the start of that game.
Students are only able to win one prize. If they win the game more than once, they are to choose between the prize they already won or the new prize. At the event this past Wednesday, they also included trivia regarding the sports at Brookdale for students to win small prizes. The event ended around 9 p.m. and students were told to throw out their tablecloths and garbage, return the bingo markers, and have a safe night.