Caitlin Gaughan, junior communication studies major and College Union Board (CUB) Rathskellar Event Coordinator, was heading away from the Lions Fest and Campus Colors day celebration when CUB director Regina Mahone, senior English major, and Steve DeLaura, director of finance and senior accounting major, grabbed her.
MTV-U veejay Gardner Loulan, filming for the show "The Dean's List," wanted to interview a student involved in the planning of the event. Loulan is a 21-year-old Fordham University graduate who works for MTV-U, the station that plays in the Travers-Wolfe Hall dining area.
Donning major events coordinator Janis Blayne-Paul's "TCNJ" jacket over her green CUB T-shirt for the spot, Gaughan told Loulan and viewers on over 700 campuses why the campus was clad in blue and gold that day.
The Lions' Fest and Campus Colors Day was sponsored by the Residence Hall Association (RHA), CUB, the Inter-Greek Council (IGC) and the Student Government Association (SGA) in conjunction with the Sesquicentennial committee. The events aimed to bring out students' school spirit and celebrate the College's 150th anniversary.
Smoke from sizzling hamburgers and hotdogs, an air-filled obstacle course race and promises of peanut chews and prizes kept students and professors out of their books and beds on the sunny Wednesday afternoon of April 13.
"That 10 percent of the campus that doesn't normally come out to anything - those are the type of people that we're attracting for this event," Mahone said.
Outside the Brower Student Center, the Verdict, a Philadelphia reggae band that has been visiting the campus for two years, drew students and professors out onto the student center patio.
As an MTV-U camera swept the sea of blue and yellow outfits, students showed off their appetites and Frisbee-throwing skills.
Matt Orndorff, senior information systems major who attended the barbecue on Sundial Lawn, said he would probably be sleeping at that moment, but the food caught his attention when he was on his way to eat in the student center.
As the slow-moving line of students waited for IGC's burgers and dogs, CUB leaders served free Nerds, other candies and colorful plastic toys to students who filled out surveys on the organization's events.
The Asian American Association (AAA) taught students gathered around its table how to write "Love," "Learn from Wisdom" and other phrases in calligraphy with paintbrushes and black ink.
"It's a good way to be active on campus," Thoa Nguyen, junior early childhood education major and AAA vice president of internal affairs, said. "Also, we always want to show TCNJ school spirit."
Meanwhile, a large teal, yellow and purple object behind Cromwell Hall distracted students passing by, perhaps on the way to their dorm rooms to finish those last papers or study sessions.
Kristin Udicious, freshman special education and psychology major, said she was walking back from eating when the blow-up obstacle course race caught her eye. She won one of her races against a friend who stood nearby, out of breath from a fast excursion through the course.
"I'd rather be doing this than doing work," Udicious said. "I have papers to write, tests to study for ..."
In front of the dorms, campus organizations entertained pedestrians and fed them pi?a coladas and strawberries in fondue. Student campaigners tempted students with Smarties and "Vote for me!" giveaways.
Delta Phi Epsilon and Zeta Phi Beta cosponsored a table that featured "Pin the face on the lion," with sweet-tasting prizes even for those who missed the mark.
Blindfolded participants, after being spun around, attempted to place a paper plate Roscoe face in the vacancy within a hand-painted mane.
"We thought it'd be a fun, unique thing to do," Christie Fletcher, junior nursing major, said. She was manning the table with her other sorority sisters. "It's a good way to meet people."
Even though Sundial Lawn was full of students and groups milling around the inflatables and tables, Blayne-Paul wondered why the whole campus population had not emerged from their rooms and offices to enjoy the spring weather.
"I would like to know what would make all the students come out in mass," she said. "(While planning) I thought, we have 6,000 students - we're going to need 6,000 prizes."
