For students that were interested in changing up their Friday night routine, Late Night UB offered more than what alcohol might provide. Instead, students were given a fun atmosphere; alcohol, drug, and regret-free.
Nikita Sidana, a junior communication major, attended UB Carnival Night in the Student Union on Friday night. While other students were piling onto the bus to South Campus disguising their vodkas in water bottles, Sidana was in the SU enjoying the carnival fun, leaving the beer goggles for partiers to wear.
"I wanted to check out the carnival since it sounded interesting. I wanted cotton candy and I loved the photo booth, and the fish that I won," Sidana said.
More and more UB students are attending Late Night UB events instead of boarding the ‘party bus' to South Campus on Friday nights.
"I don't need to drink to have fun, I don't like frats. I was tired and too lazy to go out." Sidana said.
Eziije Kanu, a junior nursing major, also participated in the alcohol-free festivities.
"How often will [there be] a carnival right there in the Union? I can always go partying but things like this don't come around too often," Kanu said.
Students filled the Union, waiting in huge lines for a chance to play free games and win prizes.
There were dartboard balloons, a fish bowl toss, slap shot, golf, and face painting games at the event.
According to Daniel Ovadia, a junior business major and member of Late Night UB, this year's carnival was different from ones held in the past.
"We rented some very official carnival games. It made the night more authentic and even more fun than ever," Ovadia said.
The carnival is one of Late Night UB's larger-scale events. This year, it drew in well over 700 students.
However, due to the large amount of students in attendance, things became chaotic
"It was really loud and hot, and [we had to] work around the crowd. I think they could make the [location] bigger to [accommodate the number of] students," said Daniel Calzadilla, a freshman chemical engineering major.
Many students however, preferred the craze of carnival night to the crowded scenes of downtown Buffalo.
"Standing in the lines here beats standing in the lines to go to clubs," said Melinda Kuwik, a freshman exercise science major.
Despite the large turnout for Carnival Night, there were still buses full of students who chose to go out to party instead. One consistent misunderstanding is that weekend nights must be devoted strictly to drinking and partying, according to some students.
"[Most freshmen] expect college to be something [completely different] from what it is," said Hank Lin, a senior biochemistry major. "They go out instead of doing things the school offers."
Many students chose not to go because of a misnomer.
"I know students who don't go to events just because of the name. They'll… see [the name] of the event and think it's stupid just because it's a UB program," said Kelley Gifaldi, a sophomore fine arts major.
Carnival Night gave students an alternative to the media's depiction of college life.
All of Late Night UB's events offer students a different way to spend their Friday nights.
Email: features@ubspectrum.com
