Games, rides and sweet treats on the side

The UB Student Association’s annual Homecoming Carnival was a ray of sunshine on Friday around Student Union and Lee Road.

Undergraduates, graduates, and families alike were able to enjoy their time eating sweets, playing competitive games and going on fast and relatively high-thrill rides in the 61 degree sunny weather. Between the variety of rides and games, students were able to use the carnival’s activities as a distraction from midterms and everyday stress.

“I tried to get a lot of my friends to come out,” senior communication major, Maximilian Atkins, said, “and have a little mental health day just to enjoy the times with it being my last semester.” Atkins participated in Leaps and Burns, a game where the goal was to get from one side to the other by jumping on five round rubber spheres. Atkins ended up falling when he got to the third ball, but he got back up, looked around and laughed. He wanted to have fun, and he did.

Students were impressed by the rides offered at the carnival this year, some saying that the rides reminded them of ones they had gone on at real amusement parks.

“They had a ride here that was like the Screamin’ Eagle at Seabreeze, an amusement park in my hometown. That was probably my favorite ride here,” freshman industrial engineering major Charlie Rudenski said. “They also had another one called the Wrecking Ball. That was pretty fun and I hope it's here again next year.”

Between rides, games and food stands, there were enough attractions to cover the entire length of the lot. But many students felt that lengthy lines prevented them from participating in more than a handful of activities.

Liam Hubbard, a senior pharmaceutical sciences major, said he recalls the carnival having more food options to choose from in previous years. “We're down two food trucks, we're missing Big Blue and they normally bring in another food truck, so I think that has made the food lines even worse than normal,” he said.

Although long lines prevented students from trying all of the available options, they still raved endlessly about the food.

“We tried the donuts, which were really good. They were warm and delicious since they were made fresh… Definitely worth the 20 minute wait,” senior computer science major David Chen said.

The homecoming carnival allowed students to enjoy a variety of activities that were different from what is normally offered on campus. It was the perfect way to get students in the spirit for the homecoming football game that followed.

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