A mock version of The Price is Right came to NU Wednesday night as part of a Special Olympics fundraiser. Video by Melissa Tussing. |
A trip to London, sixth-row White Sox tickets, and chocolate from Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge were only some of the prizes Wednesday night at the second annual Northwestern version of The Price is Right, Special Olympics’ main spring fundraiser.
Sturdier sets for games such as Plinko and a more intimate location distinguished the event from last year. Laura Phenix, Special Olympics’ student outreach co-chair and a SESP junior, said attendance was similar, if not better, for this year’s event, which was held in Norris’ McCormick Auditorium.
NU’s Special Olympics, the largest and oldest student-run program of its kind in the United States, hosts and is responsible for funding an annual track-and-field event for athletes with developmental disabilities. This year, the games will be held May 12 at Evanston Township High School.
Special Olympics also aims to bring together local and NU athletes. The group sponsors an annual Valentine’s Day dance, a 5K run and an outdoor carnival in addition to the game show.
Communication freshman Bennett Weisse said she came to the event after seeing flyers posted around campus.
“The event supports a good cause and interaction with the community,” Weisse said. “We’re giving back to Evanston and to Northwestern as well.”
Medill junior Kurt Soller, who came to support a friend who organized the event, left the night’s biggest winner. Soller won both showcases when he guessed the exact price of a four-night trip to London offered by STA Travel. Soller also won a stay at Best Western, a trip on a Navy Pier cruise ship and tickets to a White Sox game.
“I’m ecstatic and really shocked,” Soller said. “I feel like I just won the real Price is Right.”