Students and faculty from all 11 residential colleges gathered at the south end of the Lakefill Saturday afternoon to participate in the 2010 Residential College Board Field Day. Donning their residential college shirts, participants bounced on the moon bounce, ate snow cones and cotton candy, and went head-to-head in competitions such as tug-of-war.
“I think the executive board did a great job of devising a wide range of interactive exercises and activities,” said Nancy Anderson, the director of Residential College Board. “It’s really great to see people come out and have a great time.”
Among the various activities, students particularly enjoyed human foosball, in which team members, strapped to ropes at their waists, tried to score goals. Some games, such as the semifinal match between Slivka and CCI, took longer to finish as the ball frequently flew out of the field.
“I lost my voice during human foosball; I was cheering so hard,” said Sudarshan Srivatsan, a McCormick freshman and CCI resident. “That was a long, epic, hard-fought battle and we won.”
Another competition, the Master’s Mile, involved students pushing their residential college master inside a shopping cart around the long path by the lake. Facing sharp turns, hills and sometimes inattentive people, participants competed to complete the mile in the shortest amount of time.
“After it, I felt like my heart was going to explode, but it was glorious,” said Taiyo Sogawa, a McCormick freshman and president of Willard.
Even though the day was foggy and humid, students at the field day enjoyed winning prizes such as water guns, while others wore face paint to show support for their residential colleges. Anderson also praised the ability of the event to bring together students and faculty.
“It’s something that’s open to everybody,” she said. “Fellows come with their families, masters get together with their students. You see it all. It’s great.”
“It’s really cool that faculty come out and play the games with us,” said Asna Ansari, Weinberg sophomore and CCS president. “I think it’s going really well. It’s a lot of fun.”
The residential colleges that won the main competitions received trophies. Because of this, Ansari was eager to see CCS win.
“I’m feeling excited, anxious about whether CCS is going to carry on the tradition of winning field day,” she said. “CCS is pretty much dominating.”
While there was plenty of competition, the Residential Colleges Board Field Day ultimately brought fun to the students involved in the residential college system.
“I’m just really happy I came,” said Julia Simkowski, Weinberg freshman and CCI resident. “I should be studying for a midterm, but it’s just worth it to be here.”