Founders Hall Council hosted their first ever Spooky Ping Pong Tournament as an inclusive way to kick off the Halloweekend on Oct. 28.
Along with the competitive aspect of a double elimination style ping pong bracket, the event also hosted a costume contest to encourage the holiday spirit. Hall council members and Founders residents alike dressed in coordinating team costumes and participated with enthusiasm.
Caleb Lorenzen, a freshman international studies and economics major, helped fellow council members organize Spooky Ping Pong to bring his community together at a place notorious for building unlikely friendships.
“I don’t know what it is about the ping pong tables, but they are a great community feature.” Lorzenzen said.
The event centered around the hall’s beloved ping pong table that Lorenzen fondly refers to as the place where he met close friends of his own, with whom he continues to play ping pong with outside of events like these.
Acknowledging his own positive experience, Lorenzen said the main appeal of the table can be encompassed by a certain humility that comes with playing ping pong in a public setting.
“They will see that you’re new and they will appreciate you trying. You will form connections just like that,” he said.
Lorenzen encouraged his friends Leliana Yannelli and Mason Trout to participate in the tournament, who competed under the name “Team Air.” The duo laughed about Lorenzen’s enthusiasm.
“We got roped into it by coach (Caleb) over here.” they said.
Yannelli and Trout exemplified Lorenzen’s enthusiasm, and a strong sense of community and friendship showed when Team Air snapped a picture with their opposing team “Grannies” to celebrate a game well played.
“We loved the Grannies, they were a hit.” Yannelli said. “It was a good team effort, after all.”
The ping-pong tournament helped bring Founders residents closer together and helped foster a greater sense of community within the dorm. With private dorm layouts that accommodate individual spaces, Lorenzen noticed how Founders lacks what some other dorm halls provide as opportunities that “force people to interact with each other.”
He emphasized the importance of fostering community with events such as the tournament and costume contest, and within spaces like the ping pong table lobby.
Lorenzen spoke about the initiative to emphasize inclusion by extending the welcome to events like these beyond Founders.
“We are working to make the community and its events as inclusive as possible.” Lorenzen said.
Lorenzen also noted that students living in Founders should be on the lookout for BGSU’s first ever election of a Hall Diversity and Inclusion Chair. Details concerning the election candidates and dates will be provided in the coming weeks via email and information posted around the building.
