Students may have seen zombie faces, Batman costumes and cat and dog outfits at the Clock Tower Wednesday afternoon.
This carnival was put on by The Chapman Learning Community as they hosted their 2013 Harvest Carnival Wednesday, Oct. 23 at the University Bell Tower Mall.
Chapman is partnered with the United Way Foundation and this Harvest Festival, according to Chapman Director Madeline Duntley, was their fall fundraiser for the United Way Foundation, as all proceeds will go to them.
“[The Carnival] also brings to mind abundance,” Duntley said. “This event shows the abundance of time that we have to give to people in need and it is a different way to communicate this to the students and staff here on campus.”
It was like a midterm stress relief event, Duntley said.
“Instead of having our service learning classes do a fundraiser for their specific classes, we just do one fall community fundraiser for United Way,” Duntley said. “Instead of another winter festival like last year, we wanted to play on the fall and costume theme this year instead of a holiday theme.”
The Chapman students were in charge of staffing each booth which held the “minute to win it” games, as they like to call them. There were also three sports played on a painted field along the sidewalk: football, soccer and dodgeball.
A few of the minute to win it games that were played were: a mummy wrap where students got wrapped up in toilet paper in 60 seconds, a sling shot where you have to shoot something to through the skeletons mouth and a witch scavenger hunt.
The 16 students in the “United Way class” are the students who had an extra hand in planning the festival and working the stations.
“We planned the whole event; the booths and everything,” said United Way student Nicole Light. “I learned that management takes a lot of time and preparation.”
The Learning Community sold $1 raffle tickets to friends, family and at the Union tables throughout the weeks leading up to the event.
“From the ticket sale aspect, I think it is interesting experience for the students to get the direct fundraising experience,” said Chapman Graduate Student Denise Robb. “When they have to sell them in the Union and are recruiting students, I think it is a really strong lesson for them to learn.”
The prizes won by some students were an iPad mini, multiple gift cards and a Kindle Fire. Chapman raised $640 for United Way last year in their winter festival. Their goal this year was to top the $640 mark.
“Selling the tickets in the past weeks slowly moved away from being about winning an iPad to helping charity,” Robb said.
This event stressed to the students the ability of working together and the business of putting together an event for a good cause, Duntley said.
“The best communities are the ones that work together and play together,” she said. “You have to create a space and a place where they can have a good time together.”
