West Liberty University celebrated their annual Winterfest on Monday, Nov. 27 in the Union Ballroom. The event started at 7 p.m. and went on until 9 p.m. The event began with President Tim Borchers giving a speech about the trying times of exam week. He used the analogy S.W.E.E.T. and it stood for sleep,water, exercise, eating right, and time management. He exemplified that taking care of yourself is one of the most important parts of being successful. Then, SGA president, Jenna Maguire, lit the Christmas tree on the Union Ballroom stage.
Around the Union, there were various tables set up with crafts and treats for students. Maguire said that, “ The tables were set up to help destress students with finals week rapidly approaching”. Some of these tables included ornament making, cookie decorating, and even hot chocolate. A very important table was the coat donation table and it was run by the West Liberty Women’s basketball team. Their campaign is called, “Keep Wheeling Warm”. The team partnered with Paree Insurance, Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration, Wheeling’s Youth Service Systems, and the Highlands Walmart to collect wish list items or cash donations for the families in need of the Wheeling area.
Additionally, on the stage of the ballroom, karaoke was being run by the CACDA (Collegiate American Choral Directors Association) chapter of WLU. First up to the mic was sophomore vocal performance major, Tiffany Sites. She appeared on WLU’s own “Noise Violation”; it is a musical program run by the broadcast program on campus. They bring in students on campus to play a few song covers or originals and it is being broadcasted to local t.v. stations. After she went on stage, many other student’s followed suit. Songs varied from Christmas songs to rap songs, to even a song by Jack Black’s band, Tenacious D.
When things started to wind down in the student union, Winterfest moved to College Hall. The annual Bingo Game took place and according to Ross Salvatori and Jenna Maguire, there were thousands of dollars worth of gifts and prizes at the event. Winterfest was a huge success and allowed students to relax with great fun before the trials of finals week.
