2022 LSU Gumbo - Book - Page 89
Morgan Schooler joined her Colorguard team of about
30 on the Parade Ground Friday for this year’s Fall Fest
to dance and wave her flag as the Golden Band from
Tigerland’s music echoed through the campus. The graphic
design freshman noticed the crowd was a little thin upon
entering the festival but she didn’t mind -- she had 50
kindergartners cheering her team on and clapping.
“Every time we play, I’m like, ‘that was me when I was a
kid,’” Schooler said. “It’s always been my dream. You can feel
the energy from the band, and it’s amazing. It’s a feeling
like no other.”
With LSU’s vaccine mandate leading to over 80% of
students being inoculated, the campus community was able
to continue its 27-year tradition of holding Fall Fest as it
moves away from the virtual environment caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Kinesiology sophomore McKenzie Ryan Briscoe was
among the performers for the 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. festival, with
a rig of over 10 feet and a piece of hanging fabric allowing
her to demonstrate her aerial silks abilities.
In celebration of Halloween, Briscoe and her fellow silks
performers dressed in spooky attire, something she had
been looking forward to ever since the lowering of COVID
cases allowed for public events to continue.
“I don’t want to speak too soon, but I hope the pandemic
will be coming to an end soon. To perform like this has
really opened a lot of doors for us,” Briscoe said.
While it’s scary performing at great heights, Briscoe is
passionate about the art form. She and her crew planned to
perform throughout the entire festival for the crowd that
accumulated around the silks structure.
Among her attendees included first-year law student
Foster Willie, who sat with friends in the grass nearby and
watched in awe. He didn’t know Fall Fest was happening
Friday until his friends called him with hopes of grabbing
free food. With a burger in hand and aerial silks in his view,
Willie said he couldn’t have been happier.
“If it weren’t for the burger, I wouldn’t be enjoying the
silks,” Willie said. “If it weren’t for the silks, I wouldn’t be
enjoying the burger.”
The festival featured over 80 student organizations, all
at individual tables lining the Parade Ground to promote
membership.
A ‘Squid Game’ poster and ddakji cards sat at one table.
Just like in the show, students could play a few rounds
of ddakji, where the objective of the game is to flip your
opponent’s card with a precise throw. Any winner could
get a prize like snacks, teas, candy and chopsticks.
Psychology and biology junior Chloe Hoang tabled that
booth for the Asian American Ambassadors (AAA) of
LSU. Aiming to represent the Asian-American and Pacific
Islander diaspora on campus, Hoang was hoping to attract
attention to the club and was happy ‘Squid Game’ could
bring mainstream recognition to the diversity and artistry
behind Asian culture.
“I love seeing people’s faces when they see the sign
and are like ‘Oh my god, we have to play.’” Hoang said.
“‘Squid Game’ was such a big hit. What better way to gain
members than by using something so mainstream and
popular?”
Hoang says LSU hasn’t done a good enough job at
speaking for their underrepresented community after
increased xenophobia due to COVID. She feels that
many important clubs like AAA are underpromoted and
overshadowed by Greek Life. Despite ‘Squid Game’ and
K-pop being popular in America, Hoang says AAA can
represent their diaspora beyond the popular artifacts by
embracing all Asian cultures.
“Asian people are more than just karaoke, ramen and
nail salons,” Hoang said. “We have awesome stuff. We’re
hosting an event soon that is just ‘Squid Game’ games. I
mean, we’re not gonna kill y’all though.”
Clubs like these flooded the festival, each one with
its own unique message and mission, like Model UN,
Robotics, Creative Writing and more. Whether students
came for the merch, the food, the entertainment or the
opportunity to meet like-minded people, 2021’s Fall Fest
was a hit for any students who caught it in the midst of
midterms.
General business sophomore Carson Dodd had just
stepped out of an exam when he heard the overwhelming
roar of the Tiger Band and followed the music until
he reached the festival and saw Mike the Tiger mascot
strolling around, who “dapped [him] up” for a photo. He
said the festival provided a nice reprieve from studying.
Chloe McGuckin, a mass communication freshman
and fellow Colorguard member, had to leave after about
20 minutes to take an exam. By the time she returned,
Fall Fest was closing down, and droves of students were
collecting leftover food and drink from vendors.
Vendors gestured for students to haul away the last of
the food and drinks as the festival neared an end. Students
walked around with cases of varied canned beverages in
their grasp, some gripping a case of Coke in one hand and
Java Monster in the other.
McGuckin left with an entire bag filled to the brim
with Monster Energy drinks, soda and Dasani water. She
wanted to get more, but her arms were full.
“This is probably about $30 worth of drinks,” McGuckin
said.
Business freshman Gabriel Hogan filled his backpack
with Java Monsters. Hogan had ran into the midst of
the chaos in the middle of the interview and returned
two minutes later, this time bearing a full case of oat
milk coffee Java Monsters like a hunter returning from a
successful chase.
He arrived at the festival 20 minutes before it ended,
around the time vendors began handing out bulks of food
and drinks.
“I caught the best part,” Hogan said.
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