Club Maverick gets Mavericks clubbing maverickingly
The line extended as far as The Reporters’ office before Club Maverick opened its doors to student clubbers last Thursday evening to kick off Minnesota State University Mankato’s Welcome Week.
Hundreds of students turned out to the CSU Ballroom to party with DJ Ones, who was aided by the vocal stylings of MC Fanakanation.
DJ Ebersold, a freshman studying audio production and songwriting, was first in line at the event. “I figured it was a good way to meet new people,” said DJ Ebersold. “I definitely think it would be good to get used to the environment and go out to different places like this. And probably meet some people, hopefully in my major.”
Welcome Week is designed to help make returning students more comfortable coming back to campus after a summer off and to help transition new students into college life.
Janat Kazibwe, a member of the Student Events Team who helped with organizing the event, said “Club Maverick is to help freshmen ease into college, it’s like a welcome party because today was move-in day. So it’s something to help them ease into college life and show them they are welcome to the university.”
“Coming to college you are given so much freedom, a lot of responsibility. You are in charge of your life, you are in charge of making sure you do your assignments,” said Kazibwe.
Students waved glowing, multi-colored foam sticks to the song selections of DJ Ones throughout the night. The foam sticks were given out to the first 500 students in line who utilized the university texting system. Party lighting, disco balls and smoke transformed the CSU Ballroom into an electronic dance club for the evening.
Friends Kadence Kochie and Lily Studenski came for the community aspect and to help relax before the start of school. “I feel like everybody’s just vibing together, everybody’s having a good time. Nobody is super stressed yet,” said Kadence Kochie.
“It gets everyone together and makes it a better environment when you’re interacting with everybody and not by yourself. It’s more of a community,” said Lily Studenski.
In addition to the foam sticks, plenty of freebies were given out or otherwise available to students. Free mocktails, such as Shirley Temples, were served to all students by Student Events Teams staff. There were also a variety of door prizes given to students willing to give a prize wheel a whirl. DJ Ones also opened the event with a free t-shirt giveaway.
To enhance the club vibe, a VIP area was set up for students who created the best TikToks and tagged the Student Events Team. The VIP section featured fresh fruit, cheese, and mock champagne in a roped-off area near the stage.
Club Maverick was organized by the Student Events Team and sponsored by Fun.com.
Write to Jeremy Redlien at jeremy.redlien@gmail.com
Header Photo: DJ Ones gets the crowd of MSU students hyped up for the new academic year. (Photo by Lilly Anderson)