MSU drowns away the heat wave

With the recent heat wave passing through the state, there was no better way for Minnesota State students to spend their last Tuesday than at the Maverick Pool Party. 

The Student Events Team hosted the event at Spring Lake Park in North Mankato, taking advantage of the space for swimming, ziplining, volleyball, and more. The party was free for students.  For those needing transportation, buses left from the CSU every 30 minutes. 

“It is active.This is a very nice place,” said sophomore Neil Hurner. “I’m anticipating more and more people showing up here. It’s a blast.” 

With tournaments and competitions also being hosted at the event, it provided students with several opportunities to interact with their Mav fam. 

“I’d say it’s a great way to get into school spirit,” Hurner said. “It’s a great way to kick off the school year. Great way to meet new people too, if that’s what you’re into.” 

In order to bring the event to life, Student Events Team Social Media and Marketing Manager Meron Fre craftily promoted the party. 

“The way I promoted it was [that] Minnesota winter is so bad, so you wouldn’t want to miss this. The weather’s going to be so bad and there’s instant regret, because you [don’t] have the chance to be outside and do fun activities outside during the winter.” 

During the winter, MSU has a variety of activities, ranging from tubing at Mount Kato to free skates. No snowflake is left unturned, making this event truly memorable. 

Everyone was welcomed into a warm day at the pool with a lei. 

“It’s a Caribbean-themed party,” said Fre, “I think Caribbean-themed would be fun; it would go with the water and swimming. I thought that was pretty cool.” 

In addition to the pool party, there were several events Fre is looking forward to this semester. 

“The Mav Fest starts on Tuesday, [and later] the homecoming concert – that’s going to be pretty fun,” she said. 

MavFest is a concert and block party event on September 5 featuring IV Play, a Minnesota based rock band. Homecoming activities will start about a month later with the kickoff scheduled for October 2. 

Until then, the pool was here to keep students cool. Fre encouraged students, “Stay hydrated. Just drink lots of water.”

Hurner offered his own advice as well, “Go into the [dorm] room, turn that AC on a 10 blast. You can also take a shirt and soak it in some water and just wear that; it’s not very comfortable but it is cool.” 

Students who attended the event could snap a picture at the provided photobooth and start the countdown to the next party MSU offers its Mavericks. 

Write to Lilly Schmidt at lillian.schmidt@mnsu.edu

Header Photo: The Student Events Team put together a fun-filled evening with a live DJ, games, and prizes at Spring Lake Park’s pool Tuesday. The pool featured two 30-foot-tall slides, a zip-line, a lily pad, a rock climbing wall, floating islands, and volleyball. Activities included volleyball tournaments and a photo booth. (Dylan Long/The Reporter