Khadija Greenidge
Staff Writer
At the beginning of each semester, a night of bingo is planned to help students pay for their textbooks. On Monday, January 28, as a part of the Winter Week festivities, the Association for Campus Programming (ACP) and the Commuter Student Association (CSA) hosted their second Bingo for Books of the 2012-2013 school year in the Tilles Center Atrium from 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
ACP is an organization where students can become more involved with programs, leadership and campus activities. CSA brings commuters and residents together through on and off campus activities. According to ACPs public relations chair junior Adrian Almonte, there were approximately 180 students in attendance.
Eric Zirlinger, senior assistant director of the Office of Student Life and Leadership Development, was the announcer and the offered participants a chance to win up to $1,500, donated to the university through Barnes and Noble gift cards.
There were seven rounds of bingo over the course of an hour and a half. $100 was distributed over the first three rounds. Everyone tried to complete the target pattern while avoiding the infamous “bongo,” which was Zirlinger’s interpretation of a false bingo. However, there was only one of those the entire night.
At the end of the night, there were only seven winners. Of the seven, there were three $100 winners: junior Akilah Cassells, who won the first round by completing a Bingo across, senior Biology major Maethinee Koonvisal, who claimed the second round with the four corner board, and freshman Arianna Rodriguez, who won the third round with a diagonal.
Two $200 winners: freshman Sochima Daniels, who won the fifth round by completing the square around the center ‘N’, and a female, who left before her name could be identified, won the fourth round with two diagonals.
There was one $300 winner, an unidentified male student who also left after his victory conquered the sixth round with an outline of the board and one $500 prize, which was also won by Maethinee Koonvisal in the seventh and final round by completing the entire Bingo card. Koonvisal said, “The event was awesome, now I’m feeling double lucky.”
Other students shared similar reactions. Freshman Political Science and Music double major Natasha Ambria Henry’s second time going to Bingo for Books was, “fun, exciting and disappointing at the same time. I almost had that $200 too!”
Sophomore Business major Bria-Letã Greene exclaimed, “I love Bingo for Books! I go every time…I never win but it’s still awesome.”
Undecided freshman Christina Martinez said, “Bingo for Books was a lot of fun and a great way to socialize and get comfortable with everyone. The prizes are perfection; nothing needs to be changed. I am definitely doing this again.”
There was one concern from the student body. Several students felt that it was unfair for someone to win more than one prize especially for the amount of money involved. At the end of the night, some students said that if someone wins more than once, they should choose which they want and give someone else another chance.
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