Whether you want to become the next “Wildcat Idol” or you want to bring back childhood bumper car memories, Spring Fest is designed to be a week full of fun activities that help welcome spring and put a temporary damper on the stress levels of students.
Spring Fest at Baker University is an annual, weeklong event put on by the Student Activities Council to allow students to take a break from the heavy studying that usually comes with the end of the school year.
“I think the biggest part of it is a time to relax and a stress reliever,” said Jessica Miner, SAC recreation coordinator.
Junior Rashad Bolden, a transfer student from Highland Community College, said his previous school tried to put on a week of events during spring, but it did not have nearly the turnout Baker’s Spring Fest has had.
“I think (Spring Fest) is an excellent idea to get students’ minds off of school, and it gets them out of their rooms to socialize with one another,” Bolden said. “I think it’s one of the greatest things (Baker) has done.”
Bolden said he thinks Spring Fest came at the right time because he was having a stressful week. He said he attended the majority of the events this week, and he especially enjoyed comedian Roy Wood Jr.
“He was pretty hilarious,” Bolden said. “I’ve had a bad week so far, so just going in just took away some of the pressure from the end of the semester. Overall, he really put on a great performance.”
Miner said the events had been a success so far, even though some of them were expensive, especially those that involved renting equipment.
“All the types of events that we had to book way ahead of time are pretty expensive, but students show up when they can, so I think it’s worth it,” Miner said.
Marcia Hillman, SAC impact coordinator, is in charge of bringing influential speakers to Baker. She attended several Spring Fest activities. She said the events gave her a break from her schoolwork.
On Monday night, the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” was shown projected on the side of a Wal-Mart semi.
“The movie was really fun because we could just hang out on the lawn and watch a movie when it’s crunch time at school with all of the projects and papers that are due,” Hillman said.
An all-campus picnic was held Wednesday, Thursday was “Wildcat Idol,” and a dance will be held for all Baker students starting at 10 p.m. today at the Salt Mine in Baldwin City.