Gentle Friday hopes to ease exam anxiety
Program Board will be bringing Las Vegas and the 2006 Game Live U College Tour on Xbox 360 to CMU as part of Gentle Friday festivities.
The annual event, marking the conclusion of the academic year, will take place from noon to 5 p.m. at Warriner Mall. It will feature free food, live music, raffle prizes and games to ease final exam anxiety for students.
The Game Live Tour, an interactive video game exhibition, will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Heather Hillman, Macomb junior and Program Board public relations chair, said Gentle Friday is a pretty big event for the organization.
“It’s kind of like MAINStage, but just for Program Board,” Hillman said. “We only put it on by ourselves with no help from any other student organization and it’s something we’ve been able to bring back every year.”
This year’s event will have games and inflatables reflecting the Las Vegas theme.
Las Vegas-themed games include blackjack and poker tables with themed prizes and an inflatable human roulette wheel in which the participant is the game’s ball.
The Game Live Tour will feature a 50-screen PC and video display allowing participants to move from screen to screen.
Students will be able to preview 25 of the latest games for Sony Playstation 2, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and PC systems.
Kyle Vandeventer, Saginaw sophomore and vice president-elect for Program Board, said the tour is a separate event from Gentle Friday.
“We hope to bring more people with the addition of video games and giveaways,” he said. “The tour will bring in a different crowd and we hope to bring two aspects of people together at one event.”
Game Live is sponsoring a performance by Val Emmich + The Rescue Effort, an alternative rock band from New Jersey, at noon.
Local bands from around Mount Pleasant also will perform, and Hillman said she thinks it will bring more people to the event.
“I expect a big turnout because the addition of local bands will pull more students, friends and family in,” she said.
Band performances will include Aphorism, an alternative rock band at 1 p.m., and L@CH (Live at Calkins Hall), an acoustic rock band at 4 p.m.
Gone Awry, a pop/punk band from Livonia, also is scheduled to perform at 2:15 p.m.
Clinton Township senior Jaci Shevsky said she will attend the event although she doesn’t like that it is so close to finals.
“I think the whole idea of Gentle Friday is good, but having it so close to exam week does not allow students to take advantage of the good things CMU has to offer,” she said.
Other events include free sno-cones, popcorn, cotton candy, desserts and pizza.
The Game Live Events’ disc jockey also will distribute Mountain Dew products and apparel.
CMU’s 2006 Homecoming Ambassador candidates will be announced at 3:30 p.m.
