By Alexa Goins and Jane Potocki
Contributing Writers
The day may have been cold and cloudy, but the Screaming Eagles tailgate on Oct. 4 was a fun time for all. This Asbury Student Congress-sponsored event brought around 200 students to the Asbury men’s soccer homecoming game.
The tailgating event consisted of Ale 8, a ring-toss, face painting and corn hole. Student body president, senior Jordan Wood, was the designated “Grill Master” for the event.
Junior Julia Chin, one of the three co-chairs of the Screaming Eagles Committee, spoke of the committee’s presence on campus: “I definitely think we are making a bigger impact this year. We did a few events last year but the turnouts weren’t as great. This year we pulled together a bigger committee; we’ve been doing better advertising. With the help of Meredith Anderson, Jordan Wood and Paul Stephens, it’s been really awesome. We’ve been able to put some awesome events together.”
The games weren’t the only thing the Screaming Eagles prepared. In addition, the Screaming Eagles Committee grilled hot dogs and gave out chips and snack foods to attract more of the student body to the tailgate.
“I love it. I always go wherever there’s free food and good music. I would say that last year the Screaming Eagles weren’t really well known, but they’re definitely rising up in their ranks. I might not go to soccer games without these events, [but] the Screaming Eagles [brought] the snacks,” said sophomore Shelby Lawhorn.
The Screaming Eagles’ events certainly encourage students to come out and cheer on their school.
Junior Nick Manchester said, “These events definitely make more people come out to the soccer games. I probably wouldn’t have come out [if it weren’t for this tailgating event].”
The process of creating the perfect outdoor event for the student body amidst the dropping temperatures proved to be a challenge for the committee.
“Planning the tailgate was kind of complicated at first. We weren’t really sure how to make it so that people would want to come out with the colder weather. But after a few meetings with our committee, we came up with ideas like face-painting, make-your-own posters, the ring-toss, and food,” said Chin.
With their big homecoming tailgate behind them, the Screaming Eagles Committee is looking forward to continue working on creating an atmosphere of school pride on campus. Their goal is to increase school spirit at Asbury.
Chin said, “Screaming Eagles is here to help the athletic side of campus. However, our main goal is to really pump up the spirit on campus and to get students to care about athletics. [We want them to] just love their school in general.”