Commuter Carnival brings UMBC commuters and residents together

The Commuter Carnival provided food, fun and plenty of tunes to UMBC students on Wednesday, April 29. Students weigh in on their experience at the carnival.

It was sunny, about 75 degrees and a beautiful day to be out at the Commuter Carnival on Wednesday, April 29.

Organized by Off-Campus Student Services, the Commuter Carnival is a miniature version of Quadmania. There may not be many rides, inflatable prizes or big musical concerts, but it is still important to represent the commuters of UMBC. Plenty of effort goes into planning it, and it provides a fun option for the largest portion of the UMBC student population.

Andrea Calderon, a sophomore psychology major, said, “I like how they do stuff like this. It makes commuters feel like they’re a part of the school.”

The festivities involved a mechanical bull, cornhole, caricatures, popcorn, snow cones and a photobooth. The mechanical bull drew plenty of attention, with droves of UMBC students wanting to test their skills on the metal beast.

Unfortunately, the majority of students weren’t that lucky with their turns on the bull. Many of them fell off pretty quickly and in a ridiculous manner. “This guy is just laughing at everyone that tries this. He must love his job,” said Calderon of the man operating the mechanical bull.

Several organizations had a table at the event. Student life, Residential Life, Study Abroad, summer and winter sessions and the Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery were among the on-campus organizations present at the event. Xfinity and E-Z Pass were some of the off-campus organizations to make an appearance.

Many of the tabled organizations gave out prizes or snacks. The library’s table challenged students to take their best “shelfie.” A shelfie is a selfie taken with a shelf of books in the background. An actual shelf of books proved too difficult to pull off in the quad, so the library provided a poster board with a picture of shelved books to serve as the background.

WMBC, UMBCs freeform radio, was in attendance and DJed the event. Raymond Johnson, a sophomore global studies major, was the DJ for the event. He played upbeat music that very much fit the vibe of the day. In fact, Johnson mixed some tunes in real time at the event. “I’m just mixing off the cuff. I’m playing whatever I want,” said Johnson.

The music choices were popular with the attendees of the carnival. Kiara Alexander, a sophomore media and communications and global studies double major, said, “I really like all the tunes WMBC is playing. They’re really smooth and just fit the day.”

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