Pack the Pantry BINGO is an annual event that allows campus organizations to donate themed baskets full of dorm essentials, snacks, gift cards and more for the student body to win. In between bingo victories and rock, paper, scissors tie-breakers, students broke out into conversation and gathered at the snack table for popcorn and drinks provided by Raising Cane’s.
Aniyah Smith is a junior nursing major who has made it a tradition to come to Pack the Pantry BINGO every year for some friendly competition. “I just love the competitiveness of bingo. It’s a friendly competition, like, can I beat you to the bingo? Yes or no?” Smith said. “Every year, I return because of the energy people bring and the connections that I could make.”
Trechelle Fuggin is a junior criminal justice major who got bingo for the first time this year. Her favorite part of the event was winning with her friends and enjoying the rest of the game by relaxing and talking. “I didn’t think I was going to win, but we had already said ‘if one of us wins, we all win together,’ so being there with my friends made this win special,” Fuggin said.
Demon VIPs were scattered throughout the room, handing out popcorn to students and letting participants take a peek at the prize baskets. Valeria Mendieta is a senior business administration major who attended with a few friends for a night of laughter and competition. “My favorite part is when you’re really close to having bingo, and so is everyone else,” Mendieta said.
River Young, a freshman psychology major, won a basket her first time at Pack the Pantry BINGO. “I think the prizes are unique and the community gets involved and then on top of that, I enjoyed hearing everybody lose their mind whenever they got a bingo,” Young said.
The night’s most interesting basket was the grand finale, sponsored by the NSU Postal Services, which contained unopened packages left behind throughout the years and required a blacked-out bingo card to win.
Whether the game was regular bingo, four corners or blackout, Pack the Pantry BINGO gathered students together around tables or in groups on the floor to create an atmosphere of competition and conversation only interrupted by the excited calls of ‘bingo!’
