Arizona Student Unions will bring a night of fun to students this Friday from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. in the Student Union Memorial Center.
Cat Crawl will be the first-ever on-campus, late-night event for all students.
Allen Womble, the student engagement coordinator for Arizona Student Unions, said that the event was created as a way to help students feel more connected to campus.
“[The event] is a way to engage with [the student union] and create a new home away from home,” Womble said.
There will be activities on every floor of the student union, as well as raffles with prizes including an iPad and gift cards.
Cellar Bistro will have a casino night, karaoke and free games. The main floor of the student union will host fortune tellers, caricature artists and a photo booth. Laser tag, a dance floor with live music and free pizza and drinks will be on the third floor.
Kristin Tenney, the marketing manager for Arizona Student Unions, said that late-night events are a good addition to the event repertoire of the student unions.
“I think it is great that we are looking at after-hour events to host on campus, in a safe environment that students can come to with their friends and meet new people,” Tenney said.
These late-night events became a big hit on several campuses in the U.S. in response to the alcohol climate in 2000, Womble said, and the idea of these late nights is to party and have fun in a safe and responsible way.
“Universities really had to step back and say, ‘OK, how do we engage our students, how do we provide something fun for them but that’s not in this [alcohol] scene so that we can keep them safe?’” Womble said.
Todd Millay, an assistant director of Arizona Student Unions, said that he felt as though the student union is in the process of becoming more than a food supply source, that it’s also a place for fun and engaging activities that will help support UA students.
“The union in itself is a facility, and all that we are doing should be a big support mechanism for the students,” Millay said.
Tenney said that she hoped there would be future Cat Crawl events a couple of times per year, as well as an event at the beginning of next semester to kick off the school year.
“It really is an opportunity to have fun … as good as you would get anywhere else in the city,” Womble said.
