Bakersfield College’s Campus Center was full of music while the high-rising smoke of the huge barbecue grill sent the smell of fresh beef across the campus.
Student Government Association officials were making sure the events were going according to plan. Hundreds of students stood in line for their free hamburger on the last day of the student government’s planned Spring Fling Week.
“I had a huge smile on my face watching all the students participating in the Campus Center today,” said Activities Liaison Ruthie Kresha, and she smiled widely. “It met my expectations, but it could have been better; that’s what I plan on doing next semester. But it was kind of hard running the event during midterms. Next time we might do Spring Fling before.”
SGA’s goal at the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year was to unite the student body, and they feel that their goal is being met.
“It went extremely well,” said Interim Dean of Students Angela Guadian-Mendez. “The SGA did a wonderful job of putting this event together. It’s a building block in uniting students, and it was great to see the response.”
This year, many events, including musical entertainment, were held in Campus Center as opposed to previous years where it was held outside Campus Center. Nevertheless, activities that included the rock wall, a mechanical bull, a Velcro wall and laser tag were still held in the Free Speech Area.
The theme of this year’s Spring Fling, “Carnival Brazil,” was decided by Kresha although the Brazilian-themed activities didn’t occur according to plan, aside from the giving out of free T-shirts that read, “Carnival Brazil.”
“We were excited for the Brazilian theme,” said Guadian-Mendez. An enthusiastic Kresha, still winding down from the events, interrupted Guadian-Mendez by saying, “We were going to have Samba dancers, a Capoeira performance, Batucada and Bossa Nova.”
According to Guadian-Mendez, the planned events are still supposed to happen as soon as agreements can be finalized.
“Complications arose with the agency we were working with,” said Guadian-Mendez. “We couldn’t get them to agree to what we needed in time. The theme was the same. We just missed out on some of the events.”
Despite complications, the SGA still received a massive response from the student body and staff.
“Faculty, administrators, and staff enjoyed it more than in previous years,” said Guadian-Mendez.
“The faculty liked that it was located in Campus Center; there was less trash, and no one complained about the loud music. The SGA was well organized, and they made it work.”