What more could a college student want? Opportunities to connect with other students and staff, free food, and fun? This and more is what was offered at the Gus Block Party held on campus Wednesday September 2, 2026. At this event, students had the opportunity to play games, go on inflatables, eat food, ride in a hot air balloon, and connect with other students.
“I just wanted to get more exposure to friends, see more people, m
eet more people, you know,” says Freshman Aarihana Abrams. She added that she was able to do all these things at the event, and other students had similar experiences.
“When I first came here, I did not expect to make any friends at all, since I’m not really a talkative person,” said Freshman James Karr about connecting with others at the event. “But my mind has totally changed. I made so many friends just starting day one. It’s, like, honestly, astonishing to me, that I would be able to make even the amount of my friends I have.”
Students weren’t only able to connect with other peers at the event, but were also able to go on inflatables where they could race in a maze, and ride in a hot air balloon.
Sophomore Meadow Payton says her favorite part of the event was the hot air balloon, as she always wanted to go on one as a kid. Although many students enjoyed the hot air balloon, some said they wished it went higher, and that it was a little bit of a let down. “. . .the people doing it were nice, and the people telling us when to go were cool too, but I just wish it went higher,” says Freshman Tommy Ewing.
Staff were also very involved at the event. Different Lodge Resident Advisors (RA) discussed how they not only helped run the event, but also had fun at the event.
“We just had to do check-in and we’ve been participating in all the games too,” says RA Siya Bharwani. She also stated she went on the “Dizzy X” inflatable, which spins the people on it around, and ends in the participants racing in mazes of their color to get off the inflatable.
Bharwani says it went really well, and she went on it multiple times.
Most importantly, one of the RA’s, Kacy Hornish, said the event did what it needed to do: bring people together, and students couldn’t agree more.
Hornish added, “I love seeing new people there really more than anything. Obviously, I love seeing like my residents come out and recognizing faces, but seeing someone that we’ve been trying to reach all year and seeing them come to an event is really rewarding, and we just want to be able to make connections here. Like, that’s what it’s all about. So seeing people who are usually more reserved into themselves, seeing them come out of their rooms is really rewarding.”
Another RA, Jacob Pilkerton, said if you went to this event, you were bound to have a great time, “all I do is make sure that they could do all the fun things, realistically. Do inflatables, go on hot air balloons, and with Gus, making sure everyone’s having a good time and taking pictures.”
According to staff and students alike, this event was a fun one. With all of the different options for inflatables, the hot air balloon, games, and the food, people were able to connect with others, hang out with friends, and overall have a great time.
