Winter Carnival 2014
Winter Carnival is legendary at Michigan Tech. Classes are cancelled on Thursday and Friday, and that combined with the all-nighter on Wednesday night and the snow statue contest makes for a crazy four-day weekend.
Leading up to the all-nighter, I heard a lot of wild stories and rumors of drunken masses and hospitalizations. I had low expectations, but these tales turned out to be pretty accurate. The night started off pretty tame, with mostly statue workers and school employees on campus, but as it got later, campus slowly became saturated with students of varying levels of inebriation.
I spent the early part of the night drifting around between groups of people I recognized and looking at the statue work. Once it got late, it was time to take advantage of the $5 all-night unlimited pancakes being served in Fisher Hall. Once it started to get a little crazier we decided to head back to the dorms and settle in for what was left of the night.
There were a few incidents, but fortunately, the student body as a whole was very friendly and respectful. Campus safety was everywhere, but seemed pretty reasonable and accepting of the situation.
Winter Carnival doesn’t end after the all-nighter is over, but there is a lull while everyone recovers from the night. Over the weekend, campus is ruled by local and foriegn families alike admiring the statues, getting dogsled rides, and watching the constant broomball games.
All in all it was a great time.
§