Aaron Johnson – General Assignment Reporter
Laughs, singing, and stuffed bears were all on display during Friday’s Pajama Karaoke Night, sponsored by RHA. The event took place in the Farnham Programming Space and was in development since last semester according to programming board chairperson Wes Boucher. “We decided that we were going to do this at the end of last semester,” said Boucher. “As far as my planning for it, it took about two weeks.”
Members and volunteers from RHA began setting up about an hour in advance, with doors opening at 7 p.m. Students from all over campus came into Farnham to not only sing, hang out, and relax but also to leave with a little friend. “Over last semester, I went to a conference which was the National Association of Campus Activities and at that activities conference they had an idea for a ‘build-a-bear,’” said Boucher. “So when we came up with the idea it was like PJ’s, karaoke, build-a-bear like teddy bears; it all goes together.”
During the event, anyone could come up to the front and sing any song they wanted. All genres were open to be sung. The night saw Southern students performing their own renditions of every artist from One Direction and Vanessa Carlton to Beyonce and A$AP Ferg. One of the first students to jump on board was senior Marcus Lopez.“I’m a Leo you know. I like the attention,” said Lopez, a liberal arts major. “Plus it’s all about the fun. It’s all about fun and games.”
The crowd cheered and sang along to Lopez’s rendition of the R&B classic ‘If I Ever Fall in Love’ by Shai. Lopez said afterward that he really did not know what song to sing and only chose Shai after hearing a request from the audience. “It was actually one of the audience members who threw it out. I don’t know what her name is but she just yelled out ‘do Shai If I Ever Fall in Love’ and I just said ‘well alright’,” said Lopez with a smile.
The main attraction of the night remained the build-a-bear setup. Students came in and stuffed bears while also writing a message on the bear’s t-shirt. The stuffing machine was provided by Perfect Parties U.S., a company that Boucher said has helped RHA throughout the year.“They do a lot of the set up for just about everything we do here at Southern,” said Boucher.
Students were given the opportunity to wind down and relax as the weekend began. RHA programming board member Veronica Young said that setting up a relaxing atmosphere was a goal of the event and a goal she believes was achieved.“We wanted it to be like a very chill night,” said Young, a junior communications major from Naugatuck. “You know, just keep it fun. Keep it stress-free. You know people like to sing, it releases endorphins, make a bear, and keep it stress-free and fun.”
Young said that the pajama theme also went along with the stress-free environment that RHA was trying to create. Throughout the night, a few students came down to the programming space in pajamas.“We wanted to keep it casual. Come in your PJ’s. Have no worries. It’s a PJ karaoke night and come build a bear,” said Young.
Boucher said that he agreed that the goal of creating a calming, chill atmosphere for students to relax and de-stress was a major goal that was achieved.“I think tonight will help people to de-stress,” said Boucher. “Because there’s not much to this event but the karaoke. It’s like come, sing if you want, have some fun and build a teddy bear. It’s just whatever you want to mix up. There’s no stress to it. It really is what it is.”
