Battleship, Macklemore and Madipalooza

Contributor: Jessie Rosati

Last year as the school year was coming close to an end, it was very eventful!

I participated in Battleship - an annual intramural tournament. This game takes place in the school’s main pool and is a really unique experience. The different teams jump in canoes and try to sink their opponent’s canoes with buckets, while simultaneously trying to block water from getting in their own canoe. The last canoe not to sink in the pool is the winner! If you’re still confused watch this short videoclip of how the game is played.

My team used umbrellas to prevent water from getting in our canoe but by the second round, they were broken from the continuous onslaught of water, so we had to re-strategize. Some teams also wore crazy costumes such as pirates, superheroes, and ninjas. Yoky, a fellow LINKer, was on one of the teams that had crazy costumes! During the tournament, “epic” music was playing from movie soundtracks, which made the atmosphere like a real battle. Unfortunately, my team did not win but we got a good workout and had fun while doing it!

I attended the big spring evening concert featuring Macklemore and Ryan Lewis  - made famous by their song, “Thrift Shop,” in our large convocation center. If you have never heard of Macklemore before, he is definitely worth checking out! Start with my personal favorites: Same Love, A Wake, Can’t Hold Us, Starting Over, and Other Side. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are a pair who make songs that are fun but also often represent important things such as marriage equality or overcoming drug abuse. 

The entire convocation center went crazy for the performance and Macklemore ended his concert saying that JMU has been his craziest and best college concert of 2013. My friends and I stood in the second row in front of the stage and we got to help hold up Macklemore as he jumped on top of everyone to crowd surf throughout the show. It was a really exciting time for everyone there!

My friends and I also had to attend JMU’s annual festival -- Madipalooza! At the festival there were six live bands, giveaways, free food, prizes, and carnival games. It was a beautiful spring day for the festival! My friends and I climbed a rock wall, competed against each other in a boot camp race, listened to the live music, did flips on a trampoline while strapped in a harness, played football, took pictures in a photo booth, and relaxed in the grass while eating ice cream. This festival was a great end to the school year before we have to start worrying about final exams!

So what exciting events will you be enjoying this year?