When planning any kind of gathering at DePauw there is one common way to entice students to attend: free food.
A group of about 20 students gathered in the hub on Sunday and stuffed themselves with fried chicken, soda, fruit and cookies while watching the Green Bay Packers defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 to win Super Bowl XLV. The game was projected onto a big screen so students could enjoy the game while eating.
Across campus, numerous Super Bowl parties offered similar benefits to students. Senior Josh Hobgood attended the party in The Hub after another friend's party for more free food and to experience a different environment.
"I came for some good food and I wanted to spend some time with my fellow DePauw students, watching America's greatest game," Hobgood said.
The party became a common meeting place for students who were attending other parties and wanted to meet up with each other and once again, eat free food.
"If there's free food involved, it's always good," said senior Lanae Duncan, who arrived at the party with Hobgood and another friend, senior Mackenzie Knight.
The students were having a good time watching the game when all of a sudden it was interrupted by The Black Eyed Peas during the halftime show. Any fun that was being had came to an abrupt halt as they were looking forward to an entertaining halftime show. If it weren't for Usher making an appearance, the trio of friends would have deemed the trip to The Hub an utter waste of time.
"I thought that the Black Eyed Peas were severely lacking in vocals," Knight said. "But the Usher appearance made it better. The people dancing on the field that lit up were cool too. I liked the Usher part but that was it."
After the halftime show ended, the friends were discouraged and demoralized. They wanted to leave after consuming too much food at their previous party and then the food at The Hub party. It also didn't help when Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas just started yelling instead of singing during "Where is the Love?"
But regardless of what occurred during halftime, Knight echoed Hobgood's sentiments that it was nice to have a common place on campus for people to meet and enjoy the greatest day of the year.
"The big screen was really nice and spending time with my friends in this great environment was fantastic," Knight said.
— Appelgate is a sophomore from Kent, Wash.; sports@thedepauw.com