On Aug. 31, Wasburn’s Campus Activities Board hosted a “Headphone Disco.” Headphone discos are huge parties that have become popular in recent years. At these discos the attendees are given headphones, which contain different stations they can choose from with a click of a button. Throughout the night, the DJs for the event play different songs for each station.

Cheyanne Colwell, director of variety for CAB, got the idea after attending a National Association for Campus Activities event in February. NACA often showcases various acts consisting of artists, musicians, comedians and more. Colwell, a fifth-year secondary education major, saw “Headphone Disco” listed online and gave it a try. After enjoying the experience, Colwell decided she’d bring this event to campus.

Eventually, after going through a contractual process with NACA as well as the Headphone Disco company, Colwell was able to schedule a date for the event.

On the night of the event, CAB set up in the Washburn A/B room and waited for attendees. The room began to fill with students dancing and yelling lyrics to different songs. At times, half of the students would be belting a country song while the other half sang pop.

Litzy Ruiz, a freshman political science major, was glad she attended the event, having left with new friends and a fun experience.

“Honestly, I came out because I needed new friends and figured this would be a great place to do it,” said Ruiz. “At first I was iffy, but at the end of it I was actually getting into it.”

By the end of the night, Colwell counted about 50 attendees – an outcome she wasn’t expecting.

“I was really proud of Washburn because it was a bigger turnout compared to what we’ve had over the past couple years,” said Colwell.

Colwell later explained that in recent years students wouldn’t attend many events due to COVID-19, which is why she believes that campus events are important.

“I think campus events encourage making friends or having social connections that people are lacking, as we basically shut down for two years and a lot of people just kind of reverted into themselves,” said Colwell. “So, I want to use these events as a way to come back out and try to be social again.”

Roni Simeon, freshman kinesiology major, found campus events important for a different reason.

“I liked the fact that this event was on campus because safety in Topeka, as far as I know, sometimes can be dangerous,” said Simeon.

Other students thought that having events on campus is a great chance to get involved, make connections and even de-stress.

For students looking to get more involved on campus, CAB has asked comedian Ronnie Jordan to perform at 7 p.m. on Sept. 15 in the Washburn A/B room and invites everyone to attend. To stay updated on more events follow CAB’s instagram, @cabatwu.

Edited by Justin Shepard, Simran Shrestha