The Union Daze Tailgate invited many students to come together and support the Washburn University football game against Emporia State University Aug. 29. Breah Yourdon, sophomore communication major, gave her thoughts on the event.

“I like that we have taken efforts to support our teams, even if [we] aren’t able to physically be there. [They’ve] created a whole event to watch them, and so that shows support.” Yourdon said.

Before the game, Washburn Cheer performed a dance as the Washburn fight song played, getting every student pumped for the festivities ahead. 

Tia Benyshek, head coach of Washburn Cheer, emphasizes how important it is to build community, a sense of belonging and joy in the atmosphere.

“It’s really important to us for the spirit squad members to know that we’re all part of Washburn,” Benyshek said. “It’s not just if you play a sport, it’s really for everyone to just have that camaraderie. Put your cell phones away and get together and do things … together.”

While the game was streaming, students helped themselves to free Pepsi products and free pizza. There was also a raffle to win prizes that included WU swag provided by the Ichabod Shop, a case of soda of the winner’s choice and free tickets to Washburn Football’s first home game provided by the athletics department. Despite Washburn losing to Emporia 30-14, there was still a huge turnout and a great number of students stayed until the end of the game. 

The event took place during “Union Daze”, which was part of a two-week, beginning of the year celebration of services the Memorial Union provides. Activities within these two weeks encourage students, faculty and staff to visit the building more often and build new connections with each other.

Becky Bolte, director of the Memorial Union, hosted the event with the help of Memorial Union staff. She emphasizes how the campus community sets its traffic patterns during the beginning of classes, so she uses Union Daze to get people to come to the building to see what it offers.

“We [are a place] where people come together to connect and enjoy themselves, have a break,” Bolte said. 

Even though the Union Daze is coming to an end, many events in the Memorial Union are still happening. To check out future events, please visit this website. 

Edited by Morgan Albrecht and Jeremy Ford