After an exhilarating first week of action, the Involvement Games have become compelling events to watch. From student organizations such as Men of Excellence and the African Student Association, to some of the campus's fraternities and sororities, such as Tau Kappa Epsilon and Nu Theta Chi, the past week saw each organization compete in various challenges and activities to gain points toward the grand prize of $500 to their respective organizations.
Team Jumpstart, who accumulated 78 points last week, took the outright lead in the competition shortly after their victory during "Ultimate Dodgeball", Wednesday, Sept. 20. The fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon, with 73 points, is slightly behind them in second place. Their victories in "Minute to Win It" during the evening of Monday, Sept. 18, contributed to their place in the standings. Behind them was the fraternity Nu Sigma Phi with 68 points. Their place in the standings came in part due to their decisive win in the "Just Shazam It" game on Tuesday, Sept.19.
The other competitors have placed in this distinct order: Nu Theta Chi, Gamma Psi Epsilon, the African Student Association, the Threads organization, Omega Sigma Psi, Men of Excellence and The Anime Society.
The first event of the second week, known as the "Social Scavenger Hunt", began on the afternoon of Monday, Sept. 25. This was not a one-day competition, as the hunt lasted until the final day of competition on Thursday, Sept. 28. This challenge involved student groups being tasked with deciphering clues that pointed them to different spots across the Kean campus.
Teams took pictures of their groups in the designated areas and posted them on their Instagram pages with the hashtag #InvolvementGames to get the points necessary for victory. Places such as the Wilkins Theater Ticket Booth, the game room inside of the Miron Student Center and the statue of Kean's mascot would have to be showcased on each organization's Instagram page with the given hashtag. Throughout the three day competition of taking the most pictures around campus, the Fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon would be victorious, leading all groups with a total of 47 points.
On Tuesday, Sept. 26, the Involvement Games featured another fun and challenging task. "Pac Mania", a computerized version of the popular video game, took place inside of the Involvement Center in room 309 of the Miron Student Center. Individuals from all teams simply played a version of the game on laptops from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the student group with the highest score would be rewarded with a multitude of points. Through the day, only four of the 10 organizations participated in this computerized game. Surprisingly, the Anime Club and the sorority Nu Theta Chi finished tied their rankings, each with 20 points.
Lastly, the "Deal or No Deal" challenge took place on the last day of competition on Wednesday, Sept. 27. Based on the popular television game show, student groups played a guessing game of what monetary amounts would be under a beige envelope, as these correct guesses would translate into point totals for their respective organization's point totals.
From noon to around 9:45 p.m, three groups would receive place their final points into their overall count, in hopes of winning the first-ever Involvement Games. At the end of the last contest, the Anime Club would win Deal or No Deal with a sum of 45 points. Team Jumpstart and Nu Sigma Phi would earn second and third places with totals of 22 and 15 points.
On the morning of Monday, Oct. 2, each group was notified by email or by a phone call from Involvement Specialist, Luis Nieves, about their final positioning in this year's competition. At the end of two weeks, the fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon became victorious among all of the groups with 151 total points, as they walk away with the grand prize of $500 to their organization. Team Jumpstart would come in second place with 138 points and earn $250 and Nu Sigma Phi would earn the pizza party for their organization in the future.
As the great two-week competition came to a close, the student groups who participated and placed not only won prizes for themselves, but further fermented how important it is to get involved in making a mark on the campus. The 10 groups hope to compete in next year's Involvement Games and get another shot at winning the $500 prize.
For more information on how students can get involved, visit the Involvement Center's official Cougar Link page. They are located in the Miron Student Center on the third floor in room 303. Also, those interested in starting a group can contact the Involvement Specialist Luis Nieves at his email of nievelui@kean.edu. Students can call the Involvement Center at the number of 908-737-5270.
