On the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 9, The Involvement Center presented the third event of the 2018 installment of Involvement Week, titled "Shazam It!". From 6 to 9 p.m., two groups of three students walked into the Miron Student Center Little Theater and sat at opposite tables with buzzers on them, guessing their favorite tunes from today and the past. Musical genres varied as each song played, yet the fun and excitement of the games lasted for the entire night.
Hosted by Luis Nieves, the Senior Involvement Specialist for the Involvement Center, songs off a Spotify playlist had to be guessed correctly in order to earn 10 points. Songs from the past three decades were on this playlist, and on the stage, the game's players looked at a PowerPoint presentation as students had to guess the song's name and its artist.
As soon as the song was guessed correctly, or if no one knew the song, the slideshow revealed the name of the song, the artist responsible for making the song and the album cover. A sense of excitement and an abundance of fun was prevalent for the entire night, signalizing that the third installment of Involvement Week was a success
From classic rock to current hip-hop, the groups of students had their musical knowledge tested. The night started out with six contestants on the stage being introduced to the game's rules, which stated that each song would be played for 30 to 45 seconds. Once someone identified the name of the song, they would hit the buzzer and and prove the answer once called upon.
The only ways that contestant could not earn points were if they shouted out answers before the 30 seconds passed or if they hit their buzzers before the time limit ended. If the wrong song name was given, the other five contestants had a chance to answer the question before Nieves, the emcee of the event, moved on to the next song.
The first category, "Current Pop Songs", featured tracks from the likes of hit pop artists Shawn Mendes, Demi Lovato, Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran. Some of the game's participants were stumped on the first category, but were able to pick up the points in the second "Hip-Hop". Songs from rappers like Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, Drake, and many others that were anonymously played to the game's players. Hands moved rapidly, buzzers were slapped, and songs were guessed correctly. Categories ranging from country to R&B all had popular songs from past and present, each with increasing difficulty as the game progressed.
As the final rounds came into play, the contestants battled it out in guessing songs not currently on the Billboard Top 100, but from their childhood. The last two categories focused on the students having to guess the names of their favorite television shows, whether they were on channels like Disney and Nickelodeon or on platforms like Netflix and Hulu. Classic shows, like "Golden Girls" and "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" had their themes played, all for the enjoyment of the crowd and contestants alike.
As soon as the game ended, a winner was announced: Dondre Reid, a freshman majoring in physician assistance. For his prize, he was entered in a prize raffle that was later announced at the end of Involvement Week on Friday, Feb. 9.
After participating in these festivities over the course of the week, the game's winner was much more motivated to get involved on his campus through the Involvement Center that puts on events for the student body to not only enjoy, but find out how to get more involved on their college campus.
"The event was really fun, and it was really creative. It was put together really well, especially the presentation. With the buzzers and everything, it was really thought out. Involvement week has been really motivating for people to actually go and do things. Before, my group did not want to actually do it at first until we talked to someone [in the Involvement Center]," Reid said. "Tonight definitely inspired me to get more involved because I see how much fun it is. The type of things you can learn from events like tonight definitely inspire me to get more active with my school and try different things out."
Megan Richards, a Freshman majoring in Biology, took this experience as a means to get acclimated on campus and increase her network among students and other members of the Kean community. Additionally, Richards believes that leadership plays a venerable role in success and in one's maturation.
"What leadership means to me is being able to step up and help others. Not only will getting involved look good on your resume, but then you could enjoy the whole college experience a whole lot more."
Though Involvement Week officially wrapped up on Friday, Feb. 9, students at Kean University have a clearer sense of how to get involved on their college campus, especially when the Involvement Center produces fun and memorable shows like this one that took place on Wednesday evening.
