Kean Cougars had an opportunity to come out and celebrate the upcoming Valentine's holiday with Kean After Dark: Valentine's Day Edition, Wednesday, Feb. 6, from 9 p.m. to midnight at the Cougar’s Den.

The event was a joint effort from P.U.L.S.E and the Class of 2022 and sported a multitude of Valentine's Day themed games, activities, snacks and decorations. 

At the beginning of the night, the Class of 2022 Senator Candida Rodriguez said, "I'm really pleased with [the turnout] actually. I think the decorations, food and stuff were better with us having collaborated instead of just [the Class of 2022] doing it ourselves."

Upon signing in using one's individual Event Pass, students were given a raffle ticket and a Valentine's Day themed bingo sheet. The bingo sheet posed as an interactive icebreaker for attendees. The students were challenged to meet other attendees who had certain attributes written within the slots of the bingo sheet. Some of these attributes included the following: "first generation college student," "watched a rom-com," "wearing red," "is a resident student," "loves dark chocolate" and more. Upon completing the bingo sheet, students were eligible to win a prize and leave with new friendships.

Freshman biotechnology science major, Grace Ngoy said, "I've definitely [made new friends]. I just realized that there's a lot of people who have the same interests as [I do]. I'm having fun and getting to know more and more people."

The raffle ticket came into play at the snacks and activities tables. Students could walk up to the tables, submit their raffle for a goodie bag and fill the bag with any variety of candies available. These candies included Starburst, M&M's, Skittles and conversation hearts. There was also an activity table with craft supplies where students could make Valentine's Day cards or heart dollies for their significant other or friends. 

As well as doing these individual activities, students were also invited onto the stage to play collaborative games with and against one another. Some of the games included a song guessing game "Boo'd up" where students guessed cartoon couples and a romance movie guessing game. 

"The 'Boo'd Up' game was my favorite one because it was a collaborative event, and I'm really into teamwork," said Ngoy.

Kean After Dark was a success because of the hardworking students from P.U.L.S.E. and the Class of 2022. Many students left the event with a couple prizes, fond memories and new friends. 

"[Kean After Dark] was basically just a way to get the students together to socialize, and [P.U.L.S.E and Class of 2022] have been working on this since last semester. So, it's really cool to see everything come into fruition," said Khamayah McClain, the Class of 2019 president.

Student Organization will be hosting more Kean After Dark events in the Cougar's Den on the following dates throughout the semester:

• Wednesday, March 6
• Wednesday, April 3
• Wednesday, May 1

For more information on these events and more, check out Cougar Link.