Unexpected rain forced SVSA to move its annual Red Pride Picnic indoors Sunday, Aug. 30, turning a courtyard tradition into a last-minute indoor event.
“[The rain] was very unexpected, but SVSA is very hands-on with all hands on deck. We made sure we were able to have everyone pivot to get the hallways lined up so we can have everyone table where everybody’s comfortable, everybody’s happy, and everybody’s getting all their info out,” SVSA’s Campus Events Director Marelle Williams said. “It was very amazing. It was unexpected, but we made it happen.”
The Red Pride Picnic is an annual welcome event meant to encourage students to participate in campus life by learning about RSOs, club sports, and academic organizations.
In the morning of this year’s event, all vendors and RSOs who reserved a table to connect with students received an email at 8:30 a.m. from SVSA’s Public Information Officer Katie Stroede notifying them of the weather forecast and uncertainty of the event.
Thirty minutes later, a second email confirmed the event would shift indoors and carry on as usual. That left the 20 SVSA members to move 175 tables from the courtyard into Curtiss Hall in under one hour before RSOs were able to check in at 10:30 a.m., with some RSOs even lending a hand to move tables inside.
When the event began at noon, RSOs and community partners filled the tables, spanning from the Rotunda to the Groening Commons. An hour into the event, Williams said the turnout was already amazing.
“We actually have way more than we expected. The numbers are doing great, we’re making progress, the students are having a good time, the lines are long, they’re getting their information, they’re racking up on the freebies, they’re meeting their orgs, they’re getting involved, so we love to see it.”
The indoor dynamic did bring some challenges, with freshman biochemistry major Sylvia Rogers noting the differences between indoor areas.
“Some areas were a little bit crowded, and it was hard to get through, but there was more space in the open rooms,” she said. “Those were really fun because you could just walk around and see everyone.”
Aside from the crowd, some attendees noted benefits of the indoor setting, including the absence of bees, protection from the heat, and increased opportunities for connection.
“I feel like the indoors kind of makes it more personal. It makes everybody talk to each other a little bit more because it’s a lot closer,” Williams said.
Williams was responsible for organizing this year’s event.
“It can be rough sometimes — it’s challenging, but I love it. … I love the chaos. It excites me, and it makes me want to do more,” she said. “It gives me that excitement that I’m always looking for.”
Aside from the 137 organizations in attendance, there were also food trucks, a caricature artist, and a DJ at the event.
“I love the Red Pride picnic. It feels like the first big school event that happens, especially for all our RSOs if we don’t interact as much throughout the year,” Nola Milam, a senior psychology major and student leader for SVSU’s Delight Ministries, said. “It’s just so cool to see everybody in the same place now. It’s just so much fun, and it feels so ‘college’ to see everybody interacting, and it’s just amazing.”
