CORE at the CAP Center brought excitement to participants with big prizes on the first Friday of the spring semester. At Bingo Blingo night on Jan. 24th, Bucknellians flooded Sojka Pavilion with enthusiasm, ready to play for a prize. Students rang in the new semester with, they hoped, a little bit of bingo luck—through friendly competition, of course, students were able to reconnect with friends missed over break.
Most every student loves Blingo prizes. At the beginning of the night, students begin by competing for “small prizes,” consisting of things like blankets, water bottles and candy. As the games progress, the prizes get bigger and the energy intensifies. Students play for items like a giant speaker, TV, polaroid camera, blender, ice machines… the list goes on. It’s not quite as easy to win these bigger prizes— each round is harder, with a different shape a given Bingo card must make to win.
The winners could barely contain themselves. Students screamed “Bingo,” ran down the bleachers to the podium and excitedly claimed their prize of choice. This is the favorite part of the event for Ally Lipschitz ’27, CORE Vice President of Events. She “love[s] witnessing the excitement when people get a Bingo. Being able to provide that level of joy and excitement is one of [her] favorite parts of the CAP Center.” The level of excitement was truly through the roof as friends cheered each other on and celebrated their wins.
The last round, however, brought a new level of exhilaration. The competition was on— who would win the big iPad prize? For this round, students played a “stand-up/sit-down” style of Bingo, meaning that if a number that was called was on their Bingo board, they were eliminated and had to sit down. The last one standing would win the game.
CORE volunteers called numbers. With each number came groans of disappointment. But those groans turned into one loud scream of excitement when Athaliah Elvis ’26 was the last player standing. As she jumped up and down with excitement, Elvis was handed her prize. She joked, “I’ve been winning my whole life, so this is not new… that’s a joke, I lose every year.” It was clear that this win was an exciting one for her!
CORE’s Blingo night gave students a warm activity to go to on a cold January night and a game that brought them and their friends back together (even as competitors). Many students walked away with the incredible prizes. There was even a lucky winner of the giant teddy bear, whom the champion named Bearent! What a lucky winner!