ISU After Dark

If you have an Iowa State ID card, you’ll never be bored. The Student Union Board (SUB) is a student organization that brings several musicians, magicians, and comedians to campus every week. SUB’s largest and most popular event is ISU After Dark. After Dark is a super fun and completely free event held in the Memorial Union each month of the school year. It’s definitely not a misnomer either, most events at After Dark go until 1 AM! Every After Dark has free food, popular acts, and, of course, BINGO.

I always make an effort to clear my Friday night schedule whenever After Dark is held, especially for the last one of the semester which was on April 8th. Grabbing a few friends and heading over to the Memorial Union at 9 promises a night filled with laughs, food, and fun.

My friends and I started off the night with ThinkFast Trivia. As an avid home Jeopardy player, this was definitely right up my alley. The entire Campanile Room was filled with people eager for a chance to win $200 and free MKTO tickets for your whole team. It was a great time jamming to awesome music and showing off copious amounts of random knowledge. ThinkFast Trivia is enjoyable for everyone, even if you’re not up to date on your French Revolutionary War knowledge. During the game there are several challenges like talking your way out of a speeding ticket, dancing, or singing (a challenge which I won, securing me a spot in the final trivia round).

With my adrenaline pumping I went up for the final round. My dreams of being a Jeopardy superstar were coming true. Unfortunately, there was another person who knew just a little bit more than me. I didn’t get to take home the money or the tickets but the night was still only just beginning.

After leaving Trivia there were a plethora events to choose from. We could have seen Matt Bellassai, the former Whine About It internet star from Buzzfeed; continued the trivia fun with Name that Country, an activity from the International Student Council; or sang our hearts out at Karaoke. With all of these options and more, we decided to go with the classic, bingo.

Bingo is at every ISU After Dark and gets extremely intense. The entire Sun Room and South Ballroom get filled with tables with poker chips and bingo cards. The energy is high as everybody wants to win one of the many gift cards, movies, water bottles, or other prizes. This month was a very lucky one for my group. One of my friends took home the entire Saw DVD collection and my roommate won a portable phone charger. After our successes in the regular games we were all ready for 12:45 to come around because that meant Blackout Bingo. The entire room got even fuller as everybody trickled in for the chance to win an RCA Tablet. Tensions grew higher and higher with every number called as the cards filled up. There was a collective sigh from the crowd when the lucky winner exclaimed, “BINGO!” I have been to several After Darks and have yet to win a single bingo but I am confident that my time will come before graduation.

We ended the night with the late night Tater Tot bar with toppings to last for days and another successful Friday night in the books. After Dark is just one of many events held by the Student Union Board and one of the many activities that happen on Iowa State’s vibrant campus every day.

Posted by: Jaleel Chandler