Student Activities played host to the Sam Jam Carnival last week at the Holleman Field parking lot for an evening of free rides, games, prizes and food. Bright lights, mixed music and the smell of free food greeted everyone as they entered.
Sean Paul’s “Get Busy” was blasting from speakers and could be heard well before getting to the carnival. The crowd was made up of mostly students, but some families attended. People were given the option of getting cotton candy, corn dogs or candy apples. This seemed to bring out the kid in everyone, as shouts of, “Ooh – cotton candy!” and “Man, I want a candy apple!” rang through the lines.
“The food was magnificent,” graduate student Duncan Chance said.
Many of the traditional carnival rides like the Zipper and Fun Slide were there. Students could throw balls at Longhorn targets (after our recent football game with UT), play a shooting game or go for a spin on the Paratrooper. Most riders were calm beforehand, screamed during and laughed after. For the freshmen, the carnival was a new taste of Sam Houston’s fun side, and for seniors, a taste of yet another enjoyable event to be remembered.
“I’d come back just for this ride – the paratrooper. It’s that fun. There are all kinds of music styles, too. It brings out the life of the carnival,” senior Taylor Eckstrom said.
Student Government Association President Christopher Whitaker could be seen everywhere sporting all orange and carrying a large Sam Houston flag to encourage Sam’s school spirit and discourage those wearing shirts from other universities.
“I thought that having a carnival here was a good idea because it gets everyone to go out, and they can meet new people. You don’t see many obstacle courses, so that was cool,” Senior Philip Wang said.
The majority opinion so far is that this carnival needs to be around next year too.