Students curiously glanced as the yellow caution tape surrounded a large portion of Plaza Vaquero on mid-day April 1. An hour earlier, members of ASGCC and IOC were setting up the colorful tents, bungee slides and dunk tank for Spring Carnival.
The event lasted from 11:50 a.m. until 2 p.m. with turntables playing upbeat music which attracted a lot of spectators. The carnival was free for all, requiring a simple orange wristband to participate.
One of the attractions was the dunk tank, which caught the eye of many. Participants had a blast tossing a ball towards a target to dunk the person sitting above a little pool, who happened to be a member of ASGCC, Selin Minassians, senator of campus activities.
“Today’s carnival was a great success, the point was to get students involved and help them enjoy their lunch break since we all know that being a GCC student is a hard task,” said Minassians.
Adjacent to the dunk tank was the inflatable tent where contestants attempted to stay in balance while knocking off their opponents. Laughter was heard across the plaza as friends challenged and battled each other.
Across from it was the Bungee Run. The inflated runway attracted quite a crowd as two opponents at a time raced towards the end to in hopes of dropping the miniature bean bags as far as the could, all the while strapped to the wall of the Bungee.
Halfway though the event, IOC began their festivities called the Olympics. Several school clubs joined in. A table was set up with watercolors, pie plates and paint brushes. The members were to paint the faces of their partners in multicolored paints, while the?audience cheered them on. Afterwards the participants crowded around to take a few pictures.
And, of course, what would a carnival be without cotton candy? A pink machine was set up next to the IOC table, with members of ASGCC giving away free cotton candy to all.
The Spring Carnival/Olympics was organized with the collaboration of the Associated Students of Glendale Community College (ASGCC) and Inter Organizational Council (IOC), combining two events together. The equipment had cost about $1,200, said Christopher Khrlobian, vice president of activities.
Members of the club and students seemed to have a blast competing, laughing and relaxing.
“It was nice to have such an event, students acting like kids, and it was?all free, what more can you ask for?” said Adriana Zuluaga, business major, after stepping off of the bungee run barefoot.