Unless you don’t read your email or aren’t involved in extra-curricular activities, there is a good chance you have heard of or been to a bingo event hosted by Residence Hall Council (RHC).
The bingo events are the ones you can hear from down the hall on the way to the 5/3 Dining Hall, where you can get free snacks and drinks, relax with your friends, and have the chance to win epic prizes that could be anything from a gift card to your favorite restaurant to a tv or gaming system.
When did this well-attended Mount tradition begin? Bingo has been a Mount tradition for over a decade, making it one of the longest and most consistent events on-campus! Students have always seen it as a space to hang out with friends and have a chance to win great prizes.
RHC organizes the event as a team and finds prizes that students would like that are related to the season at the time. For Halloween they create a Halloween basket, for Family Weekend they pull together MSJ merch and board games, for the start of the semester they make a dorm cleaning basket, and the last basket they pack with summer items. RHC tries to find prizes applicable to everyone so that anyone can use them. Bingo usually happens every third Thursday of the month from 9 to 11 p.m. They host bingo for a variety of events such as Family Weekend and Homecoming. They also hosted Student Organization Bingo in February where the different student organizations sponsored a basket and related their prizes to their organization.
Bingo is a great opportunity to meet new people by sitting with people you don’t know. The anticipation of getting a “bingo”, laughing with your friends, and taking a break from the demands of daily life makes bingo nights a fun environment that has students coming back every month!
For those eagerly waiting for the next bingo event, it will be in November. It is open to students of all years and majors.
Being a member of RHC grants you the exciting opportunity to be part of a welcoming and supportive group and use your creativity to connect with others and enhance residence life! If you are interested in joining RHC to help plan Bingo nights, reach out to Theo Schulte at Theodore.Schulte@msj.edu.
When I asked Alexis Phoenix, a social work major and class of 2025, about why she loves being a member of RHC, she said it is because she gets to brainstorm ways to improve the Mount and get students engaged. She loves collaborating with fellow students and being creative.
Similarly, Theo Schulte, a social studies education and computer science major and class of 2026, said he loves the community aspect and strives to build community in every position he is in to help improve everyone’s well-being.
The next time you need a break from the daily routine, check out bingo and see what all the rave is about!