This past Friday, Feb. 28, the Office of  Student Life and the Department of Student Activities hosted “The Big Event” on campus for the third time. This quarter, the event was dubbed “The Big Birthday Event” in honor of the University’s sesquicentennial anniversary, which officially kicks off this week and will be celebrated during the entire year of 2014.

The event lasted from 8 p.m. – 1 a.m. and offered numerous activities for students to enjoy free of charge. Among others, these included trivia competitions, a stand-up comedian, carnival games, crafts for charity, a zip-line, midnight breakfast and more. In all, over 2,000 participants attended. Some popular activities included were the zip-line, the laser tag and the hamster balls, which sustained long lines throughout the entire evening.

According to Francisco Chacon, Assistant Director of the Driscoll Student Center, the budget for “The Big Event” was approximately $55,000. This was an increase of about $22,000 compared to the event held last spring. The event was funded entirely by sponsorships from student organizations, campus departments, contracted service providers and corporate sponsors, with the largest contributors being the Office of Student Life, the Department of Student Activities and Explore Denver.

Many of the activities featured this quarter were put on or sponsored by various student organizations on campus. First year vocal performance major Jared Giammanco said he was thankful for the opportunity to perform with his a cappella group, Exit 205, one of the student organizations that participated in “The Big Event.”

“We really like having a giant public event, and being able to share our music like that is fantastic because we get a chance to show everyone our heart and what we’ve been doing,” said Giammanco. “People kind of learn our name and also we make good connections with DUPB and other organizations on campus, and it’s really good practice doing gigs and everything.”

Students, faculty and alumni were involved as volunteers as well. Over 175 people volunteered to assist with setting up the venue and working during the event, in addition to 50 paid employees and 70 contracted service providers.

This quarter’s “Big Event” also spread farther across campus, encompassing the Driscoll Student Center, Driscoll Green, Sturm Hall and the Ritchie Center. Third year public relations major Lea Gralewski, who attended the event on Friday, said she felt the changes this quarter were an improvement.

“I went to the first Big Event last spring and I thought they were both really great but I liked this one because it really promoted the different clubs on campus instead of bringing in outside people,” said Gralewski. “It was also really fun that it was spread out across campus so it never seemed too busy anywhere.”

Chacon said that this quarter’s “Big Event” was set apart by the effort to bring organizations on campus together.

“Personally, I feel it was the greatest success because we were able to get involvement from a diverse cross-section of the University,” said Chacon. “So many student organizations, campus departments, service providers and even individuals came out to help out on this event, whether it was providing sponsorship money, working an individual shift during the event or assisting in the planning process.”

Gralewski said she thought this quarter’s “Big Event” was a success.

“It was really fun because it got to show the diversity of DU and showcase all the different talents on campus … Also, it was great that the activities were a mix of entertainment and being able to give back to the community,” she said.

Chacon stated that there will most likely not be another “Big Event” before the end of this academic year, but that ideally two will be held each year in the future. He also noted that those involved in planning “The Big Event” this quarter rose to the challenge.

“By having a large group of dedicated individuals in the planning process, we were able to have a great event with diverse activities to meet the needs of the campus population … We challenged the campus to ‘be a part of something bigger,’ and they came through in a big way.”