The first ‘Roos After Dark: Union Takeover’ event of the semester saw an overwhelming number of attendees, cementing the event as a definite staple in UMKC’s future.
Taking place on Sept. 6, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., it featured two food trucks, a catered dinner, airbrush tattoos, chair massages, board games and video games. The event closed with a live hypnosis comedy stage show.
Tai was also excited about the experience when comparing it to past campus events.
“We’re surprised how many people came. It’s such a great turnout, because last year there was something similar to this, but we only got 10 people” said Tai. “Especially on a Friday night when everyone’s basically gone.”
Expectations were exceeded for Alisha Langham, the event coordinator for Roos After Dark: Union Takeover. Over 350 students were in attendance Friday night.
“With the Roos After Dark being launched last spring ‘24 we started out slow,” said Langham. “This by far has been the biggest turnout.”
Some UMKC students were drawn to the event after hearing of a specific perk. Addison Smith attended the event because of the offered chair massages.
“It was a 15 minute wait,” said Smith. “A 15 minute wait for a 15 minute massage.” Smith was tempted to stay home but was glad to have come to enjoy the social event.
Montel Berry, of Zoom Mobile Gaming, brought his Video-game truck to UMKC for the first time as a vendor.
“When I first got here people asked what this is,” said Berry of his truck. “I said ‘it’s a video game truck’ and the instant reaction is ‘aw, that’s pretty cool.’”
Langham said Roos After Dark is expected to become a staple tradition at UMKC.
“I think the students appreciated the wide variety of events that were happening all at once and they got to choose what they wanted to do,” said Langham.
There are two more Roos After Dark events scheduled in the near future: a drive-in movie on Sept. 27, and a Halloween-themed Union Takeover on Nov. 1.
