'The bingo game got pretty wild'

The four Terre Haute colleges came together Tuesday night for one major event in the HMSU. ISU, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and Ivy Tech Community College all took part in FUSION, a social event designed to bring the four communities together for a night of fun. Among the activities were a live music performance by the band Glass Halo, a DJ, a stand-up comedian, a set by the ISU improvisational comedy troupe Condiments Upon Request, games and crafts. AJ Patton, SGA president, was one of hundreds of students on hand for the event.

"This is a big deal," Patton said. "It's a big opportunity for us because it allows us to break the ice with the other colleges in town." The consensus among students of all four schools was that FUSION was a great idea. Bryce Borchers, a sophomore math major at Rose-Hulman, and Leven Browne, a junior electrical engineering major at Rose-Hulman, served as DJs for the event. Both work at WMHD, The Monkey, Rose-Hulman's radio station. "I'm impressed with the turnout," Browne said. "New things like this usually don't get a good turnout at Rose." Borchers added that those in attendance were definitely a different crowd than they would usually see at Rose. "Give it a couple years and I think it will be huge," Borchers said. "It's pretty entertaining," said Maggie Mullins, a junior computer information systems major at Saint Mary's. "The bingo game got pretty wild." The plan for the events, said Stacey Baisden, a senior English major who handled advertising and public relations for FUSION, is to hold them every year at a different college. "It lets us do a bit of networking, talk to those with similar interests," said Elizabeth Henderson, a sophomore general education major at Ivy Tech. "I look forward to seeing the schools have more of these types of events."