Colorful lights filled the multipurpose room in the Ceddia Union Building (CUB). Tables were covered in shiny tablecloths, paper, or other random objects and drinks were plenty on Thursday, March 26.

The Residence Hall Association (RHA) hosted the second annual Mocktail Mix-Off. This event was centered on different clubs and groups on campus presenting non-alcoholic drinks to students who attended. The drinks were based off of television shows, the overarching theme for the night.

Some groups picked the television show because they thought it was fun, while others chose the show based on their group. Jaime Bouder, secretary of SAFE, said the reason they chose their show, “Orange is the New Black,” was because it had queer representation that was more true than other shows.

Jaden Mauk, historian for Rho Alpha Sigma, said they chose the “Powerpuff Girls” because it was nostalgic as well as current. The group wanted to make people stop and remember the show they watched growing up as they drank, but also stayed current since a new season of the old show will be coming out in the next few months.

“[The Mocktail Mix-Off] was a big hit last year so we decided to do it again this year,” said Amanda Kemmerling, president of RHA. She also added that while this was an event for the different groups to compete for a prize, RHA also wanted students to get some alcohol education.

Jen Milburn, the RHA adviser, explained that this was “education in a simulation atmosphere.” At each table there was a sheet that explained what was in each drink, but also, near the bottom, how many of each drink a person could have before their blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, was too high. This was assuming some of the ingredients were replaced with alcohol.

Adding to everything else, the homecoming committee revealed the homecoming theme for next year. As the video came on, the participants watched with quiet chatter until they heard a familiar theme song. Many attendees cheered when they heard the first notes of “Spongebob Squarepants” but the cheering quickly died off as the video moved to another beach scene. The video revealed that the theme was “Ship Getaway.”

Jamie Sheard, the president of the homecoming committee, explained that when the committee sent out a survey to students, many different answers that involved vacation came up, hence the reason for a getaway.

Mocktail Mix-Off was not simply about making the drinks for students to try. The groups were competing against one another to win gift cards for ABC Lettering, a shop in Shippensburg that makes T-shirts. Once Kemmerling got on the microphone to announce the winners, the room went silent.

Second place, which was awarded $50, went to Biology Living Learning Community (LLC). First place, which was awarded $150, was tied between the Resident Directors and the Fencing Club. Each team was excited for the fact their members were not going to have to pay much for new t-shirts for their groups, but in the end many explained how much fun they had.

Kaitlyn Angradi and Kelsie Hauser, both freshmen, said how much they enjoyed the event. Angradi said that everyone at the event was friendly, while Hauser said, “If it’s free, it’s for me.”

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