Issue date: 8/24/09 Section: News

Evan Davis, junior, attempts to kiss a boa constrictor at the live reptile and amphibian show during Quakin' in the Quad on Saturday night in the south quad. (Karolina Strack/The Daily Eastern News)

Safetly harnessed Brittany Prysock, junior therapeutic recreation major, jumps on the extreme trampoline Saturday evening at Jammin' Jamaica themed Quakin' the Quad event. (Karolina Strack/The Daily Eastern News)

Jumping high over the crowds, Miranda Ambuske could see wary people holding snakes and eager students racing through an inflatable obstacle course during Saturday's Quakin' the Quad.

Ambuske, a second year graduate student in College Student Affairs, pointed her toes as she did flips and stunts on the XTREME trampoline, a bungee system which propels a person up to 24 feet in the air, which she had previously experienced when training as a diver.

"I think it's great that the (Residence Hall Association) and Student Government plan this for us, so you might as well use it," Ambuske said.

She was one of an estimated 3,000 people who attended Saturday's Jammin' Jamaica themed event, said first-time coordinator Otis Seawood.

Seawood, the special events coordinator for The University Board, got the idea at home while watching a Jamaican band on TV and started planning from there.

"This year it was a free-for-all for me to do my thing," said Seawood, who tried to find a variety of events such as the rock-climbing wall, sand art and a table where students could take a photo in front of a green screen and have it printed into a postcard.

Free pizza, Jamaican style food and more than 500 T-shirts were handed out all evening, as all the lines remained long. The bingo tent spilled over with students playing to win prizes like a Wii game system, Rock Band and a 40-inch TV.

Phillip Huang, a first year graduate student in administration, won a miniature refrigerator on only his second round playing bingo as he beat out two other people in his first game of rock-paper-scissors.

"I leave the luck to other people," Huang said.

The event cost approximately $19,000, said Seawood, who was pleased with how Quakin' the Quad turned out.

"The beginning of the year is stressful," he said. "We want to make the transition as easy as possible."

Emily Steele can be reached at 581-7942 or at easteele2@eiu.edu.

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