Two Madison Union student employees greet guests at the Madison Union open house. Photo by JMU Technology & Design.
On Wednesday, September 28th, Madison Union hosted their second annual Open House Event, where all the organizations, departments and clubs opened their doors to welcome in JMU students with free food and fun events. From 11 – 2, every floor had live musical entertainment, tons of tasty food, free swag and drawings for even more free JMU garb. Students, both old and new alike came in wide-eyed to Madison Union on Wednesday. They came to grab lunch and some celebratory Madison Union cake and they walked away with a new appreciation of the student based community Madison Union has built for them. Freshman and upperclassmen alike enjoyed the open house festivities.
Since its grand reopening two years prior, Madison Union has developed into a cornerstone of the JMU experience. Aside from housing an assortment of clubs and organizations, Madison Union produces a socially and academically friendly atmosphere for students and employees alike. Madison Union has increased attendance in the last couple of years, and the open house served as an opportunity for people who had yet to find their place there.
“This is all really cool, I have only come in here for mail but I think I will be back for sure,” commented freshman Maddie Hader, a health science major. Hader and her friends were clustered around the airbrush tattoo station, getting ready to make the big commitment to a solid purple JMU logo or a gold/purple mix.
Fellow freshman and health science major Tyler Hall was very enthusiastic about the open house goodies and said, “Yeah, I will come back and hang out!”
Sitting in the most comfortable couches this outside of Carrier Library’s third floor, junior media arts and design major, Olivia Bonnett is a regular to Madison Union, “I come to Madison Union a good portion of the time, I hang out a lot in TDU. This event is really cool, it’s a great thing to do on a Wednesday.”
In Taylor Down Under, open house attendees were entertained with a live jazz band and delicious treats. Listening to the Bad Luck Collective jam out on their saxophones and driving drums, media arts and design major, Sarah Beidleman appreciates the open house and what it does for Madison Union, “It’s a really great event, but it really showcases how we all can just come here [Madison Union] to do work and to hang out on any given day.”
While Bad Luck Collective was jamming downstairs in TDU, Ben Birchfield & Connell Rose were grooving in Meeting Room 256. The progressive electronic duo entertained Open House visitors as they helped themselves to some tasty tacos provided my JMU Dining Services.
Denise Heisler, who is a nursing major and anxious-to-graduate super-senior, came out to support her friends performing in the electronic duo. “I’m loving the free food and loving all of people I’ve gotten to see. There’s lots of new faces and lots of old faces coming together and that makes me happy,” said Denise.
Another big hit of the event was CommonWealth One Federal Credit Union, which was also celebrating their second year in Madison Union. CommonWealth One gave students a chance to enter to win a sweepstakes prize which included all the necessities of tailgating. In addition, students could try their luck at CommonWealth One wheel of fortune or grab a bite to eat on their way out.
It seemed as if everyone was experiencing good fortune in Madison Union on September 28th as they departed with full stomachs and wide smiles. If the second Annual Open House was any indicator of the upcoming success of Madison Union, then it’s safe to say Madison Union is going to have another great year.