On Thursday night, January 28th, SOU hosted its second Pub Night for the school year and the first of winter term. Pub Night is an event held in the Stevenson Union a few times each academic year. Pub Night is a 21 or up event where students can order alcohol and food, sit down, and have a good time. Each Pub Night has some kind of show or side event to offer, promising fun, booze, and food to those eligible to go! Last term, SOU’s own improv group The Next Best Thing performed giving a fantastic performance. This time, the event was a karaoke night where anyone attending could sign up and perform.
The event lasted from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM, with karaoke beginning a bit late around 8:50 PM. However, once it got started, it was non-stop for the rest of the night. During the performances, there was a lot of applause and cheers from the crowd with quite a few highlights, such as three men going on stage and performing “Tequila” by The Champs. Another highlight had a few members from Southern Oregon University’s Associated Student Government going on stage together, singing their hearts out for the audience. The last performance included individual members of The Next Best Thing improv group going on stage and doing what they do best- performing! A member of ASSOU, Pascal Brasseur, had this to say about the event: “The event was a lot of fun, with a lot of people of different backgrounds attending and coming together and having a good time.”
Some of the food offered included chili cheese fries, cheeseburgers with a side of bacon, and some plain old french fries. On a personal note, the author would like to note that the regular fries were very good, some of the best the campus has ever had to offer, and were good enough to want seconds of. Now, as for drinks, alcoholic beverages were limited to 3 per student, and included varieties of IPA, red wine, and lager. Non-alcoholic drinks offered were a selection of soda and water. Orders were placed at Einstein Bros Bagels and cooked within Elmo’s Kitchen. There were even free chips and water for those who might not be willing or could not afford to pay.
Pub Night seems to be a popular event among students, especially the 21 and over crowd. When asked, one student said: “It’s a great opportunity for students to hang out outside of class and enjoy some music and fun.” The origins of Pub Night can be traced back to students who were of legal drinking age wanting some sort of pub on campus. However, SOU did not have the resources to create a pub or bar on campus. So, as a compromise, Pub Night was created about 5 years ago as a way to satisfy that desire for campus fun- even if it’s only for one night. Originally, Pub Night was a once-a-year school event. Now, it’s being held multiple times during a term, with this pub night being the first of two planned for the Winter 2022 term. The next one is planned for Thursday, February 24th at the same time: 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM within the Stevenson Union. This time, the side event for the night will be a bingo game, so come down and have some fun on February 24th at Pub Night- that is, if you are 21 or older.