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Vols @ Home: Vol Around the World

By: Adam Pani

A few times a semester, the Central Program Council at UT hosts an event, Vol Night Long.  It is open to all students, usually on a Friday from 9 p.m.-midnight. Before I continue on about Vol Night Long, I think a brief description of the Central Programming Council (CPC) and what they do may be helpful.  The CPC aims to provide the University of Tennessee community with a “balanced and diverse array of cultural, educational, and social programming. One of the main goals of the CPC is to help enrich the education of the student body as a whole, and “Vol Night Long” is just one example of the events the CPLip Sync-1 2C hosts. They also host Volapalooza, Fall Fest, Campus Cookout, Art Exhibitions, Take Back the Night, Women’s Empowerment Summit and much more! They are definitely a stand-out group and should be considered when thinking about joining a group. (http://go.utk.edu/cpc/)

The most recent Vol Night Long, a variation called Vol Around the World, just may have topped them all. While originally scheduled for September 25 at the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) amphitheater/courtyard, the heavy rain rapidly halted those plans from continuing. Being the prepared organization CPC is, the event was quickly relocated indoors to the TRECS, and the show went on seemingly without a hiccup.  The atmosphere when I entered gave off the feeling of joy and also some relief that it was finally Friday. The smell of many different kinds of food from places all over the world filled the building. After grabbing some delicious food, I headed over to the main gym where there were some great activities set up. It was so loud at times, I could barely hear the the people next to me. The jousting was full of trash talking as expected, and was probably the highlight of my night. Among all the people coming through, I felt a connection to every member of the Vol Community, just hanging out and having a good time. It was easy to just be yourself, let loose, and simply have fun with your fellow Vols.

All in all, “Vol Night Long” is an amazing experience that I would recommend to every student at UT. I know that some of you may have preconceived notions about how fun a campus sponsored event can be, but like many things in life, you get out what you put in. If you come in with the idea of it being just another campus thing, you might be limiting your experience. If you come in hoping to meet some awesome new people and are open-minded, you will have a great time. It is a great (and safe) way to meet new, like-minded people that you probably would not have met otherwise. You’ll have an awesome time and enjoy some delicious food, which is of course free and something that everyone loves. Plus, the only thing you need is your student ID. Come check it out! You definitely won’t regret it!