The Western Activities Council at Missouri Western State University hosted their annual Light Up Western event on December 2nd. The event included an iceless skating rink, photos with Santa Claus, and snacks like cookies and hot chocolate. Both students and community members enjoyed celebrating the winter season and holidays in the decorated Fulkerson Center. The event provided stress relief and holiday cheer for students before their upcoming fall finals.

1. StudentLife
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StudentLife
The atmosphere was filled with joy and celebra-
tion as Western Activities Council kicked off winter
with Light Up Western.
The festivities on Dec. 2 included an“iceless”skat-
ing rink, photos with Santa Claus and snacking on
cookies and hot chocolate.
Missouri Western students and community mem-
bers alike enjoyed the fun in the Fulkerson Center,
which was decorated like a winter wonderland.
Many children were in attendance and told Santa
what they were hoping to receive for the holidays.
Along with celebrating
the winter season, the
event gave students an
opportunity to relax while
fall finals loomed on the
horizon.
Charles Flemons, director
of comedy for WAC, said
the event was a good stress
reliever for students.
“It gets you ready for
Christmas, which is like the
happiest time of the year, or at least its supposed
to be,”Flemons said.“What better way to kick off
Christmas and blow off some stress before finals
than eating cookies and hanging out with Santa.”
Tony Dougherty, previous vice president of WAC,
said he enjoyed the cookies, hot chocolate and the
overall atmosphere of the event.
“Everyone loves Christmastime and the holidays
and this just gets you pumped up even more,”he
said.“The whole indoor ice skating was something
we brought in last year and I’m really glad they’ve
continued to do it because people really enjoy it.”
Jacob Teasley, junior and resident assistant in
Scanlon hall was also in attendance.
“Light Up Western is awesome, I’ve had a really
good time,”Teasley said.“I loved ice skating and sit-
ting on Santa’s lap, that was fun.”
Along with having fun, Teasley said he was ex-
cited to have received the free prize of text-enabled
gloves embroidered with the Griffon logo.
Dougherty said that attending events like this is
a great way to relieve stress from finals and the last
week of classes.
“This last week of classes is probably just as rough
as finals week, so just being able to take a second,
come out and have a good time, is definitely good
for the students,”he said.
Student Government
Association Vice President
of WAC Julia Buescher said
she was glad WAC could
host such broad events.
“Events like this focus
on the whole campus so
anybody can come to it,”
she said.“We have people
from the community here,
so it’s just a wide range of
people that can come to
the event, which I think is a success no matter how
many people show up.”
Buescher also encouraged students to get in-
volved in WAC.
“Any student has a say in Western Activities Coun-
cil,”she said.“We are constantly voting on things,
and anybody can bring a different idea to the table.
I encourage students to come to our meetings so
that way they have a say. It’s not a dictatorship - it’s
a democracy.”
Flemons said students should look for more
events throughout the semester hosted by WAC,
not just around the holidays.
“Come to all WAC events; we throw them for you,”
Flemons said.
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Story and Design: Taylor Allen
Photos: NIck Ingram
Light Up Western kicks off winter and spreads holiday cheer
Light Up Western brought together entertainment
and fun for Griffons and community members on
Dec. 2 in Fulkerson Center. Students saw the Kelley
Commons lit up (top), enjoyed carols from Western
Appeal (above), skated in an iceless skating rink
(above right) and took pictures with Santa (right).
“What better way to kick off
Christmas and blow off some stress
before finals than eating cookies
and hanging out with Santa.”
-Charles Flemons
WAC Director of Comedy
wonderful
The most
time of the year:
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