A&M-Victoria students take aim during Laser Tag Showdown
On Tuesday, University Common’s Multi-Purpose Room at Texas A&M University-Victoria looked less like a university space and more like a decked out light show as students traded the classroom for an indoor laser tag arena.
Hosted by Student Involvement from 4-6 p.m., Laser Tag Showdown invited students to compete in groups as they worked together to see which squad will come out with the highest score.
“This year, we wanted to try and do as many new events as we could,” said Freddie Cantu, A&M-Victoria director of Student Involvement. “We’ve never brought laser tag to campus before, and if the students love it, maybe it will be one of our newer traditions.”
Equipment for the event, which included laser-tag rifles, vests, black lights and inflatable obstacles, was provided by Freedom Fun USA, a Texas-based mobile party rental and entertainment service.
Matches were organized to be five-on-five or seven-on-seven, and players’ vests are equipped to signal when they are out, Cantu said. Along with Student Involvement, members of the Jaguar Activities Board also assisted with the event by decorating and hanging curtains over the windows of the Multi-Purpose Room so the black light could really come through. The room was also emptied of furniture except for the inflatable obstacle course.
Jordan Dickerson was one of the many students who came out to Tuesday’s event. A freshman from Dallas studying aviation management, he saw the event listed in his student emails and came out hoping for a chance to meet people and to explore the campus more. Taking part in the blue team, he and his team racked up as many points as they could. Even though the team didn’t win, Dickerson said he found the experience of enjoying himself with the group the best part.
“Everyone was really cool, and it looked great in there,” Dickerson said. “There’s these obstacles where you can hide behind to get some cover. I really liked it.”
As a freshman, the university’s welcoming atmosphere has helped him adjust to college much quicker, beginning with orientation and continuing through interactions with professors and campus staff.
While he is still building his social circle on campus, Dickerson said he spends a lot of time with his roommates, which has led him to make connections with other groups and students. He chose A&M-Victoria in part because it was a cost-effective public university and because he felt it offered a supportive academic environment, he said. His interest in aviation was drawn on his experience from senior year of high school. He hopes to go into the business of plane detailing and potentially build a business around it that would involve his family.
But for now, he hopes to make the best of his first semester at A&M-Victoria by staying on top of his grades, staying in contact with his professors, making friends and exploring more of what the campus has to offer.
“Aside from the great dining hall, aside from the great housing, aside from the great professors, everyone came here because they have one thing in common,” Dickerson said. “And that’s to strive your best to do well academically. I feel like being at A&M-Victoria has put me in a great position to move forward, move up.”
Texas A&M University-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the colleges of Business, Education & Health Professions, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, and Natural & Applied Science. A&M-Victoria provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as online classes that students can take from anywhere. The university supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.