What happens when you give three Peer Leaders a tarp, soap, and a hose? They put together a “Super Slip and Slide,” complete with donuts and hot apple cider. Peer Leaders Rory Conroy, Gill MacDonald, and Annabelle Hipp hosted the event on Friday, starting at 1:00 PM.
Despite the dreary weather and on and off showers, students ran to their residence halls to change into bathing suits. Over 20 students took part, taking snacks for the road and participating in the slide.
Video by Alexandra Huff || First-year Tyler Silveira takes a slow-mo turn on the slip and slide.
During the Fall Kick-Off soccer games, the Athletics Department hosted a small slip and slide. This sparked an idea for some of the student leaders in attendance as they started brainstorming their own. Conroy and MacDonald led the charge for the slip and slide, pitching it to their coworkers at a Peer Leader staff meeting, which piqued Hipp’s interest.
“It’s the first event I’ve put on as a Peer Leader and my goal was to put together an outdoor event that my first years and others would enjoy.” -Rory Conroy
As the days counted down, the forecast left the three Peer Leaders questioning if they’d be able to host the event at all. The weather let up just enough in the early afternoon for students to gather outside. “Especially with the poor weather, I really think the event was fantastic,” MacDonald admitted.
Hipp said that her favorite part of the afternoon was when attendees called other students over to join. First-year Tyler Silveira also enjoyed that part of the day, saying, “Cheering on the new person that comes in [for] their first slide, that was pretty fun, too.”
“My favorite part was sliding with my friends, even though it was cold. Just being [with my] friends made it so much better.” -Sean Cavanaugh
Second-year Sean Cavanaugh is also on the Peer Leader staff but attended the event as an interested student. While Cavanaugh enjoys a good slip and slide, he said it offered him practice as a baseball player, as well. “It’s honestly a lot safer and [a] fun way to practice sliding and diving.” At least five baseball players joined in on the fun Friday before heading to practice.
Based on how successful the event was, Conroy, MacDonald, and Hipp hope to host another. They plan to buy more soap and move the event to a larger space. “Stay tuned for the spring,” MacDonald said.
In the meantime, Hipp is planning to hand out safe sex goodie bags in a “trick or treat” style in October. It is an RA program, but anyone can stop by. Conroy is also planning an event for the Halloween season.
Feature Photo by Alexandra Huff || First-year Jonathan Chambers gets a running start toward the slip and slide as his peers look on.