By Marissa Yelenik

Students piled into the Adele H. Stamp Student Union Friday night, excited for various activities, free items, opportunities to connect with the campus community and a chance for self-care.

The annual All Niter, which took place from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Feb. 10, allowed students to branch out in their experiences. From Family Feud to roller skating, from bowling pin decorating to free gifts, there was something for everyone. But most importantly, there were new people everywhere.

“We talked to some people at bingo… some people had like 13 pieces of UMD merch on them,” said Maya Flaherty, a freshman history major.

“People were coming together. It was nice, supportive,” she continued.

Upwards of 2,500 people attended, according to Stamp’s student programs manager Laura Hood.

Many students expressed that they were drawn in by the free items, with most citing Build-a-Terp, the returning event sponsored by the University of Maryland Police Department. Build-a-Terp gave participants a chance to make their own plush from various patterns including Teddy the Terp, UMPD’s comfort dog.

Multiple events focused on relaxation and self-care including art events such as cupcake bank painting and tote bag decoration, but one of the most popular activities was Wags For Wellness.

Wags For Wellness is an organization that provides stress relief and companionship to the student community by providing opportunities to meet with their “volunteer pups.” The group schedules events throughout the semester for which students can register online.

The university’s Student Entertainment Events, also known as SEE, sponsored multiple events of the night and played a large part in marketing.

“I saw [the All Niter] on SEE a while ago and thought it was really interesting because I love the board game Candyland and I was really excited to see how everything would look,” said Priyanka Nadella, a sophomore computer science major.

For those who found their way upstairs in the Colony Ballroom between 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., there was a large mat spread across the room, allowing students to try their luck at roller skating.

As multi-colored strobe lights sat at the corners of the room and mid-2000s songs played, novices and experts skated around, many holding hands with their friends helping each other around the room. The sound of laughter was abundant, and the entire experience evoked nostalgia.

From 9:30 p.m. to the very end of the night, students had the chance to come together with their newfound friends for some karaoke. The music pounded, the room was dark and onlookers pumped their hands along to their favorite beats.

The Student Involvement Suite was open from the beginning to the end of the night, giving students a space to play board games, talk to new people or catch their breath. But, at the end of the night, it served as a location to grab a free Insomnia Cookie.

The suite quickly went from a place of relaxation with the sound of laughter and Jenga blocks falling to a tense quiet as the time approached 10 p.m. when the cookies were expected to arrive.

The room was quickly packed full of students filled with anticipation, but frustrations grew when told they would have to wait 30 minutes longer than expected.

This experience was not exclusive to the Insomnia Cookie giveaway.

“We went to the Grand Ballroom for t-shirts, and there were a bunch of t-shirts, we played one game of Connect 4 and all of them were gone,” Nadella said.

Other students concurred, saying they wished there had been more opportunities to secure freebies.

“I think that there was a good amount, but things did sort of clear out quickly,” said Matt Rickford, a sophomore immersive media design major.

By and large, however, the event allowed the UMD community to come together.

“I had a lot of fun! I like crafts, I like free stuff… It was cool, I met one new person.” Rickford said.

From beginning to end, the seven-hour All Niter provided entertainment, connection among students and multiple opportunities for mental health care.

Featured image: Two groups of students compete for $20 during a game of Family Feud in Stamp’s Grand Ballroom on Feb. 10. Photo by Marissa Yelenik.