Music could be heard coming from the Russell House Ballroom Monday afternoon for Carolina Productions' most recent daytime event: laser tag.
Students were invited to come to the event anytime from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on March 30. To participate in a free game of laser tag, students were required to present their CarolinaCard and sign a waiver.
Six students could play at once, and games lasted about 10 minutes and cycled repeatedly throughout the allotted event time.
Players were ranked by their scores, shots fired and accuracy. They were also given a breakdown of where all their shots hit.
The event was planned by CP's Daytime Events Committee — a brand new committee started by CP last year. The committee is used as a better way to offer events to off-campus students who most often go home after classes and don’t have the opportunity to go to CP's later evening events.
“We're holding laser tag as a nice stress-reliever for [in between or after] classes," Michael Brooks, the daytime events coordinator for CP, said. "We do laser tag because laser tag is fun."
The event occurred without disruption to schedules, according to Brooks, as it was "tucked away in the ballroom," and the pit crew were only required to work every other hour giving them a break for classes.
The event was paid for through CP's original budget that allots money out to several different committees by Student Government.
According to Brooks, the Daytime Events Committee sat down at the beginning of the year and planned all of the events, deciding laser tag would be one of them. Laser tag had been done in previous semesters and was very successful, so the committee made sure to budget the necessary funds for it.
Many students were able to release energy and show their competitive sides with friends after a full day of classes or even between their busy schedules.
“I was invited by [a friend] ... it was my first time (doing laser tag)," Marcos Almeida, a second-year electrical engineering student, said. "It was ok. A good experience."
Almeida's only wish was that the laser tag game could have lasted longer.
Brooks said the Daytime Events Committee doesn't normally like to repeat events, but with the success of laser tag, they felt they couldn't resist. Brooks was almost certain that the event would be back again.