By Hannah Eastman

Contributing Writer

On the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 17, the Underground (UG) hosted Coloring Night. From 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., the campus bar offered students a mellow and laid back atmosphere, a contrast to Wooster’s harsh cold and eventful first week of classes. At Coloring Night, the UG invited its attendees to pick up a coloring sheet, eat some free popcorn and use their independent minds to color together.

A quiet first hour included two plays of a Justin Bieber “Peaches” remix, which I worried may be a bad omen. However, by 8:30 p.m. the event was in full swing, with games of pool underway in the back and groups clustered together across the space to color and drink. 

After the enforcement of the UG’s new lowered capacity, which first premiered at a Covers event last semester, some speculation arose among the student body about the future of the campus bar. Kennedy Shelton ’24, an employee at the UG, said that the first hour or two of many UG events are slow but pick up closer to 9 p.m. when some of the bar’s regulars begin to show up. The UG’s drinks are already well priced, but Shelton emphasized an additional discount  —  “I think more people would come if they knew that we have a dollar off drinks before 9 p.m.”

The UG is far from being an obsolete space on campus and last Wednesday’s coloring event continued to prove that. When discussing how the UG is a unique space on campus, Emma Teichert ’24 said that “it’s the low pressure environment that sets the UG apart.” While drinks are available at the UG, they are not an essential element of the experience. Instead, the UG simply serves as a social space in which students can gather.

The UG’s successful Coloring Night was a positive start to the semester. Where the “de-stress” element of coloring may often be associated with midterms or finals, Kiki Giles ’24 and Sam Veon ’24 relayed that Coloring Night is an important opportunity to quiet anxious I.S.-focused minds.

Follow @theugwooster on Instagram for information about more events like this throughout the semester.