Student Activities Holds Phone-Free ’90s Night

Student Activities hosted “’90s Night” Feb. 8 at the LaHaye Event Space to give students a time to enjoy a phone-free evening of ’90s-themed fun.  

Attendees arrived dressed in jean jackets, baggy pants, backwards ball caps and denim skirts to emulate the decade’s apparel. Student Activities workers greeted participants at the door with yo-yos and ’90s snacks such as Fruit Roll-Ups and Capri Suns.  

Senior Chloe Rinaldi, a Student Activities event supervisor, said she hoped this event would help students relax by transporting them back to the ’90s.  

“We wanted to come up with an event where students could unplug and really, … go back in time,” Rinaldi said. “… A lot of … things that we’ve seen in our generation is that a lot of us really reminisce on having a no-technology childhood. … And so I thought that it would be a really great idea to do a ’90s night where … we unplugged from our phones, we had CD-burning kits … and we just watched a bunch of ’90s commercials and had a bunch of ’90s … snacks.” 

Participants then had the option to burn their own CDs with music by popular ’90s artists like Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, or even DC Talk, a ’90s Christian hip-hop band formed by Liberty University alumnus Toby McKeehan better known as TobyMac, Michael Tait and Kevin Max Smith.  

Sophomore Emma Seckers said she decided to attend ’90s night because she enjoys the   music from that decade. 

“I love ‘90s music, so … it’ll be fun to … listen to all of it and burn CDs with ’90s music, Seckers said. “And my favorite band would have to be … The Spice Girls.”  

Students also got into groups to play Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. or Mario Kart on retro gaming systems set up in the corner. Others participated in screen-free fun by playing board games on the floor.  

Meanwhile, ’90s songs played in the background, and Mattel and Fisher Price ads and clips from “The New Adventures of He-Man” were shown on screen to add to the nostalgia. Later in the evening, students were led through a Jane Fonda workout and a competition that involved guessing brand logos from the decade. 

Some students even started an impromptu break-dancing session to some of the catchier songs blasting from the speakers. 

Sophomore Devin Coleman said he was drawn to the event because of his appreciation for ’90s culture.  

“Everybody was just bumping to music, having a good time, fashion was on-point,” Coleman said. 

Rinaldi said the inspiration for planning the event came from her parents having grown up in the 1990s.  

“I … love whenever my parents … would tell me about… the memories and stuff that they had,” Rinaldi said. “I really loved the aspect of everyone just being out until the street lights were on. Just being outside, and everyone just being very intentional with their relationships.” 

The throwback night also lined up perfectly with the digital fast occurring on campus during the month of February. Rinaldi said she hoped that this evening would help students take a break from their phones. 

“I think we are also the generation that’s capable of going back in time, not degenerating in … our technological revolution, but advancing in a way where we’re not dumbing ourselves down,” Rinaldi said. 

Coleman also said modern-day students should learn from ’90s culture since the period preceded the rise of smartphones.  

“Society, with phones, it’s like we have entertainment, …  within our own, … five-inch-screen, or whatever, but … with the 1990s, you create your own entertainment,” Coleman said.  

 

Sotomayor is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion.