Sodexo Dining Holds “Alien Invasion” Event At Reber-Thomas Dining Center
Liberty University students experienced a night of intergalactic fun during the “Alien Invasion” event hosted by Sodexo at the Reber-Thomas Dining Center April 17.
The dining hall closed from 3-5 p.m. in preparation for the themed event, reopening for dinner hours with a fully decorated interior. A tent decked out with LED lights greeted students as they entered the cafeteria, setting the scene for the cosmic night. Other exciting additions included alien-themed balloons hanging from the ceiling while purple and green lights showered the array of food stations in a colorful galaxy glow.
“I walked in, and it was like I was being transported to a whole new world,” senior Adam Diehl said. “The food is phenomenal … it’s great, I love it.”
The event featured a variety of immersive activities, including a “UFO crash site” photo booth where students could snap 360-degree pictures. At the Cosmic Ink Station, students received space-inspired temporary tattoos. Other set-ups offered other engaging opportunities, such as alien-shaped balloon art at the “Adopt an Alien” booth and caricature drawings that reimagined students’ features to resemble alien counterparts.
Aptly titled tunes including “Starman” by David Bowie and “NASA” by Ariana Grande played throughout the evening. Liberty’s hip-hop dance group, Death to Resurrection — otherwise known as D-TREX — performed for students at 7 p.m. dressed as “Men in Black” characters complete with sunglasses and ties.
“We are really channeling our inner Will Smith,” dancer Lexi Proctor said with a laugh.
Students also enjoyed Liberty’s own Alien Masked Singer, with guest stars including Liberty Head Football Coach Jamey Chadwell, Melanie Denney and Daisy Ryan performing in full costume with Louis Cambeletta, Judd Harris and Cia Cloud as the judges.
The imaginative menu brought a galactic twist to the dining experience. Each station offered daring recipes with dishes that reached for the stars. Chopsticks, the Asian fusion station, served crawfish stir-fry and jellyfish salad. Other items included rotisserie goat, smoked pig heads, duck wings, purple broccoli and potatoes, and DIY alien heads made from apples and gummy eyeballs.
“The food options are out of this world,” freshman Aidan Vollenweider said.
The dessert station — often a crowd favorite — featured purple cakes decorated with candy eyeballs, mirror glazed mousse cakes with galaxy designs and Dippin’ Dots ice cream, along with a rotating selection of other sweet treats throughout the night.
To fully round out the atmosphere, a staff member in full alien costume roamed around the room, and other volunteers handed out antenna headbands, encouraging students to fully embrace the cosmic theme.
Levi Smith, the social media & events coordinator for Sodexo, spoke highly of all those who helped put on the event, including the performers and Liberty’s Campus Production team.
He also explained the passion behind these events.
“Our main goal is to always create an event where students can have fun,” Smith said. “We know college can be stressful and difficult and so creating an atmosphere where students can enjoy themselves and make memories with friends is always what we seek to do at our events.”
Rice is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion.