The Student Union (SU) held its first ever Winter Carnival in the cafeteria on Friday, December 11. The event, which began after 10th period, lasted until 5:30 p.m.

The SU organized the carnival in order to give clubs and publications an opportunity to fundraise. “With the ban on bake sales, clubs have been unable to fundraise effectively, and the SU cannot grant all requests for funding,” senior and SU Chief Financial Officer Rosanna Sobota said.

“During an Executive Council meeting, we talked about holding the carnival in order for Clubs and Pubs to be able to raise funds,” senior and SU Club/Pub Director Masudur Rahman said. “I emailed all the clubs with a questionnaire asking what they planned to do at the carnival. Any club that was interested then filled it out and sent it back to us.”

The admission price for the carnival was five dollars. All attendees were given six tickets at the door, which were used to buy food or participate in activities set up by the clubs. According to SU President Paul Lee, the number of tickets earned by each individual club will determine the amount of money they receive from the carnival.

“Each Club or Pub has been collecting tickets that were sold at the beginning of the Carnival. At the end of the night, the SU collects the tickets and our budget directors will redistribute the funds accordingly,” Lee said. According to Lee, while plans have not yet been finalized, a majority of the funds made at the carnival will go back to the clubs and pubs.

All participating clubs were required to set up their own booths prior to the carnival. In an attempt to attract attendees over to their side of the cafeteria, some clubs incorporated special activities to their booths.

“We had a really unique activity, which was crepe-making,” junior and co-president of the French Club Abbie Kouzmanoff said. “It was really fun making the food, and I think people enjoyed it.”

Prominently displayed in the center of the cafeteria was the Rowing Club’s booth, which featured two indoor rowing machines on which attendees were encouraged to try out rowing.

“[Junior] Konrad Wojnar and [sophomore] Vlad Bledstein went and got the machines from the boathouse we row out of, and [computer science teacher and faculty advisor Mike] Zamansky is letting us keep them in his room over the weekend,” senior and president of the Rowing Club David Rice said.

Other activities included Twister from the Gay Lesbian and Straight Spectrum, darts from the Future Union of Stuyvesant Speakers and a game of Super Smash Bros. Brawl from the Neglected No More Club.

Although the main purpose of the carnival was to fundraise, participating clubs/pubs were also able to showcase to students what their club does. “I’m here for people to see what we do. Publicity is always an issue for us,” Rice said. “We got some people who never rowed before rowing. That’s always good.”

In addition to students, several faculty members were also in attendance. “I came because I knew it was a fundraiser and the clubs need money and I want to support them in their endeavors,” biology teacher Dr. Maria Nedwidek said. “It’s also nice to see my students in a setting outside the classroom.”

Health teacher and Coordinator of Student Affairs Lisa Weinwurm, who helped coordinate the carnival and was present for its duration, declined to comment.

Both attendees and SU members expressed positive feedback about the event.

“It was great. I absolutely loved all the food and games,” junior Matteo Battistini said.

“We got a late start on the advertising, but everything came together great and a lot of people showed up and had a great time,” senior class vice president Steven Arroyo said. “This was definitely a huge success.”

According to Lee, more carnivals may be planned for the future. “This was a great success. A good amount of people came out and had fun,” Lee said. “I hope that we can have bigger carnivals in the future to raise as much money for clubs and pubs as we can.”