Last Saturday, February 8, the Colgate Class Councils, in association with Philanthropists at Colgate (PAC), held a tailgate and coat drive at 110 Broad Street. The event was met with enthusiasm as students gathered for the inclusive event designed to provide an open and warm environment leading up to the Colgate-Cornell rivalry hockey match. There were all the accoutrements of a proper tailgate; burgers and hotdogs were abundant and accompanied by beer and sangria for those of legal age.

The big hit of the tailgate was the music provided by Protoculture DJ, first-year Colgate student, Raffi Khatchadourian. Putting together a diverse set, Khatchadourian threw down an energetic performance incorporating his own style into many of today’s top electro-house hits. Even better, a number of the songs included throwbacks to some classic ’90s hits, a choice that was met with overwhelming approval. And although most of the tailgaters seemed inclined to simply consume as much free food as possible, a number of vivacious party-goers were more than content to tear up the dance floor by themselves.

While it’s all well and good to have a tailgate for fun, the Class Councils went further and used the event as a springboard to raise money and clothing for the Rescue Mission of Utica. The Rescue Mission was selected because of their efforts to serve to feed and house the homeless of upstate New York. In addition, they offer a number of rehabilitative services to get people back into the workforce, like substance abuse counseling and adult education. Tailgate workers collected donations of money and used clothing  at the door. Extra coats and other articles of warm clothing are desperately needed by the Rescue Mission as they attempt to provide warmth to those they do not have the facilities to house. Those generous enough to donate were rewarded with raffle tickets that were later used to distribute sought-after hockey tickets, saving those winners from the rush to be one of the first 500 students to arrive to the game.

One noted absence from the tailgate was a massive snowball fight which was advertised as part of the event only a few days prior. The original event description called for students to participate in an attempt to break the record set in 1969 for largest snowball fight ever at Colgate. Unfortunately for the cadre of would-be snow warriors, Campus Safety soon caught word of the event and stated that they have a unilateral policy against snowball fights, and that the record-breaking attempt was to be cancelled. Students were noticeably disgruntled at the cancelation, especially given the number of other universities that have school-sponsored snowball fights.

Overall, despite the absence of a record-breaking snowball fight, the tailgate was still a success. Many students got their fill of burgers and brew, giving them the necessary excitement to carry into Colgate’s eventual triumph over Cornell.