Final Fling: It’s Not the Thing You Fling… It’s the Fling Itself.

written by: Mikayla Austin ’18

It’s that time of the year again where finals are again coming back to haunt us… Yay, college. But don’t worry, you can put all of the worrying and stress to the side for now, because Final Fling is back! If you don’t already know what Final Fling is, let me fill you in, friend. Final Fling is an event put on by COSA (Campus Organization for Student Activities) the weekend before finals. Starting on Friday evening, there are events such as intramurals, a glow in the dark 5K run hosted by Enactus, and a Karaoke band at Choices. All in which by participating, you receive a wristband. (Don’t forget to hold onto those! You’ll need them for later.) The ultimate goal of Final Fling is for students to take a study break… Sorry, I meant the ultimate goal of Final Fling is to not even study at all before finals. (Not that I do that.)

Starting in the afternoon on Saturday, there are more activities such as inflatables, lawn games, photo booths, a three-lane bungee run, gladiator jousting and more located in the central campus parking lot! If you aren’t into that kind of stuff, maybe you might want to just relax and let your oldness out [wait, what?] at BINGO located in Shaw Center. Just kidding, at BINGO you’re not really kicking it back, because everyone is competitive, yelling out BINGO, and your anxiety skyrockets. There you can win some random prizes such as a box of pencils, energy drinks and tissues. (You might need those later *during finals.) Or if you really want to go ham for the end of the year, maybe you and some friends get together and play sports throughout the day against others in tapeball and volleyball. Also, the Polynesian Club performs on the quad, and there’s a Luau dinner in the Commons. Whatever you’re interested in doing, it’s at Final Fling.

With activities going on during the day, there are also activities during the night. Late night pizza with dancing by Choices in the MSC and the moment we’ve all been waiting for… announcement for prizes! (In exchange for your wristbands you’ve collected for the events you’ve attended. See? I told ya you’d want those.) When students get involved with any of the above, they earn wristbands that are collected later in the evening. The wristbands are used to keep track of how much students participate, and their names are put into drawings for insanely cool prizes! When I say prizes, I’m not even kidding. I mean it. Prizes like a plasma TV, Xbox, game controllers, bikes, gift cards, popup tents, fishing poles, speakers, water bottles, a pillow, frisbees and kitchen supplies… anything you can imagine, it’s there. And as a poor college student, you are desperate for any of those free items.

Final Fling was definitely a fun experience for me. I spent my third final fling playing Intramural volleyball with friends on Friday night. The next day, I spent most of my time in photo booths and Bingo with Aponivi House girls. During the day, my boyfriend and I got lunch together at the coffee shop then participated in all of the activities in the parking lot. Later that night, we watched Donkey basketball in the gym stadium and grabbed a bite of pizza with everyone in the Swarm. When it came time for the prizes, my name was in the first five to be announced! Once the names were called for the remaining prizes, COSA members threw Final Fling T-shirts into the air for students to snatch. Being at Graceland for three years, I have never walked away from Final Fling empty handed. So, I recommend you get to Final Fling next year, if you can! Final Fling has been a Graceland experience that I look forward to every spring. It’s a great opportunity to get outdoors and jump in the sun, win some free stuff, have fun with friends, and not study…