Events Article | Photo by Qusai Takuri | The Wright State Guardian
The annual Raider RoundUp event is back this year, bringing live performances, free giveaways, food and other activities to the Nutter Center. The event starts at 7:30 in the McLin Gym with the men’s basketball game against Cleveland State following at 9 p.m.
“Raider RoundUp is designed to be a large pep rally to let students get loud, show off some school spirit, and get them excited about the most intense basketball game of the year which directly follows the event,” SGA Director of Student Affairs Joey Marano said.
Raider RoundUp is open to everyone and students can get two free tickets at the gate with their student ID.
What to expect
Raider Roundup typically features free giveaways, raffle prizes, food, live performances, sign-making, and other activities. The event did not occur last year or in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in 2019 Raider Roundup brought in 750 attendees.
Students can expect a similar experience to previous years.
“The event is pretty much the same,” Student Government President Jonathan Ciero said. “We are really excited for all the raffle prizes and giveaway items in store for students.”
This year the event is a black-out, so attendees should show up wearing black attire. Free black T-shirts will also be given to the first 500 students.
“We have plenty of games and activities for students to do before the basketball game starts. This would be the best place to show off your Raider Pride,” Ciero said.
The game will also be aired on ESPN.
Hosted by SGA vs. ‘67 Society
In the past, ‘67 Society hosted Raider RoundUp, but the organization lost its active status after struggling with membership and was not able to hold the event. Not wanting students to miss out on this experience, Student Government Association (SGA) decided to host the event this year.
“Sadly, ‘67 Society is not a currently active organization on campus. This is one of the staple events that happens each year, and we decided to step up and make sure that this event still happened,” Ciero said.
This year, Marano took the initiative to plan the event. This will be his first time attending Raider RoundUp.
“After I learned the premise behind Raider RoundUp, it was clear that it was an event many individuals cared about and enjoyed in the past. I wanted to have this year’s event live up to past occurrences so students have something to look forward to, like being able to just experience a larger-scale event, relax, have some fun, and support our team before the game,” Marano said.
Raider pride
Raider RoundUp is a memorable experience for WSU students, according to Ciero, and he wanted to make sure that students were able to come together and show school pride despite ‘67 Society no longer hosting the event.
“Personally, I am most looking forward to seeing everyone together and excited for the basketball game. I like to tell people that if they choose to go to one basketball game this year, come to this game and go to Raider RoundUp. It is events like these that define what it means to be a college student,” Ciero said.
The sponsors for the event, other than SGA, are The Wright State Guardian, University Activities Board, the Wright State Bookstore, WWSU, Army ROTC, Miracle Makers, Residential Community Association, Campus Recreations and Wright State Athletics.
As of right now, there will not be transportation provided to the Nutter Center.
COVID policies remain consistent with Wright State University and go into effect during university-sponsored events at the Nutter Center. Masks will be required of all attendees at all times unless actively eating or drinking.
