“We do different game shows,” Chelsey Carpenter, president of YBBW and senior Elementary Education major said. “It switches up.”
Carpenter was especially impressed by the set-up for the game show this year, including a realistic-looking Power-Point template. Those who have seen Family Feud know that the game pits two rival families against each other to name all popular answers to a question. Ferris Feud started out with “families” from YBBW and Black Greek Council. When Black Greek Council lost the first round, another group was selected from the audience to take their place. YBBW was the reigning champion of the event, winning two Buffalo Wild Wings gift cards.
For the game’s questions, the groups used a combination of traditional Family Feud questions—such as “Where do people get married, aside from church?”—and questions with more of a Ferris twist, like the best places to get fast food and coffee in Big Rapids.
“We kind of ‘stole’ some [of the questions] from online,” Carpenter said. “A lot of people play their own variations of Family Feud, so we took some of those questions and kind of twisted them. All of the answers were student-generated. That’s the best part about it. We had surveys in the OMSS office and sent out an email so people could send in their answers. We rounded them up to 100.”
Carpenter was worried about attendance in the new University Center, because some participants got lost finding the event room.
“This is the smallest audience I have seen,” Carpenter said. “Previously, compared to the Dome Room days, we were packed. Students aren’t used to events being in one central location now. I’m hoping that by the end of the semester, people will kind of get the idea to just keep stopping by in the University Center, because I know it’s packed with events.”
Despite the low attendance, those who came seemed to really enjoy themselves, citing favorite moments from the night.
“I came to support and be a part of the event,” Nehemiah Israel, senior Early Childhood Education major said, who has participated for the past two years. “It’s a pretty funny event, so if I don’t have class or work and it’s coming up, I’ll be a part of it.”
“[My favorite part was] not losing!” joked Lonie Donald III, Secondary English Education major and first-time attendee. “’Dolphin’ was definitely my favorite part. The question was, ‘What’s the loudest animal at the zoo?’ and one of the contestants’ answers was ‘dolphin.’ It will forever be saved here in my memory.”
“I think my favorite part was Terrence,” said Carpenter, referencing the game show “host,” Terrence Adams, a senior marketing major. “He’s a pretty cool host and we chose him specifically for it. A lot of people look forward to doing stuff like this and he’s one of them. He usually hosts this for us. He’s always our go-to guy. He really gets into character! He was our Steve Harvey for tonight.”
YBBW is looking forward to a number of upcoming events this semester, such as Poetry Jam on March 5, a women’s conference on March 21 and a fashion show on April 18.
“We love to see new faces,” Carpenter said. “I just want people to know you can come out to our events. I know sometimes our name is misleading, but at the end of the day, if we’re doing a social event or if we’re doing a fundraiser, anything that isn’t generically-focused as African American community—and even if it is—everyone’s invited. If it’s open to the public, it’s usually intended for everyone.”