Students gathered at the Gatton Student Center on Friday from 4-6 p.m. for the Student Activities Board’s “Blind Date with a Vinyl” event.
Junior social work and criminal justice student Colleen Bostic, who is a member of the Student Activities Board, organized the event.
“I purchased 267 (vinyls) exactly, 255 were open to all students and then SAB members also got some,” Bostic said.
Bostic also said she wanted to make sure that she was getting all different genres of music. The event budget was approximately $10,000 with $7,000 allocated to the actual vinyl themselves.
“We take our final budget, divide it by the estimated attendance, and then that is our number per person,” she said, “I believe my cost per person was around $17 per person, which is very cost effective, especially considering student fees.”
Vinyl records have become more popular among college students in recent years, with many people drawn to the nostalgic and tangible nature of physical music. For some students, records double as both a listening experience and a form of personal expression through decor and collecting.
Bostic said she believes students have a connection to music whether it’s for mental health, or wanting to have a study session. She said that she thinks it’s important to have a tangible piece of music like a vinyl, because it can also be used for decoration.
“I think that this could definitely be a reoccurring event and that we can expand upon it more, whether that be getting more vinyl or looking at a different avenue with either records or record tapes,” she said.
All vinyls available were gone before 6 p.m., ending the event due to popular demand.
Freshman human health science student Julianne Shriver attended the event with her friends after her Student Government Association (SGA) office hours. Shriver and Bostic take part in SGA together.
“I went because I was excited about SAB giving away free records. After the event I was really happy that I got a record of one of my favorite artists,” Shriver said.
