By Taylor Thompson
Every spring SMU students emerge from class to find a huge carnival set up on Dallas Hall Lawn to celebrate Peruna’s birthday. He’s a pretty big deal around here, so we definitely go all out for him. The event is called Perunapalooza and is put on by Student Foundation, one of our student organizations on campus. Dallas Hall Lawn is covered in giant inflatables with everything from slides, an obstacle course, “The Wrecking Ball” (which is probably self-explanatory), and my favorite, the Meltdown. If you’ve ever seen the show “Wipeout,” they have an obstacle with two spinning arms at different heights, one high and one low, that you have to jump and duck under. If you’re not careful, the arms will knock you off your platform and you’ll go flying. By the time I was done, let’s just say the score was Meltdown: 1,000,000 Taylor: 0.
Besides laughing at everyone getting knocked off their feet at “The Meltdown” the food is definitely the best part of Perunapalooza. There is everything from free Chipotle and Kind Bars, to popcorn, fried Oreos, and giant birthday cakes, just to name a few of student’s favorites. I love Peruapalooza because it’s the perfect way to relax before everyone starts heading into final texts, projects, and exams. The entire campus comes together to celebrate the feisty pony who fills SMU with all our spirit, just as it should be, because without Peruna, who knows where we would be. SMU students would probably not be camping outside of the ticket office trying to get into the student section for the Louisville basketball game, that is for sure. But guess what? WE ARE!