Hope Happens Here’s bingo event leads to cheating scandal

by Magnolia McComish and Alyssa Lewis

Hope Happens Here packed Spagnola Hall hosting bingo, with about 122 people coming to play on Friday March 28.

Halfway through the event, organizers caught participants trying to cheat by having extra game boards. “Bingo brings out a different side of people, high intensity but still fun,” said senior Ensley Hostetter, president of Hope Happens Here.

Many people cheered when extra cards were taken away from players. “They should start taking away cards at every bingo event. It is unfair for the people there just to have a good time,” said freshman Andrew Royce, a bingo player. 

Prizes included a polaroid camera, salt lamp, oil diffuser, speaker, Fire TV stick, weighted blanket, projector, movies, candy and popcorn. People were most excited about the Polaroid camera, the weighted blanket and the Sandlot movie.

Hope Happens Here put on bingo to bring awareness to their club. After a participant won, they were asked a question that related to the club.

“A lot of students come to bingo over other events, so we used it to get our point across,”said Hostetter.

The questions involved mental health, where students can get help and why the club feels bringing awareness to mental health is so crucial. Students who attended were told that about 129 suicides occur each day. If anyone needs counseling, they can go to outreach under Granite for support.  

This is the second bingo night that Hope Happens Here has held and was the most successful.

Hope Happens Here meets Mondays in Marcucella 102 at 8 p.m.

How we got this story: We interviewed four people at the bingo event, only using quotes from two.