On Wednesday, April 13, the Sojourn Collegiate Ministry held a flashlight Easter egg hunt at the University of Rhode Island.
The egg hunt featured over 200 students looking for over 500 eggs which were hidden around campus, stretching from the Multicultural Student Services Center and Roosevelt Hall to the Quad and the Robert L. Carothers Library and Learning Commons.
Tyler Nobis, chaplain for the URI chapter of Sojourn, said that they have been doing these Easter egg hunts at URI for eight years now, although they did not do one in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think people love being kids and there’s not an opportunity to go have fun, so I think that’s what we’re tapping into,” Nobis said.
He also mentioned that the number of students at this year’s egg hunt was far more than in previous years, which he said he was happy about.
In addition to the over 500 eggs which were hidden around campus, they also had 11 special eggs, which were designed differently with tape on them, which students could win prizes with, according to Nobis.
The prizes in these eggs featured a large variety of things, that included a Bluetooth speaker, a penny board and Dunkin Donuts gift cards.
Jill Dasilva, a sophomore marine biology major, participated last year and said she was hoping to win one of those special eggs. She mentioned that the weather was much better than it had been during last year’s egg hunt.
“It was pouring last year, so this is a much more pleasant experience already,” Dasilva said. Nobis said that the current weather was beautiful and while last year’s event was fun, it was cold and wet, making it a lot less enjoyable, which led to a lower turnout than the ministry hoped for.
For 45 minutes, students ran around the campus looking for eggs, looking in flower bushes, under benches and in other places where eggs could be hidden, in an attempt to get candy and prizes. While the normal eggs were found rather quickly, the special eggs were much harder to find, as they were covered in duct tape, making them difficult to spot.
Eventually, Nobis began giving the participants vague hints about where these eggs could be found, mentioning what side of the campus they may be hidden at.
Noah McClaine, a freshman sports media and communication studies major, won one of the penny boards. While he admitted that he would have preferred the Bluetooth speaker, he did think it was cool to win the penny board.
“I don’t really use these,” McClaine admitted, also mentioning that he had once broken his wrist on a skateboard in his youth. “But I’m guessing I am going to have to learn.”
The event was a huge success according to Nobis, with numerous students coming out and some even leaving with prizes. He said that they do events every week to build student interaction within the URI community.
Many students had a good time even though some students left with no prizes.