Rayleigh Stevens
CO PY E DITO R

The Residence Hall Association
(RHA) held their annual Boat Cruise on Lake
Michigan this past Friday night into Saturday
morning: Tickets went on sale last Monday
morning at 12:30 pm: in the Office ofCampus
Life (OCL) The line grew quickly, and soon
it was wrapped around the corner and onto
the MTCC Bridge: No cash was accepted,
only credit and debit cards: The line slugged
along, and lasted for more than three hours:
The tickets sold out within the day, and many
people were disappointed The week dragged
on until finally, Friday came:

Friday night, the women got all
dolled up and formally dressed; ready to
look their best: The men tightened their ties
and put on their suit jackets Then, everyone
attending met in Cohen Lounge in MSV:
There were two times to board the shuttle to

 

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Dancing, casino games at RHA Boat Cruise

get to the boat, at 10:30 pm: and 11:00 pm:
As people boarded, excitement was high, and
anticipation was climbing: The bus ride only
took about 20 minutes, and the passengers
finally disembarked onto the famous Navy
Pier:

The boat was magnificent: The
Odyssey, a ChiiTown favorite, sat waiting
for the Illinois Tech passengers to board:
As they waited in line once more, to turn in
their original tickets for new, official ones,
anticipation was extreme: Passengers over 21
were allowed to drink alcohol on the ship, and
were differentiated by a white wristband they
got from the crew after checking their IDs: The
line was moving, and each group got to take
their picture behind a branded life preserver

Once on the boat, the atmosphere
changed from anticipation to exhilaration:
There were four floors of activities for the
passengers to use: The first deck, the bottom of

the boat, was a casinoitype feel, with blackjack,
roulette, poker, and more: Each table had their
own set of chips, which was distributed to the
players: Each passenger was given 500 dollars
worth of chips for the night: Each table had a
helpful dealer who taught people how to play if
they didn’t: It was a light and fun atmosphere
that emulated a casino feel, and fun times:

The second deck was a small dance
floor with a full bar: The mixers were both
amazing, and the lighting was moody and dim:
This floor was mostly empty, and the music
was more oldiesijazz or swing music: Not too
many popular new hits were playing, but it was
still a great atmosphere:

The third deck was the party deck At
the beginning of the cruise there was a buffet
of finger foods including vegetarian spring
rolls, meatballs, chicken fingers, potato wedges
and more: There were also a slew of desserts
including mini cheesecakes, brownies, and

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fudge: There was also a full bar and a big dance
floor able to hold everypassenger: The lighting
was bright, and the music was bouncing: New
age hits blasted through the speakers and
dancers enjoyed the rhythm of the boat along
with the music: The atmosphere was high and
jumping, and it was quite a lot of fun:

The fourth and top deck was a sky
deck The skyline looked beautiful with the
city lights twinkling: It was chilly and the
wind was blowing hard, but a few brave souls
explored the top and were rewarded with the
view Romantic couples pictures were taken,
and many shots of the tall buildings were
captured: Though the boat never left the dock,
the view was still stellar all night long:

The cruise was three hours of fun
filled times, with many options for everyone
to enjoy Though the ticket line was grueling
and long, many thought it was well worth the
wait:

 

Photos by Khaleela Zaman