Micah Morrow
Contributing Writer
After closing over a year and a half ago due to the pandemic, the Underground (UG) has finally reopened. Open on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays evenings, the student-run bar and event space has returned with a slow start. Many students have never stepped foot in the UG due to the time of its closure, so a number of students are unaware that the space exists. Despite the lull the UG has endured, it continues to host a variety of events and programs to hopefully restore it to its former glory that only current seniors have truly experienced. Even current seniors were only able to enjoy the UG for a brief semester, ultimately interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I loved bingo nights when my senior friends hosted. Popcorn is great. Drinks are cheap. I definitely didn’t take advantage of it while I could,” says Jenna Smith ‘22. “I went my sophomore year, so I had to be sober. It was a date with my ex-boyfriend. We broke up,” says Shelby Jones ‘22.
So far this semester, the UG has hosted a myriad of events in the hopes of bringing all Wooster students into the space. These events included Just Dance Night, Decades Night, Meet WAC, and New Student Orientation.
The UG is most excited to bring back one of Wooster’s highly anticipated events: Covers. Covers, an event where students showcase their musical talents, had been operating through Microsoft Teams for the last year due to the pandemic. This year, however, Covers is back live and in person at the UG and will no doubt become Wooster’s favorite monthly event once again. The Goliard, the organizer of the event, recently sat down with the UG’s advisor, Sarah Toby, and set dates for the upcoming year.
Though the UG is predominantly known as the campus bar, it is a space for all students 18 and over. Alcoholic drinks are not the only thing available; soda and popcorn are free! For those who want to drink, the most expensive option is $2.50. The UG is a space for more than just drinking, which opens the space up to a much larger portion of the student body. The only requirement to get into the UG is to be 18 or over and present both a CoW Card and state ID. However, that rule has led to troubles for new international students who have not yet obtained their state IDs. In the interest of being accessible to everyone, the UG is trying to organize some sort of programming to help students get their state IDs. This is a space for everyone, so any bit of inaccessibility has to be addressed.
The Underground is back and better than ever. They will continue to host a wide variety of events like Emo/Punk Night (9/8), Paint and Sip (9/29), Latinx Music Night (9/15), Pumpkin Carving (10/27) and more. The UG is meant to bring students together, and this year they plan to fulfill that mission.