23 In celebration of the new school year the students residing in Benton House hosted the traditional “Root Beer Kegger” Party, inviting the whole student body to come enjoy root beer, pizza, games, and a longtime football rivalry between Notre Dame and the University of Michigan (U of M) Saturday, Sept. 22. “Everyone periodically said don’t forget about the Benton House tradition,” Benton House resident Michael King said. “I think everyone was wondering when we were going to have it.” In order to spread the word they created an event on Facebook and invited their online Bethel friends to attend the gathering dressed to represent their choice college football team. The Benton boys then pulled together to make the party come to life. “The party planning process went like this: We decided it was gonna’ happen, we got different bros to get different things, and then we made it happen,” Benton House resident Teodoro Cheoletti said. The day of the event arrived with a rainy morning and the dark clouds continued to linger and threaten well into the afternoon, but the hosts were not deterred by the impending weather. The boys had different reactions to the change of weather ranging from hopefulness to resignation. "When it started raining I figured we were in trouble and we started making plans to have it [the party] in the basement,” Cheoletti said. The event was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. and as the time drew near the skies were clear. As typical of a college party guests began to filter in 45 minutes later. When the guests arrived there was pizza from Hungry Howie’s, games such as corn hole, and the football game playing through a projector. The boys had set up couches and chairs on the lawn for football fans to settle in to enjoy watching the rivalry. Cheoletti took charge of starting a bonfire. “It was really fun, there were a lot of people there, and everyone seemed to be having a good time,” senior Hannah Taubitz said. “My team lost which was a bummer but I think the Benton House boys did a great job putting on this party.” During halftime they had music set up to keep the party atmosphere alive and took requests from the students, as long as it was on the pre-approved song playlist. They even played the fight songs from both teams to ramp up the competitive spirit. For some, who weren’t avid football fans, halftime was their favorite part of the party. "Some people wanted to listen to the whole game while others wanted to listen to music and have fun,” Cheoletti said. “It was less of a party and more of watching a football game with people… in the cold.” When the game ended, with Notre Dame beating U of M 13-6 and the pizza nearly gone, party goers began to bid their farewells and the party came to a close. “I felt like there was a good turnout and I think overall it was a good party and a good time,” King said.
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