The Auburn University Student Center looked more like a sunken pirate ship than the usual student union building Friday night.
Treasure chests, spyglasses, treasure maps, eye patches, hooks, fake swords and treasures of gold decorated the Student Center for "Tiger Nights Hits the Deck," pirate-themed event.
"We do all this for the students," said Leah Colvin, junior in interior design and UPC member. "All the ideas come from students. We find out what they want, put it all together and come up with a theme we think everyone will enjoy."
Colvin said this time they went with a pirate theme and one of the big events was a scavenger hunt with a $500 prize.
The scavenger hunt began at 8:30 p.m. and ended at 10 p.m.
Forty participants divided up into groups of five in search of the hidden treasure. The first team to complete the scavenger hunt won $250, the second place team won $200 and the third place team took home $150.
In addition to the scavenger hunt, there were also inflatable games, a bungee trampoline, an entanglement and a pedestal joust, just like the one from "American Gladiators."
"I came to do the bouncy thing," said Katie Nunnelley, freshman in polymer and fiber engineering.
Another popular part of Tiger Nights was the "Robo Surfer," where people got to try their hand at surfing on a realistic surfing simulator. There was also a bungee run and laser tag for attendees to challenge each other in competition.
Other attractions included caricature artists, sand art, airbrush face paint, henna tattoo artists, a palm reader and keepsake photos with cut-outs for visitors to stand behind and put their face in so their heads would be on a pirate's body.
To keep the pirate feel alive, UPC showed the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End."
"I pretty much just came for the free food," said Chelsea Gaspard, freshman in pre-pharmacy.
Everyone who attended the Tiger Nights event received two meal tickets, appropriately adorned with skull and crossbones to follow the pirate theme.
One ticket was redeemable for the attendee's choice of one of the food items available: Mama Leone's pizza, Chick-fil-A six-piece chicken nuggets, sushi, nachos, ice cream bar or a hamburger from Coyote Jack's.
"It's something free to do on Friday night," said Julia Ryczak, freshman in pre-pharmacy. "It's a fun way to get out and meet people instead of just sitting in your dorm room, and I really liked the pirate theme."
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