On Saturday, Jan. 24, students walking into Lakeview Arena were met with friendly faces from ASNMU. ASNMU, the Associated Students of Northern Michigan University, serves as the student government on campus. Mikayla Christenson, a member of the Student Affairs Committee in ASNMU and the planner of the event, was in charge.

“Everyone in Student Affairs plans an event, so I planned it, and I was like, this would be a fun thing to do in January, right after break… get everyone settled for the semester,” Christenson said.

As part of the event, ASNMU hosted open skating, where students could bring their own skates or rent a pair and skate at Lakeview Arena for free. There were also free cookies, cookie decorating and hot chocolate available for students when they wanted to take a break from skating.

“It’s an ice skating event through ASNMU. So it’s an open skate with free ice skating, cookies, hot chocolate and cookie decorating,” Christenson said.

Throughout the arena, students could be seen sitting together, laughing with friends as they sipped hot chocolate and decorated cookies. Others were trying to ice skate for the first time, using skating aids for support and smiling as they passed by. Experienced skaters zipped around the rink, racing each other and laughing. Hockey stops were attempted, and many skated hand in hand with friends and loved ones. After the event ended, students felt refreshed and excited for ASNMU’s next event.