On Monday night, Montclair State University students were able to relive the childhood experience of Saturday morning cartoons at the Student Recreation Center pool.
Carlos “Chazz” Acosta, a jurisprudence major with a minor in political science, explained how the event was organized.
“We really wanted to capture the essence of waking up on a Saturday morning watching cartoons with cereal,” Acosta said.
To kick off a week packed with ’90s-themed events, the Student Recreation Center played a selection of cartoons from the ’90s and early 2000s. As students lined up for a cereal bar and climbed onto flotation devices in the pool, “Spongebob Squarepants” was projected larger than life onto the wall. With a pool of water just below the screen, it almost felt like being in Bikini Bottom. Event staff members could be heard quoting some of their favorite lines from the episodes.
One of the rec center’s lifeguards watches “Kim Possible” during the ’90s throwback week.
Photo courtesy of Douglas Gil Wood
According to Acosta, there was a lot of thought that went into determining which cartoons to show.
“It was a mix of the [event planning] committee’s opinion, and we also sent out a little survey through the Montclair email,” Acosta said. “So the top five picks [are] what we chose and from there, we narrowed down the episodes.”
There was no lack of diversity in cartoons shown at the event. “Kim Possible,” “Rugrats,” “Hey Arnold” and “The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 2: When Nerds Collide” were also played during the event. Many students came and went, and roughly 30 to 40 students stayed for the entire duration.
Robby Glassett, a computer science major, felt the event did a good job at bringing up nostalgic feelings.
“I remember very distinctly waking up 9 a.m. as a child watching these shows and it was some of the best times of my life,” Glassett said. “It’s making me feel like I’m 8 years old again, watching ‘Jimmy Timmy Power Hour’ for the first time.”
Kofi Gwira, a student studying illustration and animation, attended the event and also felt the nostalgia. He thought watching cartoons as an adult added to the experience.
“I really love cartoons, so it’s kind of nostalgic and it’s like my childhood,” Gwira said. “I also realized that when I watched cartoons when I was younger, I just watched them. I never really paid attention to all the themes.”
Popular cereal brands such as Fruit Loops, Frosted Flakes and Lucky Charms were served during the ’90s themed pool night.
Photo courtesy of Douglas Gil Wood
Like many events hosted by the Student Recreation Center, free T-shirts were handed to attendees as they entered the Student Recreation Center pool. The cereal bar had a wide range of choices, such as Lucky Charms, Frosted Flakes, Fruit Loops and Coco Puffs. Gift bags full of snacks with Pringles and Pepsi were raffled off as well as the DVDs of the cartoons that were played.
This was just one of many ’90s-themed events happening this week. Other events include Throwback Bingo, Extreme Recess and Nine Deez Night, a ’90s cover band that will play on campus Friday night.
