The Brickyard was surprisingly lively on the last night of Shack-a-Thon. The sound of music and voices filled the air as students spent time together to occupy themselves during the cold night shift. 

Shack-a-Thon requires one student to be in a shack during the day and two at night.

At first glance, the night shift sounds like the short end of the stick: cold weather and dew covered mornings with the closest bathroom in D.H. Hill Library make the night shift seem like a struggle, nonetheless students braved it and even enjoyed it.

Without power outlets students turn to whatever they can to pass the time. A.J. Rackl, a junior in aerospace engineering, manned the Student Government shack with his phone battery in the red.

“We struggle to find ways to keep our devices charged. It can be hard with no power outlets readily available,” Rackl said.

One of the most active shacks was the Greek Unity shack. With a couch, guitar, chairs and a hookah in front of the shack, students came together and had a good time. They enjoyed music, stories and board games such as Settlers of Catan.

Reporters and friends weren’t the only visitors shacks got. Martin Kurian, a freshman in first year engineering, said, “We get a lot of visitors. One of the Brickyard preachers visited last night and we talked a bit about politics.”

Different activities could be found across the Brickyard at night. Some shacks had dogs that visitors were allowed to pet. The dance shack gave out dance lessons at one point. 

Many instruments found their way to the Brickyard but not all played a variety of music. One night a ukulele came out but only played “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

 However any festivities died down after a certain point. Students tended to be respectful of others according to a Brooke Hiltbold, senior in criminology.

“It usually gets pretty quiet or at least no one is obnoxious after around 2 a.m.,” Hiltbold said.

Sleeping arrangements vary from sleeping bags to hammocks, some students even resorted to lying on the floor with just a blanket. 

One of the most interesting ways to sleep was a beanbag chair that used recycled plastic bottles instead of beans inside it. Some of the night shift students at the sustainability shack slept on this and said that it was surprisingly comfortable.

Mornings could be rough for students. According to Ty Prentice, a junior in biological engineering, “the grounds-keeping crew likes to come out way too early.”

Along with the grounds keepers hard at work, the Cru shack would sing some songs in the mornings.  People would bring their guitars to join them. 

Because the Brickyard is a high traffic area and classes start early in the morning, Charlie Pace, a freshman in biochemistry, said he had a few awkward starts to his day.

“It was kind of awkward waking up, I was in a hammock outside the shack and classes were going on. I woke up with bed head in front of all those students going to class,” Pace said.

Many students stayed in shacks for more than one night and some even stayed all four nights. With the amount of entertainment in the Brickyard, the night shift may not have been as bad as it sounds.