MSU's University Activities Board, or UAB, hosted the free event for MSU students to skate the night away and relive their younger years with '90s music and candy, according to the event posting on the UAB website.

“I joined because I wanted to be more involved on campus, and UAB delivered in every aspect of that. I met most of my friends through UAB, and it's been an incredible opportunity for me to grow personally and professionally," first-year UAB event director Robert Stonik said via email.

Stonik was the director for the '90s roller skating night. This particular event was designed three years ago from another event director, and now they’re back at it again.

“There has been high interest from UAB members and the MSU community in programming the event again,” Stonik said. “I was excited for the opportunity to plan and implement it.”

Because of the nostalgic value, Stonik said people get excited to participate in events that revisit the past. He said just like elementary school parties, roller skating brings a lot of joy to people.

Students who were able to revisit their younger years and have fun while doing so included public relations freshman Josh Cole, who is from Florida, and played roller hockey in his younger days. This encouraged him to come out for the event, he said. 

“In the summer I’d go (roller-blade) with my little brother and go roller-blading around with him and play hockey,” he said. “I fell in love with roller hockey and been on blades ever since.” 

With the theme of the night solely about reminiscing on good times from childhood years, students had the opportunity to do so. There was a DJ who played hits from the '90s and early 2000s to help add to the theme of the event and keep students jamming as they went around the rink. '90s candy was passed out to students as well to reinforce the atmosphere of the event. 

Another student who got the chance to revisit their younger days and relieve some great memories was computer science junior James Nguyen, who said his girlfriend made him come to the event.

“I’m from around here, so there's like a skating rink that everyone goes to when they were in elementary school and middle school, it’s like the place to hang out,” he said.

Among many of the students who showed up, there were a handful of rookies and first-time skaters. Neuroscience freshman Muhammad Shafique experienced putting on roller skates for the first time in his life. He said he attended 90’s roller skating night because he never skated before and wanted to broaden his horizons.

“I’ve never done this before, so I wanted to experience it for the first time,” he said. “I’ve never really been into this, so this is like something new for me.”