Freshmen invade Wal-Mart

Madness doesn't even begin to describe it.\nWords like chaos, mayhem and pandemonium might be more appropriate. The buses were packed, the aisles were crowded and the lines were long. Still, students and Wal-Mart associates agreed that Midnight Madness was exciting, spirited and once more, a real success.\nThe annual late-night promotional event put on by Wal-Mart targets students and features lowered prices and raffles. While some students chose to drive cars to Wal-Mart, most boarded one of the eight busses that stopped at each dorm on campus. Anticipating the size of the crowd, two more buses were added to the route this year.\nBus driver Chuck Ritter wasn't overwhelmed by the rush. \n"I've been just fine," Ritter said. "Everybody's been well-behaved and courteous. This is my first time driving for Midnight Madness. Other than packages, it's been just like it's been on school days."\nPackages and bags were many as students found items they had forgotten to purchase for school or discounts that were too good to pass up.\nItems that sold quickly were bath rugs, pillows, plastic storage bins and DVDs. Many students also spent time searching for their favorite snack foods and drinks. Some students were seen buying items that were not on their packing lists, like a golf club, a step stool or a box of condoms.\nFreshmen David Schwarz and Josh Worden had a list in hand to buy such things as hand sanitizer, food and milk. They also spent a little time smelling plug-in air fresheners, attempting to decide which scent to buy.\n"It's just something to make our room smell good because our halls smell bad," Worden said.\nFreshman Jennifer Gantner said she bought "all types of things, food, notebooks. It was a little nuts trying to get through the aisles, but I got a lot for 30 dollars."\nFreshman Lauren Hickey also took advantage of the lowered prices.\n"We heard the prices would be knocked down so we decided to come," Hickey said. "Plus, our parents aren't here anymore to buy us stuff, and we don't have a car."\nOther students came to Midnight Madness for the Wal-Mart experience. \nSophomore Nicky Jessup, a transfer student from Australia, hadn't shopped in America yet.\n"It was my first time at Wal-Mart ever," Jessup said. "I bought a phone so I can call home and a pillow that won't fit in my suitcase."\nOther students had already experienced Midnight Madness. Customer Service Manager and IU-Bloomington senior Arthur Coleman, a seven-year Wal-Mart employee, had participated in the event several times before as a student. This was his first Midnight Madness as an employee, making sure the cash registers had enough money throughout the evening.\n"I'm usually in with the students, but I decided for my last year I'd stand back, watch and help out," Coleman said. "It's been a little stressful, but I'd rather it be stressful than not at all."\nAside from the rush itself, most of them worked during the day, went home and came back or else they stayed later and worked a double shift. \n"We had every register open, every device to check you out and everybody doing what they could,"said Wal-Mart Assistant Manager Rachel Noble."I was getting stressed out, but of course I had been here all day. It's not like it's bad stress -- it's just there's so much going on at once."\nDespite the stress, most employees agreed the event was worthwhile to interact with the students.\n"It gets the community involved and boosts our sales," Noble said. "It's crazy, it's extremely busy and we're all tired, but it's exciting to see all the people come in and to see what they buy."\n-- Contact staff writer Jackie Walker at jaclwalk@indiana.edu.