The Alden Open, currently in its third year, is sponsored by local Athens businesses, and the proceeds will go towards the annual Ohio University Student Research and Activity Expo.
Though students usually go to Alden Library to study and read, this weekend they will be able to do something different: play miniature golf.
Alden Library will host a mini golf course Saturday for Dads Weekend. The Alden Open, currently in its third year, is sponsored by local Athens businesses, and the proceeds will go toward the annual Ohio University Student Research and Activity Expo.
Kelly Broughton, the assistant dean for research and education services, said the event is a very worthy cause.
“This public dissemination of student research is the culmination of a huge amount of very intense and serious work for the students," Broughton said. "A few rounds of mini golf in Alden Library is a great stress-relieving way to support their work."
The university has already set up a small test course on library's fourth floor, and beginning Friday, the third, fourth and fifth floors of Alden will be transformed into a miniature golf course.
A nine-hole game on the course costs $5 per player and a 18-hole game costs $10 per player.
Broughton said the labor and planning for the event wasn't too difficult.
“It’s not too bad, we’ve done this during previous years, which helps, and it's not too labor intensive," she said.
The course is actually placed by a company that specializes in setting up mini golf courses in libraries.
The library has had success with this in previous years, with about a 200 people attending last year's, Broughton said.
Barbra Fiocchi, the assistant to the director of development for OU libraries, said the event will have more than just golf. There will be door prizes and raffles, all of which have been donated by companies, she said.
“I like to think of it as the great big event," Fiocchi said. "It's just a great time for students and their fathers."
Students will still be able to work and study in the library during the event, Broughton said.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="0b8d01ea-67a0-11e5-88b7-5fa05de5ad2f"}}
“The library will still operate as usual, the stacks are off limits, so students can study silently there, but really, they can still do their work on all the floors.”
Some students have shown excitement for the course. Anna Majercak, a freshman studying criminology, works on the fourth floor of Alden and has noticed students showing interest in trying the course out.
Cassandra MaChenheimer, a freshman studying English, likes the golf course idea.
“I really think it's cool that Alden is doing this," she said.
@brookendale
be278114@ohio.edu
