(Image via cenacolovinciano.org)
Staff Writer: Brian Galindo
Email: bgalindo@umassd.edu
Happy Easter to the Corsairs who celebrate. This year’s celebration on campus was certainly a unique one. There are many things the campus has never tried before, but a recreation of the Last Supper was something no one had on their bingo card.
For dinner on the night of March 29th, in celebration of Good Friday, the campus decided to try a new approach to the holiday. Through a mix of allusions, traditions, and even artistic renditions, the Grove hosted its very own Last Supper.
Similar to da Vinci’s famous painting, which recreated the event, all chairs in the campus dining location were stuck on one side of each long table. Circular tables were all blocked off, allowing for the most authentic experience.
They also kept the food options accurate to the event. Beyond the standard Grove fare, there were references packed throughout the menu, especially to the “body” and “blood.”
Different types of bread were served at each section, with the Sweet Shoppe even offering various bread desserts. Although the Grove does not offer alcohol, they offered grape juice to replicate the famous meal.
Because schools cannot host religious events for specific denominations, the meal was, of course, open to the entire student body, regardless of religion. And how good it was that everyone got the chance to have this experience!
Along with the unique dining experience, there was also much merriment to be had. Each table had a bowl of twenty “silver” (plastic) coins, in reference to the money Judas was paid for betraying Jesus. These coins could be traded with other tables to get all twenty unique designs.
Trading was greatly encouraged, as any table with all twenty tokens could get a free hint towards any clue in the ongoing SAIL Scavenger Hunt.
Even Arnie got to partake in the fun. Before the meal was over, he found one student and gave them a high five. Similar to how Jesus was betrayed with a kiss, the student who was high-fived was taken away; instead of being crucified, though, the student was gifted five free Grove passes just in time for finals.
In typical UMass Dartmouth fashion, though, the Grove passes weren’t the only goodies given out. Every student who showed up got a special $5 Dunkin’ gift card with a unique Arnie design on it.
Many students attended the event, though most were too enthralled to give a full interview. One student asked to be left anonymous, as he was the one who was high-fived, and he doesn’t want to become famous.
“It was a great experience,” he explained. “It really felt like I was connecting with the rest of the student body, even as they condemned me to death.”
When asked to explain, he continued, “Yeah, they really just wanted me gone. It almost felt personal; I think everyone was just really into the experience.”
While the student body was certainly happy to involve themselves in such a culturally rich and fun experience, the faculty there also got to see the students when they were most excited. The Grove staff were somehow even friendlier than usual, all clearly beaming with positivity about the once-in-a-lifetime event.
If you missed the Last Supper at the Grove, reports say its popularity may lead to it returning in future years. If you want to be there when it happens, you’ll just have to keep on reading the Torch to keep up with campus events!
*This article was written as a parody for the Torchure.