Students play arcade games at Dave & Buster’s on Oct. 10. This outing was one of the activities offered over fall break for students who decided to stay on campus. Photos courtesy of Da Eun Jang
The fall ’25 semester introduced Late Night Lineup events as a way for students to come together and connect every Friday and Saturday evening.
Late Night Lineup events typically involve an activity, such as a movie night or mini-golf tournament, paired with food. The events are open to all undergraduate students and aim to build community.
“The purpose of Late Night Lineup events is to foster a greater sense of community on campus,” said Paige Timbrook, a senior and intern for Late Night Activities. “These events boost the social atmosphere at Pepperdine and provide students with something to look forward to every weekend.”
As a student intern for these events, Timbrook said her duties involve greeting and checking in students, setting up the events and cleaning up after the events are over.
“Working at these events has given me the chance to develop my skills of creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork,” Timbrook said. “It is rewarding to see the events come to life and to watch students make memories.”
Sharon Beard, interim vice president for Student Affairs, said she first proposed the idea for the events. Beard hired Alumna Myers Mentzer (25′), former Student Government Association president, to help bring these events to life.
“Myers is in charge of making sure these events run smoothly,” said Kianna Kotas, a junior and intern for Late Night Activities. “However, she is working out of Texas and not able to be physically present all of the time, so we have a variety of campus faculty lead the different events and we sometimes partner with the [Student Programming] Board, which is always a fun collaboration.”
Students enjoy free food at a Late Night Lineup event Aug. 30. Chick-fil-A has been just one of the various food options that students have had the ability to get by attending these events.
Junior Sadie Lovett said these events are great for meeting people because it brings together students from different grades, majors and clubs. These events widen the circle of people students spend time with, which is a positive change.
“A fun memory that I have from these events is when I played cornhole with someone I had met that night, and now we’re friends on campus,” Lovett said. “It’s so funny when I see him because each time we learn more ways that we’re oddly connected. At Pepperdine, you never just meet someone once.”
Kotas said she enjoys working these events because she gets to meet lots of new people when checking students in.
“I get to form bonds with students who I wouldn’t have overlapped with,” Kotas said. “I also enjoy how these events provide food for the students and employees. It’s always a nice treat when there is leftover food that I can bring back to my dorm.”
First-year Kady Burke said she has attended a variety of these events, such as Canes and Cornhole, Starry Night Cinema, Wings and Wins and Howdy and Hang.
“I love just laughing with my friends and bonding with one another,” Burke said. “Obviously, the free food is a plus, but just being able to bond with my friends after the week is so fun because I get to see people I do not see as much, or I get to laugh with my roommate which are memories that I love.”
Students spend time relaxing in the jacuzzi at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool while watching “Top Gun” on Oct. 25. Lovett said she can tell these events are making a difference in whether students decide to spend their weekends on or off campus.
Lovett said she can already tell the difference that these events are making.
“Lots of Pepperdine students go home on the weekend, and I can already tell that these events are making more people stay,” Lovett said. “As a junior, I’ve seen Pepperdine before and after the introduction of Late Night Lineup, and I believe these community building moments are a huge plus.”
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Contact Alicia Dofelmier via email: alicia.dofelmier@pepperdine.edu
