The Student Executive Council (SEC) held a carnival on May 23 on campus from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. “We were expecting close to 800 people because we’re inviting the whole PAUSD,” Student Body President senior Max Keeler said. This estimate proved slightly low, the current estimate is 500-600.

Student Body Vice President senior Maya Bruhis said she was excited about the variety of attractions that the carnival had to offer. “We had different food companies and games and a slide,” Bruhis said. Fellow junior SEC member Alix Farhat shared similar sentiments. “We had a bounce house, a velcro wall, a bungee run and even jousting,” she said.

While a carnival is challenging to plan, Keeler said, the SEC looked forward to it as a light-hearted end to the year. “The purpose of the carnival is basically an end of-the-year, bringing-in-the-summer festival that will bring the Gunn and Palo Alto Unified School District community together,” he said. While other events have failed to draw the desired community attention, the SEC hoped that a carnival would gather a crowd. “There’s not much else to do besides a carnival,” Keeler said. “People never show up to quad activities because they have other things to do at lunch and a carnival can run for much longer.”

However, many logistical problems interfered with SEC plans. Farhat, who worked on the planning commission responsible for the legal paperwork of the district safety regulations, encountered problems throughout the process. Some plans were cancelled to due the challenge of going through insurance. A ferris wheel and climbing wall, for example, were planned initially but abandoned due to technical problems.