Hidden in the depths of The Union basement is an oasis of entertainment that provides many opportunities for bored Jackrabbits.

Outback Jacks is a service that’s all about fun. They offer a wide variety of indoor and outdoor activities to SDSU students, and at a low cost.

“Most of our events aren’t free, but they are like two or five dollars,” said Bonnie Moeller, student man­ager for Outback Jacks. “It’s a good alternative because when you come to the events you’re going to get instruction how to use the equip­ment.”

Moeller said they have a wide variety of events for students to choose from and they have an even wider variety of events planned for the 2011-2012 school year.

“We offer anything from cross-country skiing to fishing 101 and pool tournaments… we’re going to do a trap shooting tournament next year,” she said.

While Outback Jacks offers a lot of extracurricular events, they also help students plan and prepare for road trips and weekend vacations. They have hundreds of point-of-interest folders, chalked full of things to do in the Midwest and across the country.

Moeller compared the service to a small travel agency. She said that not many people use the resources they have for planning trips because it is relatively unknown.

Outback Jacks underwent a major face-lift during the 2010 summer; in fact, so did the entire basement. Before the transi­tion, they still offered pool and some other indoor activities, but Outback Jacks was also lumped together with the campus print and design studio.

Since the beginning of the 2010- 2011 school year Outback Jacks separated from the print studio, which was renamed to Blueprint, and now solely focuses on games and campus events planning.

“Before, it (Outback Jacks) was kind of lacking and didn’t really have a lot to offer to the students,” said Tyler Bale, a student employee.

With the changes, Outback Jacks has more time to plan monthly events and also reap the benefits of having a full-time print lab right next door.

Moeller said that Outback Jacks has been working with Blueprint on designing ads and getting good deals on advertising and printing their event information. She thinks the partnership has helped gain student interest in Outback Jacks activities.

“I think the numbers have defi­nitely increased a little bit,” Bale said. “It gets people down here to check out the remodel and see what’s going on.”

The staff are already planning some major events for the 2011- 2012 school year. Along with the trap-shooting contest which Moeller said is a good precursor to the opening Pheasant season for hunters, they also have plans for a volleyball tournament and a canoe/ adventure day at Camden State Park in southwest Minnesota.

“Each of our months are going to be themed for next fall,” Moeller said. “September will be heav­ily focused on outdoors. October we will start to move inside and November is ‘Wii-vember’ which includes different Wii activities.”

Whether you are a returning stu­dent or brand new to SDSU, you will likely find something interest­ing to do at Outback Jacks. If you would like to find more informa­tion about specific events or weekly specials just pick up a pamphlet in The Union basement at the front desk or ask a student employee.