Student Organization Spotlight: Friday Underground Friday Underground is a student-run weekly event open to the entire W&L community.

By Kelsey Goodwin
September 30, 2026

For over a decade, students looking for a creative and caffeinated hangout on campus have gravitated toward Friday Underground (FUDG), a student-run weekly event that invites the W&L community to unwind in the coffeehouse-feel basement of 205 E. Washington St.

Activities offered at Friday Underground range from week to week from an open mic, karaoke night, tabletop gaming, even stand-up comedy and poetry readings. The constant is the coffee bar, where a team of student volunteers supplies attendees with coffee, tea and even fudge, a nod to the organization’s acronym, FUDG.

Over the last few years, FUDG has kicked off the academic year with live music, creating an energetic and welcoming atmosphere as students return to campus. Shenandoah Attic, a downtown Lexington business, has also helped the FUDG team celebrate the start of a new academic year by providing fudge for attendees to enjoy.

“These traditions have helped make the beginning of the year feel special while giving students opportunities to connect, relax and celebrate together,” says Laura Ulmer, associate dean of student engagement and dean of juniors.

Beyond the Friday night programming, FUDG also serves as a comfortable “living room” environment for students at the end of a busy week — a casual, welcoming space where they can grab a snack, meet up with friends, study, play games, attend a program or simply spend time together. The space provides an alternative to residence halls and traditional campus programming, giving students a place to be themselves and build connections in a relaxed environment.

“By combining engaging Friday night programming with a comfortable and inviting physical space, FUDG creates opportunities for both planned and spontaneous engagement,” Ulmer says. “Whether students come for live music, food, games or simply to hang out with friends, the goal is to create a consistent sense of community and belonging that encourages students to make FUDG a regular part of their W&L experience.”

Friday Underground President Leon Tong ’28, is a politics major and poverty and human capability studies minor on the pre-med track from Round Rock, Texas. His role with the group involves overseeing the weekly preparation for the event and interfaces with a variety of roles on the FUDG exec team and in Student Affairs to facilitate having the basement open and ready every Friday. Tong says he got involved in Friday Underground early on as a first-year student and was eventually invited to be involved in its executive leadership team.

“Some of my favorite activities that we’ve done at FUDG over the past few years comes from the many collaborations we do – we’ve worked with many other organizations on campus,” Tong says. “Some examples would be our collaboration with the Chocolate Milk Society, multiple of the acapella groups for our holiday concert and the Gaming Club. Each of those events brings a different part of campus to our space, giving those who hang out with us opportunities to meet new people and have fun. On other nights, we’ll have a Nintendo Switch hooked up to our TV, mixed mocktails, board games and anything else people feel like doing.”

Tong says that any student organization interested in partnering with Friday Underground on future events should contact an executive team member through Generals Connect, and that the organization is always looking for new ways to interact with the rest of the W&L community.

Those who have been in Tong’s shoes remember their time commitment to the organization fondly. Eli Bradley ’22, a current medical school student at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, says that his experiences as a participant and leader of Friday Underground were pivotal to his self-development.

“The benefit of going to a really small school is how far it gets you when you just take the time to genuinely want to get to know people, ask them questions about themselves and take an interest in them – it’s a big part of W&L and something I felt in particular at FUDG,” he says. “I’ve realized that it became a character trait I’ve carried with me that I developed because of Friday Underground.”

Tong says the group is currently seeking new executive team members and plans to onboard a new leadership team during Winter Term 2028.

“The best way to learn more and get involved,” Tong says, “is to come to Friday Underground between 8 p.m. and midnight.”