Rebecca Bravo
Staff Writer
To kick off spring semester, the Associated Students of the University of La Verne and the Campus Activities Board planned fun events and activities for the first week in February.
The first event held was the Breakfast of Champions, a continental breakfast, set up by the Rock in front of Founders Hall on Monday.
Next up: a nacho bar was set up for students to dig into, followed by an ice cream sundae bar, where La Verne Winter Olympic teams found out the country they represented.
For the Olympics, students formed teams and competed in a biathlon competition through an inflatable obstacle course. Winners were announced Friday in Sneaky Park.
Additional activities included several lectures in the President’s Dining Room. including “Wagner, Schoenberg, and American Culture,” presented by Kenneth Marcus, Associate Professor of History.
Bingo for Books also was held in the President’s Dining Room. Students could win different prizes including gift cards to the La Verne Bookstore.
This event was followed by the Sock Wars held in the Campus Center Ballroom.
On Wednesday, the Ballroom hosted a Club Fair.
The theme of the fair was African-American artists in honor of Black History Month.
Every club chose a black artist and made a poster with their story and the effect they’ve had on others.
“We chose E. Lynn Harris as our representative,” said Kevin Green, Rainbow Alliance event coordinator and sophomore theater arts major.
Harris is a 10-time New York Times Bestseller and an openly gay African American, who mainly writes of the struggles of being gay in the black community.
“I didn’t know there were any gay African American authors and I found this guy and he did amazing things,” Green said. “He was the first black male cheerleader and a well-known black author on dealing with sexual preferences.”
On the other side of the ballroom, African American Student Alliance club members chose artist Ernie Barnes to represent them.
“We wanted to do this artist because we don’t see too much positive black art in the world,” said AASA Vice President Corbin Henault.
Ernie Barnes is an ex-football player who always had a passion for painting. One of his paintings, “The Sugar Shack,” was used on the cover of Marvin Gaye’s album, “I Want You,” and he was hired by rapper Kanye West to recreate his famous car accident into art.
“The clubs really dove into it. It feels good to bring awareness to the student body,” Corbin said.
On Thursday, the weather forecast was set as a snow day in Sneaky Park. CAB provided real man-made snow.
“I haven’t been in snow for a while” said freshman Daniel Silas.
Students sipped cocoa while enjoying snowball fights.
Rebecca Bravo can be reached at rebecca.bravo@laverne.edu.
