Kellie Galentine
LV Life Editor
Tyler Bennett, freshman political science major, walked into Campus Activities Board’s Holiday Extravaganza Nov. 24 wearing nothing but a speedo and a Santa hat complete with an attached beard.
He along with two other friends sporting just their underwear were ready to celebrate the spirit of the holiday season in Davenport Dining Hall while visiting tables representing Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and the New Year.
Heads turned as Bennett and his friends walked through Holiday Extravaganza, but their scantily clad ensembles were just the remnants of their participation in the Resident Hall Association’s Undie Run, earlier that evening.
“We donated our clothes for charity earlier, and then we headed over here for the free food,” Bennett said.
Free food was not all that CAB had in store for those who attended its extravaganza.
At 10 p.m. CAB opened the doors of their holiday wonderland set up in Davenport as students were able to learn about the different holidays and even participate in cultural activities that gave insight into different world traditions.
“It is important to spread awareness because it allows students to learn about different cultures and participate in traditions, while enjoying food and having a good time,” Christopher Gonzalez, junior business major and CAB chair, said.
Each holiday’s table featured themed food. The Hanukkah table had a spread of potato latkes, jelly-filled donuts and hot apple cider, while Kwanzaa had corn bread and chicken. The food was partnered with activities such as the latke toss and Kwanzaa coloring sheets.
“This is definitely a very diverse event, it is very open. Not a lot of African Americans attend ULV so it’s very refreshing to see Kwanzaa celebrated,” Ryann Griffin, junior child development major, said.
Griffin said that she celebrates Kwanzaa at home during the holidays and thought it was great to see it presented accurately.
The New Year’s table was a crowd favorite with the sparkling cranberry juice for students to toast the holiday season and the Christmas table featured tamales and a reindeer ring toss.
For students like Sarah Oishi, sophomore business major from Hawaii, the Holiday Extravaganza presented the opportunity to get into the holiday spirit with friends before returning home.
“It gets me more amped to celebrate at home,” Oishi said. “I think it is fun to see what kind of foods the other cultures celebrate with so I can widen my horizons.”
College Panhellenic Association was also at the event hosting a table for writing letters to Santa. The letters were written for the Macy’s Believe campaign, which benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Students who wrote letters at the CPA table had the chance to enter a raffle for a ticket to winter formal.
A green screen photo booth was set up for students to take photos with friends using holiday props and backgrounds.
“There is a sense of belonging and comfortably here and a very family oriented energy.” Griffin said.
Kellie Galentine can be reached at kellie.galentine@laverne.edu or on Twitter @kellie_gal.
