Block Party was held Aug. 18 at the end of SGA Drive. Students had the opportunity to play games, watch showcases from the National Pan-Hellenic Greek societies and visit food trucks. Zachary Araki/The Lion’s Roar
Food trucks, games and Greek showcases entertained students at the end of Welcome Week.
The Block Party was held on Aug. 18 on SGA Drive, starting at 6 p.m. The event was sponsored by the Student Government Association, the Office for Student Engagement and University Housing. Marjorie Parker, the coordinator of Student Engagement and Multicultural and International Student Affairs was on the Welcome Week committee and helped organize the event. This was the first year the event was held.
“I feel like this went very well for a first time,” said Parker. “We had an excellent turnout. The students look like they’re having a great time. I’m very pleased.”
Chambria Harrison, a junior communication major worked Block Party for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
“It’s a good way to let the students know what organizations are available on campus, get them a way to meet other people, interact with other students on campus, and it’s just a way to get them out of the dorm rooms,” said Harrison. “No one wants to be a hermit crab their whole semester.”
Sushant Gupta, a freshman computer science major shared his reasons for attending the event.
“All of my friends are coming, so I thought why not visit a new culture and new things,” said Gupta. “I have learned some things from this.”
Food vendors included Taco de Paco, City Gelatin, Dat Dog of New Orleans, Grilling Shilling, Coffee Rani and Kenny’s Cajun and Creole. Colleen Fidod with Coffee Rani from Covington discussed her thoughts on the event.
“Very good,” said Fidod. “I was worried about the weather being so hot.”
A desire to show campus life and unity inspired the idea for Block Party.
“I wanted to do something where students felt like there was campus life even on the weekends and on Fridays,” said Parker. “I wanted to definitely get them to see that, and then we wanted to try something different.”
Parker shared why she wanted to include a new dining aspect to the event.
“Bringing food trucks on is something that we’ve never done before,” said Parker. “This is the first time Southeastern ever had that. We wanted to do something that represents all students and have a really big inclusion factor. Something to do, something fun for the students as well.”
Organizing and preparing the event required a coordinated effort.
“Having to connect with the food trucks was a huge endeavor,” said Parker. “Making sure that the students were all on board, the Pan-Hellenic Greeks were on board to do Informal Social. Just having everybody coming together and having a successful event.”
Block Party, a new event of Welcome Week, was the first time the university brought food trucks on campus for an event. Students socialized at this event on the last day of Welcome Week. Zachary Araki/The Lion’s Roar
