Pacific Index

The Black Student Union prepares to host second annual Mardi Gras celebration

   Imagine this: all over the Pacific University campus there are students throwing beads and clapping as miniature decorated floats pass through Forest Grove. All the while, students are indulging in authentic cuisine (most notably gumbo) and enjoying lively music and celebration.   

   Sound familiar? Mardi Gras, also lovingly referred to as “Fat Tuesday,” which marks the beginning of Lent and acts as a warm welcome to the spring solstice. 

   Why don’t we celebrate it on campus? 

   To answer that, we do! Everyone is invited to join the Black Student Union’s (BSU) second annual Mardi Gras celebration on the 22 of February. 

   “I booked the date for Mardi Gras, literally, the day after the last Mardi Gras,” says Xiomara Flowers, Treasurer and Event Coordinator of the BSU. Last year’s celebration, admits Flowers, “wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but it was more than what I expected.” 

   But disappointment can lead to inspiration, and the grand plan for the BSU’s Mardi Gras celebration is to expand to a campus-wide celebration and, in the future, maybe even city-wide to Forest Grove. This year, the club is laying the essential groundwork and Flowers explains that the overall hope for the celebration is to “bring more of the community to the event, because it’s not just for the school or club, it’s for the entire community.”

   BSU’s Meeting and Events Coordinator Amaira Ross chimes in:  “It’s very authentic, so we’re having authentic food and stuff like that.” Keeping the celebration faithful to its origin is one of the main concerns when putting the event together. 

   “You want to get stuff like that correct,” Flowers clarifies. “We want to keep it as authentic as possible, especially since we don’t get the representation we need.” Flowers adds, “we’re still doing our bead toss, which is authentic in New Orleans,” and the event planners add they plan to host a murder mystery game based around the theme of “Louisiana Bounty.” 

   Flowers emphasizes they want the event better promoted within the school. “They don’t promote us like how we want to be promoted,” she discloses. But, funding has improved, and the planners share their excitement for the upcoming event, with Ross emphasizing her enthusiasm for the cuisine. “I’m personally a huge foodie,” she says.

   The Black Student Union hosts the second annual Mardi Gras celebration on Saturday, February 22 in the UC’s Multi-Purpose Room.