By Johania Charles
Homecoming is an event-filled week made to celebrate the long-standing tradition of unifying college students for some good ole fun.
Though homecoming festivities are usually topped off with a football game, Barry has engendered other creative ideas and elaborate events to replace this traditional collegiate experience.
While other universities in Florida like UF, FSU and FAU celebrate homecoming in the fall semester, Barry sticks to a spring timeline.
This year’s homecoming celebration took place from Feb. 9 -13 with a world tour theme.
The English Secret Garden brunch on Sunday kicked off the festivities followed by different themed lunches, a pool party, basketball games and a red-carpet dance.
The themed lunches included a day dedicated to Arabian nights inspired cuisine and another with Chinese dishes. Memorabilia representing different cultures around the world were also placed in the Roussell dining hall.
Chinese themed lunch in Russell
Spirit fest, held on Monday Feb. 10 at the campus mall, was among the events with memorable performances.
The jam-packed event was split into two parts with the first section being an interactive game driven hour where students and faculty could ride the mechanical bull, rock climb or hop in the gaming experience trailer for some virtual fun.
Vendors ranging from cosmetic services like Uniquely Touched to healthy foods like 1-2-3 smoothie were awaiting students at the event.
In addition, Bon Jan Fritay and Jerk it food trucks at the event offered attendees more exotic island dishes.
The second half of Spirit fest consisted of a comedy show hosted by grad student Courtlyn Heard and performance sets from two well-known social media comedians and a popular recording artist.
Stand-up comedian ‘Fat and Funny’ took the stage first and connected with the crowd instantly when he brought up two popular topics among college students, surviving on ramen noodles and zodiac signs.
The South Florida comedian is supported by over 200,000 fans. His segments usually consist of scenarios relating to the shared struggles of North Miami residents.
Baltimore comedian Vontee delivered his set shortly after, targeting what the “college experience” really entails. Vontee is known for his VonteeCLASS Youtube channel created in 2012. He then transitioned to Twitter and Instagram as platforms for his Baltimore-centric style of comedy.
Miami R&B sensation, Malik Davage, was the last to take the stage, serenading the crowd with two singles from his latest album “The Callback.”
Students appeared to enjoy all performances and, after the sets, were enthusiastic about taking photos with the performers.
“I thought it was cool that they got him [Fat and Funny]. I personally watch him on Instagram and think he is funny...I hope student life can continue to bring out people students enjoy watching and can relate to,” said biology senior Naggine Bruno.
Event coordinator of the Campus Activities Board (CAB) and junior philosophy student, Peter Maurival, expressed his satisfaction with the result and some cons of event life on campus.
“There was a good turnout for all the events. [Events hosted by the office of student life] have been more fun because the supervisors are great with student leaders [but] it’s only fun if people show up. Sometimes students complain about campus life but don’t show up to events,” said Maurival.
Kyesse Bidzimou, sophomore business management student and director of social party planning, shared a similar idea. She detailed the process of creating homecoming events specific to Barry students.
“We envision what students would want then our advisor shows the supervisor. I like the process of seeing our vision come to life,” said Bidzimou. I want to be an event planner after college [and] I’ve been able to gain real world experience.”