The University Activities Board’s (UAB) Cardboard Boat Race and Black Men on the Move's pool party took place on Thursday Oct. 10 in the Student Union Atrium. The race had 12 teams of 3-5 members and featured a cruise theme.
Alisha Speaks, the UAB programmer of the event, said that the UAB found the race to be a great way to bring together parts of the WSU community during Homecoming Week.
“This idea just kind of came about when [we] at the UAB decided this would be a fun little activity for students to take part in and a chance for them to win prizes.”
Speaks also said that this event has taken places annually for a few years.
There were several campus organizations that participated in the event, including Black Men on the Move and Student Government.
“A lot of these teams were formed in advance by some organizations but there are students who just sort of formed up when they came in,” said Speaks.
Sophomore Devonte’e Holland attended the event as a member of Black Men on the Move and was a member of the team that the organization had formed ahead of time for the race.
“This is my first time taking part of this and it’s definitely a lot of fun,” Holland said. "We’ve got a bunch of engineering majors here helping out.”
“Black Women Striving Forward had been coming out to this event for a while now to support Black Men on the Move during these events.” said senior Ashley Bass. “It’s always great to come out and cheer them on and hopefully see them win a prize.”
Senior Kiaran Johnson said the event could “bring the campus community together.”
“It’s just a lot of fun to go to, especially the pool party,” Johnson said.
