Colorado State University Pueblo’s Residence Life & Housing (RLH) hosted its Mardi Gras Activity Parade this past Thursday (Feb. 27) across its four on-campus residential areas.
The evening parade was one of RLH’s “all-hall” events, which occur approximately once a month. The event is one large program featuring activities across the Walking Stick Apartments and the three residence halls: Greenhorn, Culebra and Crestone.
“Not only are we trying to provide a safe living community for students, but we’re also wanting to make sure that they have opportunities to engage and form communities and form friendships with each other, as well as learn a couple of things that hopefully they can take with them when they graduate,” said Halle Medina, assistant director for Walking Stick Apartments.
In celebration of Mardi Gras, the four residential buildings were decorated and hosted activities related to the theme of the event. The Walking Stick Apartments’ Clubhouse had coloring sheets and king cake.
The lobby of Culebra featured mask-making. Students could decorate Mardi Gras masks with beads, paint markers and feathers.
“I like the crafts,” said attendee Lauren Michel-Budge, a freshman majoring in psychology. “I feel like I don’t get a lot of time to craft in college.”
The lobby of Crestone had cupcakes that students could decorate with sprinkles of their choice. The lobby of Greenhorn served its guests with flavored waters and hosted Mardi Gras trivia. There also were posters displaying historical information about Mardi Gras.
“I think having different multicultural events at CSU Pueblo is super-important because sometimes this can be the first time that our students are learning about some of the cultural significance behind some of these holidays,” said Medina.
Residence Life & Housing hosted a Dia de los Muertos all-hall event last semester. According to Medina, RLH felt it was important to host that event given that CSU Pueblo is a Hispanic-Serving Institution, and the university has a large Latinx community.
Students who attended the Mardi Gras event received a sort of “passport,” which was marked off by a resident assistant if the student participated in the activities present at a specific residential area. When students had all four boxes checked off, they were entered into a raffle drawing for a chance to win a Nintendo Switch.
The events are aimed at fostering a sense of community. According to Medina, the events hosted by RLH are catered toward what the students want to learn more about, and she appreciates any feedback she receives about how the events are performing and what students want to see.
“I get to meet a lot of new people here and I think it’s a good interactive thing. You also get to learn a lot of stuff,” said attendee Rory Finley, a freshman majoring in creative writing.
The next RLH all-hall event is called “Sex in the Dark” and will take place Tuesday, March 18. The event premiered at CSU Pueblo last spring and is back again this semester. The Q&A-styled event is part of a national campaign and will feature trained moderators that answer students’ questions about sexual health and sex in general.
The events hosted by Residence Life & Housing are promoted through printed flyers around the residential areas on campus as well as digitally on RLH’s social media.
