Paige Rantz
On Wednesday, Oct. 30, the Black Student Association (BSA) threw a Halloween party to remember in the Carver League building. Kennadie Campbell, a junior majoring in Elementary education as well as the President of BSA, helped put together this fun Halloween party with a playlist. Campbell said that the idea came from everyone wanting to throw a Halloween party together because they are not only an association, but a social club that are all friends to one another. They decided to host this as a club event so multiple clubs would be invited to it as well with organizations like the International Student Association, Interfraternity Council, and many more.
Campbell said she had to blow up over 45 balloons for their party and brought many spooky spider webs to bring out the historic features that the Carver League building holds. With how successful this event was for BSA, the group wants to keep this tradition going and continue enjoying fun Halloween parties for years to come. Campbell was also hosting a Halloween costume contest as part of the party festivities. Campbell dressed up as her favorite princess growing up, princess Tiana. The entire costume was put together well, but Campbell also included, “It was really easy for my boyfriend to be a frog,” while laughing. Campbell said that dressing up for Halloween isn’t something that she has done in many years but has had a lot of fun getting back into the holiday as a college student. Another standout costume at the party was one of the girls who wore a prosthetic baby bump, adding humor to the festivities.
DeVontey Gridiron, a sophomore majoring in Business Management, dressed up in a baby onesie costume. When asked what his inspiration was, he responded, “I’ve got kids, so I decided to dress up as a baby,” while laughing. Gridiron said it didn’t take too long to put his costume together. Gridiron’s favorite Halloween candy is candy corn, and some of his favorite memories are taking his daughter out trick-or-treating and spending time with her.
This building holds significant historical importance to Pittsburg; it was purchased by the Carver Social League in 1951 as a community center for black students and residents. They held many different events like charities, holidays, and fun game nights together. It was a sacred place where the community was able to come together freely in a time where that was hard to find and became the main gathering place for several in the African American community. Sadly, over the years, the Carver League building started to decay without being taken care of and faced the problem of being sold by the county. However, the community intervened to save the historic building. With the help of Pittsburg School of Construction and donors, the community was able to restore the building on its original structure to keep it within the Pittsburg community.