On Tuesday, Feb. 16, the Student Union organized the Mardi Gras/Rio Festival in the Student Union Cafeteria during activity hour. Student organizations including Alpha Psi Lambda, Gamma Psi Omega, Theta Chi Omega, Student Activities and Espanola Ensemble participated and had their tables set up in the cafeteria. The Student Union provided each organization special decoration items to design their tables. Mardi Gras themed masks and beads were also distributed among the students attending the event. Sodexo included jambalaya in its menu for the occasion. Live Latin music was also one of the highlights of the event.
The event began with Salsa lessons and was followed by bead catching competition, in which beads were thrown from the first floor of the Student Union and participants had to catch them from the cafeteria. Female and male participants with the most beads were given the titles of Queen and King of the festival respectively, and were also given free, specially designed Mardi Gras T-shirts and free lunches.