Oklahoma Christian University students can enjoy more than just good food during tonight’s Soul Food Night, sponsored by the Black Student Union (BSU).
According to President of U Dining Kurt Hermanson, the Black Student Union started Soul Food Night years ago. The members get together and talk among themselves to decide what foods will be in the menu for this year.
The food, however, is not the main focus of Soul Food Night. The Black Student Union strives to provide some amount of information on the Civil Rights Movement through the dinner.
“[U Dining] partners with lots of groups like BSU and loves doing these kind of events to break up the monotony,” Hermanson said. “We work with BSU and facilitate the menu with our chef to make the event what BSU envisions.”
Lauren Olsen, the catering director for Oklahoma Christian, said U Dining loves partnering with the BSU to make this night happen.
“We love partnering with different campus groups, so we were excited to be asked to be a part of this,” Olsen said.
Olsen helps set up the night by connecting the BSU members with the caterers and helps pick the date for the night.
“I help facilitate the event by working with the BSU and get our chef connected with Gary Jones and BSU members to select a menu,” Olsen said. “It takes about a month from the time the date is selected until the actual event.”
According to Olsen, her favorite part of a night like this is there is an emphasis on food not usually present, but with an event like Soul Food Night, the event is about more than just food. During Soul Food Night, the BSU presents information on people and events, which were important to the Civil Rights Movement.
“I like that we get to highlight a delicious type of food,” Olsen said. “The BSU also provides signs and information highlighting different people and events that were pioneers in the Civil Rights Movement. It’s a great night to eat delicious food and learn more about what great contributions were made.”
Olsen said the Oklahoma Christian student population is a fan of foods which are not normally in the cafeteria.
“I hope they like it,” Olsen said. “I think the students appreciate when we change things up a bit.”
According to Hermanson, Soul Food Night takes three to four weeks to plan. He said he thinks students enjoy special events in the cafeteria, which offer a change from the normal dinner.
Soul Food Night is tonight in the cafeteria from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and after dinner students can go to the Oklahoma Christian Black Art Night in the Student Center.
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