Kent State hosted its 38th annual Black Squirrel Festival on Sept. 6 in Risman Plaza.

The event, which lasted from noon to 5 p.m., gave students, alumni, staff and family the opportunity to learn about different organizations on campus and enjoy food and live music. 

“When I was a freshman, I found Black Squirrel Fest really helpful and found the organization that I was really interested in through that,” said Ndidi Ukaobasi, senior exercise science major and member of the Kent African Student Association.

“We are trying to get more people to understand African culture without the stereotypes,” Ukaobasi said. “We get people to come to our events by making sure that they know that it’s a super inclusive group. We want everybody to come. It doesn’t matter where you’re from or if you have connections to Africa at all. We want you to come and learn more about it and understand our music and our culture.”  

The Black Squirrel Festival allows many organizations to deliver their messages and connect with students who might be interested in joining. 

“Black Squirrel Fest is open to more people,” said Kellin Wise, president of the Kent State University Ukulele Club said. “It’s really cool because it’s another way aside from Blastoff to interact with students and to learn the different ways that you can outreach in this school, like different clubs and organizations that are part of Kent State.” 

“We’re trying to get signups for a newsletter to let people know about what we’re doing as far as events and also what the overall mission statement is. It’s (Black Squirrel Festival) a really good chance to reach out to new students who don’t know who we are yet,” said Samantha Nousak, a graduate student in sociology. 

LeAnn Frank, a senior marketing major and member of the Commuter and Off-Campus Student Organization, said that the event’s timing was perfect for students because everyone is out of class and ready for the weekend.

Sara Al Harthi is a general assignment reporter. Contact her at [email protected].