As students finished up their morning classes, performers prepared to take the stage for the first Vibes on the Quad Thursday, Feb. 20, in the quad. 

Children and students gathered to interact, while playing a variety of lawn games, such as badminton, cornhole, Connect 4, and Jenga at the first-time event organized by the Student Leadership and Development committee. The crowd began to form under the warm sun, while recorded music started playing from a speaker. 

Student Leadership Development Coordinator Haley Lepper began planning the showcase in June 2019. 

“Some things we have heard from our students is that they want to be able to showcase talent,” said Lepper. “That’s why we created Vibes in the Quad to highlight our own students and what talents they have. We have all the games out here because we want students to engage and meet new people and have fun.”

In order to get the word out, Lepper started reaching out to several people on campus. She reached out to club advisers, presented at Clubs & Events Board meetings and Student Senate meetings, as well as contacting student workers. 

At the start of the planning process, about five or six people discussed the idea of performing. The day of the event, two groups performed: The Natural Movement Club and a member of the Pacific Islanders Club. 

Melini Tangivava of the Pacific Islanders Club performed a Samoan Siva-style dance. 

Tangivava said the club hoped to make more people aware of its existence.

We want to “get more recruitment so that way people know we are actually here, rather than, ‘Oh, they’re just entertainers,’ and all the stereotypes that follow through with Pacific Islanders.”

The Pacific Islanders Club is affiliated with the RISE program on campus. The goal of the club includes creating a cultural awareness of a lack of educational opportunities for Pacific Islanders, as well as creating an awareness for climate control. 

David Phasavath, creator and member of the Natural Movement Club on campus, was among the four dancers at the event who did “freestyle through hip-hop.” Phasavath started the Natural Movement Club in October, interacting with people he already knew, and making connections with dancers all over campus by “word of mouth.” 

Phasavath explained the idea behind the Natural Movement Club was to create an outlet for expression and movement. 

“A lot of people I know are dancers. They just don’t have an outlet to go to,” said Phasavath. “It was really just talking to people I know like my network and they know people, so it spread around like wildfire, but in a more positive case.”

Lepper said that the main goal behind the event was to create more student engagement, allowing students to engage with others by playing lawn games and performing in front of their peers. 

“Music always brings people to the quad,” said Lepper, who hopes to showcase student talent on the quad more frequently. 

“Whenever we have events, we try to think of ways to engage. We bought the lawn games two years ago, and we’ve been trying to bring them into our events,” said Lepper.

In the future, Lepper said her goal for Vibes on the Quad is to bring students together and support each other’s talents. 

“We would love to see it more often,” said Lepper. “We are trying to work with clubs and events for next academic year, and trying to do a schedule where we are engaging students.”