Black Student Union’s third annual Soul Fest “Roll Bounce” invited members of the California Lutheran University community to enjoy live performances by students, dinner catered by Popeye’s, dessert and a free roller skating rink in Gilbert Sport and Fitness Center’s Soiland Arena on Friday, Feb. 28.

The theme, “Roll Bounce,” was inspired by the movie with the same name. The movie takes place in Chicago during the 1970’s, and roller skating is part of the central storyline. Junior biology major and BSU Vice President Zino Ayetuoma said “skating is a big part of black culture so we thought it would be cool to bring in a roller rink.” 

The rink was a popular attraction for sophomore business administration major Cameron Jones, junior business marketing major Tyus Brown Jr. and junior communication major Garrett Iwamoto, who all agreed that the roller skating was their favorite part of the event.

Jones and Brown both said they attended the event to support BSU and because they enjoy skating.

“I’ve been hearing about it for the past couple of weeks and it was something I was really interested in because I love to skate and it is also for a good cause,” Jones said.

Iwamoto attended the event as part of Cal Lutheran’s TV Production crew, and was also interested in the opportunity to skate.

“I’ve never done this [roller skating] before so I wanted to try it out,” Iwamoto said.

In addition to the roller skating, live performances took place throughout the night. The line up, consisting of Cal Lutheran students as well as some non-students from the Los Angeles area, performed songs from the R&B or Hip Hop genres.

“Our president [Urael Blackshear] is in a group collective called RTR, and there are a bunch of different artists under RTR,” Ayetuoma said. “So that is the majority of our performers.”

BSU also provided attendees with dinner catered by Popeyes and an assortment of pastries from Bree’s Cakes located in the San Fernando Valley.

“We’ve kind of been eyeing their desserts because they look really good, so we’re excited for you guys to try that,” Ayetuoma said.

Associated Students of California Lutheran University Government also supported BSU in this event. Sophomore, ASCLU Programs Board Committee Representative Rama Youssef said she thinks it is important for student government to collaborate and show that they are contributing to make change on campus by helping with events like Soul Fest.

“I think it’s really nice when we collab with a cultural club or a diversity club on campus because that way the measure is not only thrown at one person or one club,” Youssef said. “It is [student] government plus whoever they are.”

Ayetuoma said she feels it is up to the students to throw events that celebrate black culture on campus and recognize what other students want to see. She also hopes that those who attend felt that they learned something and also had fun at the same time.

“It is really important to us that [Soul Fest] turns out good and actually means something to people on campus,” Ayetuoma said. “I just want us as BSU to be proud of the work we put in.”