The SUNY Brockport campus community joined together on Sunday, Feb. 8, to watch Super Bowl LX for The Big Game Watch Party. Students gathered together in the Seymour Union to cheer on their favorite teams, share a meal, participate in raffles and dance along to the halftime show.
The Big Game Watch Party was a collaboration between various campus organizations. The Joey Jackson Intercultural Center, known on campus as JJIC, and Brockport Student Government, known on campus as BSG, hosted the watch party. The Office of Residential Life/Learning Communities and WBSU 89.1 The Point sponsored a tailgate that happened in the Union before the game.
Students could watch the Seattle Seahawks face off against the New England Patriots in any of the watch party’s locations: the main space in the Union Ballroom, the sensory mindful space in the Union Gallery and a space where the Telemundo broadcast was streamed in the JJIC lounge.
Assistant Director for Programs and Engagement Rebecca Lemus helped coordinate the watch party, from planning technical logistics to deciding the watch party’s theme. With many students excited about Bad Bunny’s halftime show, JJIC chose to give the event a Puerto Rican theme, complete with authentic Puerto Rican food.
“There’s empanadas, there’s rice and beans, there’s kebabs, which are called pinchos,” Lemus said. “The food, the atmosphere and the layout are just the main keys to a lot of the planning of the event.”
For Lemus, the most rewarding part of the watch party was seeing students enjoy the event together.
“It just shows the students who are here want to be here, and they want to do this together,” Lemus said. “The fact that our students are so comfortable being in space with each other, I’m watching community building in students.”
The Big Game Watch Party is not only a result of Lemus’ planning, but student input, as well.
“We could not do it without the student voice,” Lemus said. “That’s really at the heart of what we’re doing tonight. Yes, we’re all watching TV together, but it’s the fact that we’re doing it together in community, and we’re able to do that right and give a space for that.”
One of the students involved in planning this event was junior BSG Activities Board member Grace Madianga. As a member of the BSG Activities Board, Madianga works to plan events on campus.
“They give us freedom. We still have people higher up controlling everything, but we get to do what we would think the student body would like to see on campus,” Madianga said.
For this event, Madianga’s responsibilities included working with JJIC to ensure the many elements of the watch party were set up smoothly. She said her favorite part of the event was getting to experience a Super Bowl party for the first time. Madianga is Congolese, originally from Central Africa.
“It reminded me of when the FIFA World Cup would be going on, or when AFCON [African Cup of Nations] would be going on,” Madianga said. “It was very homey in a way because I had my friends. It was comfy, there was lots to eat, it was relaxing.”
Of the different aspects of Super Bowl LX, Madianga’s favorites were both the commercials and Bad Bunny’s halftime show. She wasn’t the only student who was excited for Bad Bunny’s performance as sophomore Milton Bennett chose the halftime show as one of the aspects of The Big Game Watch Party he was most excited about. He was also excited to watch the game itself, where he had his bets on the New England Patriots winning.
Bennett said he thinks campus programming like The Big Game Watch Party is important because it allows for inclusivity and engagement.
“Big events like this are a great way for people to meet new friends, find your people,” Bennett said. “I actually met a few of my friends at a social event like this my freshman year.”
Through collaboration, JJIC, BSG, Residential Life and The Point made an event that was fun for any student in attendance – no matter if they enjoyed the commercials, the halftime show or the game itself the most. The Big Game Watch Party created a space for students to come together as a campus community.
