Shippensburg University’s Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA) hosted its annual crab fest and BBQ at the hockey rink on Saturday.

Students, family and faculty filled the hockey rink to get a taste of crab and home-cooked soul food. The fifth annual event was created to welcome all students to mingle and have a great time.

Executive board member of the black union Afro-Am senior Lance Hines-Butts volunteered to help at the event by serving dessert to guests. 

“[Afro-Am] likes to put an event like this because people like to have a good time and eat good food,” Hines-Butts said. “We want to bring in freshmen so they have a comfortable time at Shippensburg University and with black student union.”

The adviser of MSA, Diane Jefferson, spent the evening greeting everyone with a warm, motherly affection, making sure they had something to eat and were comfortable. Jefferson wanted to bring people together in a clever way. For her, race and gender cannot get in the way of people coming together to find a middle ground. 

“[Crab fest] is really about diversity. We try to find that thing we [all] have in common by doing it in a fun way and most people enjoy crabs,” Jefferson said. “For me that’s the win of it all, finding that common ground and peace.” 

By the end of the fest, students loosened up and got out of their seats to dance to the “Cha Cha Slide” and other hip-hop anthems showcasing the Afro-Am’s desire to bring students together and celebrate. 

Junior Maddy Albright attended Crab Fest for the first time and was pleased by the hospitality from the staff that made her feel at home. 

“I had a great time meeting new people. I especially enjoyed the dancing. The food was great,” Albright said. 

The organization is confident that its crab fest will last for years to come. Afro-Am member Abdul Omar Tucker was positive that students will always come out to the event.

“There’s no other way to bring people together but by having food, normally when you see all these people they wouldn’t be seating together they usually just walk by each other,” Tucker said. “It’s that one time that everyone can get together and eat and listen to music. I don’t see why this [event] would stop.”

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