Panther Power Hour brings school pride to BBC

Image by Walter Rivera/FIUSM Staff

By Crystal Fernandez / Contributing Writer

FIU Campus Life has no shortage of events to boost school spirit. At the Modesto Maidique Campus, there are a number of opportunities such as basketball games, homecoming week and Friday night movies where Panthers are rewarded for their school pride.

Panther Power, an organization that focuses on student involvement in athletic school pride, is making sure that the Biscayne Bay Campus is full of school spirit, too. With events such as the “Spring Spirit Fest” earlier this month, a week of themed days and events, the organization is working to get students excited about attending BBC and staying for the fun.

“We like to do these events to reboot school spirit. Since BBC is more of a commuter campus, we want to get people more involved here,” said graduate assistant Justin Smith.

Panther Power Hour is an event that takes place once a month and gives back to students at BBC. The hour-long event is held at Panther Square and involves food, giveaways and lots of Panther pride.

“Our main goal is basically to get students excited and to increase school spirit. We figure that if we can drive people to Panther Power Hour, they will feel like part of the school and not just coming to school,” said sophomore member Emmanuel Hernandez.

At the most recent Panther Power Hour Tuesday, March 24, many students lined up for free pizza and socialized in Panther Square. Others were speaking to members of the organization and getting more information on how they can run for executive board member positions.

“I signed up for the vice president position,” said Melanie Damares, a sophomore hospitality major. “I don’t know if I am going to get it, but even if i don’t, I am trying to get more involved. And this seems like a cool club.”

The Panther Power Organization helps put together a number of annual events. Among them, Roary’s birthday celebration in the fall. The organization teams up with the Student Alumni Association, Student Government and the Student Programming Council and throws a birthday party for our beloved panther with cake, music and games.

“That’s probably one of our most fun events. We have a big bash for Roary’s birthday. This past fall we had over 100 people attend and it was a lot of fun,” said Smith.

Panther Power also provides a free shuttle to sports events held at MMC. Not only does it drive more students to the home games, but it also increases school spirit as people feed off of each others excitement.

“I took the bus to MMC for the homecoming game, it was full of people. Everyone was talking about the game and in FIU shirts and it got me excited,” said junior Reina Encio about her first game.

Panther Power wants to make sure that FIU students are getting the chance to socialize and experience everything BBC has to offer by getting them involved with school activities, games and events, so that people know that coming to school can be fun when you’re an FIU Panther.

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