Columbia’s Black Wolves basketball team took on two members of Columbia’s leadership on Wednesday, April 29, in a game organizers hoped would bring more attention to campus athletics.
The game, held at the East-West University gym, featured three half-court matchups between students and the two administrators who attended, followed by a full-court game. Students joined Columbia’s leadership to fill out their team.
Emmanuel Lalande, senior vice president of Enrollment Strategy and Student Success, said he saw the event as an opportunity to meet students where they are.
“To me, it’s a moment to just let your hair down and really just play a game that students love,” said Lalande.
Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions James Tsitiridis, who played with Lalande, said he hopes to see more events like these in the future.
“Hopefully we can make it a tradition here of student and staff games,” said Tsitiridis. “I think it’s a great way to have events on campus, bring students and faculty together, have some fun and get away from the classroom for a bit.”
The Renegades volleyball team held its first students versus administration event last semester, with 11 leadership and faculty members playing on the court, including President and CEO Shantay Bolton, the Chronicle previously reported.
Despite the lower turnout from Columbia leadership on Wednesday, players said they were excited to bring awareness to the school’s basketball community.
“I just want to spread awareness that we have an athletics club and build a community around the school,and just have that sports atmosphere vibe,” said Robert Jones, the coach of the Black Wolves team and organizer of the event.
Jones, a junior film and television major, said he also wanted to contribute to Columbia by building a space where athletics allow students to be “creative in a different way.”
Judius Bell, a first-year performance and songwriting major, is hoping that the game will show students that sports culture can be found on campus.
“I think people are going to see that people actually play basketball here,” Bell said. “People that don’t play are probably going to try to come out more.”
Both administrators and students saw the event as a welcomed reprieve from the stress of the last few weeks of the semester.
“You know, this world is pretty tough the way it is,” Lalande said. “So when you have a moment to just forget about all the troubles that the world brings and play a game that you just want to have fun playing, with students who are just trying to have a good time, it’s the fun part of the job. This is why I love what I do.”
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