OU students danced the night away and helped the community.
The MLK Gala, hosted by Student Senate and the Adawe LifePlan Center was held on Jan. 22 to finish off Martin Luther King Jr. week.
Admission to the ball was a canned food item to be donated to local food banks within the community.
The Gala was a chance for students to come together to remember and celebrate with each other.
This is the second year for the event. Last year, the Gala was around the time of President Obama’s inauguration. Dr. Dennis Tyner was the for the event for the second year and thought it was successful. Tyner has been a DJ since 1978 and had done many private parties during that time.
“I enjoy doing it, and I think it’s a component that is missing at school,” Tyner said.
There were refreshments, drinks, and beautifully decorated tables to set the décor of the cafeteria. This event was organized and planned by Tisha Foster.
“Tisha does a great job with that,” Tyner said.
Foster started by submitting her plan to the MLK committee about her ideas and the event itself. She also asked Student Senate for the funds to help with decorations and decided on decorations that could be used for other organizations and events.
“It was an amazing event. I didn’t attend last year but I’m very happy that I attended this year. I really enjoyed myself,” Breanna Jones said.
The event was well thought out, planned, and proven to be successful.
“I thought the canned goods was one way students could give back to the community,”
Foster said. “I was looking forward to students spending time together and having fun while dressed up because there’s not a lot of activities to do.”
Because of its success this year, faculty plan on improving next year when the event is hosted.
“Next year I would like to take it to the next level, maybe have the dance followed by a dinner,” Tyner said. “We need to get things on campus for students to do. I went to a military college and there were four formal balls a year. It was a good turn out.”