The Black Student Cultural Programming Board had both inspirational and entertaining events for Sibs Weekend.
One of the main events was the Apollo Variety Show. The show featured 10 contestants with varying talents, including singing, dancing, saxophone playing and poetry reading.
Shambrion Treadwell, a sophomore, took home the $200 cash prize for her performance of a poem that honored Black History month. In second place was Paul Monnin, a senior studying sociology, who performed Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” while playing the guitar.
Through the roar of the audience, Treadwell expressed her excitement while receiving congratulatory pats on the back.
“It feels good,” Treadwell said. “I was very, very nervous.”
Treadwell said a friend had encouraged her to read her self-written poem at the show, and the cash prize motivated her to follow through.
Throughout the show, which lasted about an hour, much of the audience participated in giving feedback on the performances. Between several acts, the emcees played games with the audience members to keep them involved and alert.
Michaela Williams, a sophomore studying business, said the show exceeded her expectations.
“It was good, the winners deserved to be up on that stage. It was better than I thought it would be,” Williams said.
Preceding sibs weekend, inspirational motivator, David Robertson, spoke about HIV and his experiences with the disease.
After having an aunt and brother contract the disease, Robertson was also diagnosed with HIV. After learning this, Robertson went through a ministry to help test other people for STDs and HIV.
Robertson made a documentary about his experience, and started touring the country and explaining his story to people all over, in hopes that they would become aware of the ignorance people have about contracting a disease.
“If you walk out of this building today and you say ‘it cannot happen to me,’ you are walking in ignorance,” Robertson said.
Robertson said the overall message conveyed in his presentation was instilling hope and self-love into those who feel hopeless.
“If you love yourself, there is no fear,” Robertson said. “Even if you are hopeless, you still are connected to hope. Allow the less to be more and you will be more hopeful in your hopeless situation.”
ne991410@ohiou.edu
