The planning started in September of 2019, taking up my Wednesday evenings with the Afrodisiac committee around a large wooden table of hope. I was planning a large-scale two-day event full of performances, side events, food and so much more. We were all nervous but knew it would come together. It was Afrodisiac--it had to. This annual event was created to celebrate black and students of color on campus along with Afro-descendants from other cultures.
As a club head at Purchase, an RA, and a student worker at financial aid, I’m used to meetings--as many as four a week. But this was different; heads turned to me for reassurance and guidance from both committee members and the Purchase Student Government Association. Every event put together at Purchase is created by the students for the students. If it weren't for the motivated and dedicated students who are constantly involved, would there even be a campus life?
We all choose to be in these positions, so it’s something anyone involved would understand. “I wanted to be a clubhead because if I wasn’t contributing to my community, I just wouldn’t feel right. Coming here I felt crazy being in an environment where nobody else looked like me,” said Jose Velazquez, the public relations coordinator of the club Queer People of Color (also known as QPOC). I can relate. It is crazy to say that I have never embraced my Latinidad as much as I had to here at Purchase, for the simple fact that I stand out in a crowd.
I was first introduced to Afrodisiac last year when I was brought onto the team by my president from Latinx Unidos where I was an executive member. Since then, I was elected to be head chair of the event for this current year. Everything was going well; plans were being made and contracts were being signed. But as the days grew closer and closer to the event, everything began to fall apart as a result of COVID-19.
The week before my event and only two days before the release video was set to be posted on our Instagram, I received an email that all campus-wide events were canceled. After reading through the long black and white paragraph the only words I processed were, “All PSGA events and programs will be canceled for the remainder of the semester. Details from PSGA will be forthcoming.”
Everything was so new and still developing that I had no other feeling but defeat.
Not only was Afrodisiac canceled, but so was Spring Ball, Gay Prom, Culture Shock, Sk80’s, and even commencement.
“It was speculation one day, confirmed the next and we didn’t even get a formal email?” said Velasquez. “Yet we continued with budget requests and were forced to commence with elections in a time of panic.”
We then received a long email stating that we should still host club meetings on Zoom. It seemed like a long letter that nobody was expecting. “They did not give us any time to process any changes,” said Kassi Bates, the co-president of the Students of Caribbean Ancestry (SOCA) club. “The idea that student-run clubs should be expected to now transition onto an online platform that they have not used prior, while still following all required channels of communication and accessibility to the community, while still being held accountable for all of their school work and attendance, while suddenly being kicked off of campus, at the same time was completely disrespectful,” said Bates. That's exactly how a majority of the club heads felt when reading through the email that listed all our events followed by the word “canceled.”
We were disappointed about missing out on the events we worked hard to put together and also the highly anticipated Purchase traditions that happen in the spring. “For SOCA, our fashion show was supposed to happen this semester,” said Bates. “This year we had reached out to a lot of up-and-coming New York artists and we even got some artists from out of state who was willing to fly in and do custom pieces for us. It was looking to be bigger than we had originally imagined and both the executive board and participants were really looking forward to sharing it with the student body.”
As the news was developing around COVID-19, I didn’t want to accept the fact that Afrodisiac would be canceled because of how much work I put into it. The hours of planning, meetings, emails, and paperwork all vanished in a matter of seconds; and all I could say was “okay, no problem.”
I don’t have plans to participate in the development of this event next year, but I do know that it will be amazing. I wish things turned out differently and better preparation was in place but you know...how could anyone have known this would happen? COVID-19 created canceled culture.
