Francis Marion University’s (FMU) chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)  held a Dodgeball Night in the Smith University Center on Monday, Feb. 10, to kick off  NAACP’s Founders Week.

            “We chose a game night because we definitely want to show our members we’re more than just service work – we’re also a close knit family. We like to keep that feeling going. . . it’s well needed in our organization,” said NAACP President Breanna Robertson.

            The dodgeball game only had five rounds and the goal was to win three of them. Each team had 10 participants, but each round would take at least three participants out, to insert three others so everybody had a chance to play.

            Students who are members of NAACP came to the event, but it was free for anybody to join.

            As students watched, they could see the competitive people stand out, including Darius Robinson, a sophomore business/finance major.

            “I do have a competitive lifestyle,” Robinson said. “Everybody should have one. I don’t like to lose, but when you lose, you learn something from it.”

            Robinson was not the only participant to say they had a competitive lifestyle. Alex Smoot, a sophomore majoring in political science, takes his competitive nature beyond sporting events.

            “I compete with everything I do,” Smoot said.  “I love sports. I’m not a sore loser or winner, but I just love competing.”

            Once the five rounds of dodgeball ended, the males and the females still wanted to go hard, so they added a few more rounds. After that finished, a handful of people stayed around to play Taboo. The ten players of the game, heard cheers of victory after one team won, not too long after.

            The students said they wouldn’t mind if NAACP had more events like the dodgeball match.

            Laken Long, a junior visual arts major, handles press and publicity in the organization, and she explained the different events coming up in the organization. NAACP did have more events planned for Founders Week which include the Founders Day Celebration and Sexploration, an event on safe sex awareness. 

“Our Founders Day Celebration in which we are doing with Delta Sigma Theta, is going to teach that NAACP is just not a room of angry black people,” Long said.  “NAACP is supposed to be everybody together, not angry.”

These events have been postponed due to the harsh winter weather.