Students, staff and faculty came together to engage and compete with one another at LBCC’s Cumbias Tacos and Sports Jam at the Liberal Arts Campus from 5-9 p.m. on April 15.
The event was filled with sporting games, food such as tacos, hamburgers, pizza and wings, and extra entertainment in the form of music from Vilma Diaz y La Sonora and DJ Stillfye.
The team sporting events included sand volleyball, dodgeball and pickleball, where matches were bracket-style with prizes for the top three finalists in each sport.
The prizes for first place winners included a LBCC branded cooler bag, an LBCC hat for each member of the team and a trophy for the team as a whole.
Second place winners earned Stanley Cups, an LBCC hat and rally towels while third place took home a pickleball set, rally towels and an LBCC visor.
The sports activities, prizes, and teamwork brought people together, something that Teila Robertson, an organizer for the event, wanted to emphasize .
“I want to teach students how they can still respect and work together and be on the same court with each other and then that their differences don’t mean anything,” Robertson said.
LBCC Mascot Ole dancing, cheering, and directing students to the auditorium for the Dodgeball matches April 15, 2025. (Enrique Martinez)
The event peaked at around a couple hundred people, most attendees being club members showing up to support and participate in the games.
The event was all about community, which was seen from the number of attendees and the overall energy from the crowd.
“Students want to feel like they belong. They want to feel comfortable in their space. They want to come to events that they culturally identify with, and so we just really want to create those opportunities for them. I think that if we create opportunities, students will come,” said Sylvia Garcia, director of student life and conduct and an organizer for this event.
Students were given the opportunity to create connections and find a place where they belong.
“Right now I see people smiling, I see people happy, because right now they’re connecting with their community. They’re connecting with their leaders, they’re connecting with themselves, they’re connecting with their friends. And I don’t see anything more beautiful than stuff like this,” said Brian Hall, a current LBCC student.