Students and their families, staff, and county residents gathered in the quad at the West Windsor Campus for carnival activities, a free BBQ lunch, and live performances to celebrate Mercer’s 60th anniversary event,“Mercerpalooza,” at the West Windsor Campus on Sunday, October 5.
A variety of activities were set up, such as balloon creations, face painting and lawn games. A live mustang was brought to commemorate the change of the college’s mascot. Booths from different local organizations, as well as activities and departments within the college were set up.
Dr. Deborah E. Preston, President of the College, circulated throughout campus interacting with attendees.
She said of the event, “Mercerpalooza is an idea the team came up with maybe nine months ago, and we wanted it to be a special kickoff for the 60th anniversary.”
Tatiana Dodge, the College’s Director of Development and Alumni Relations, as well as a Mercer alum, was the lead organizer for Mercerpalooza.
At the event, she said, “We decided to do Mercerpalooza because palooza means an all-out extravagant celebration.”
She continued, “You pull out all the stops, and as you can see from everything around you, we have tables from all of our departments, we have community partners that we’ve been working with for decades, we are showcasing our student talent, our faculty and staff talent.”
Warm weather made it possible for attendees to stay outside, and in the early afternoon the quad quickly became crowded with people dancing to live music performances.
Dr. Robert Schreyer, the College Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, who helped set up the event, said, “I think it’s an awesome opportunity to bring the community out to see how great the college is.”
Dr. Sara Wasserman, a queer educator and local community organizer from the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice sat at one of the booths set up around the quad .
She said, “As a nonprofit that also supports the community we want to make sure there is a queer presence here so that all folks feel loved and accepted.”
Christine Sheehan, a county resident whose husband works at MCCC, said her favorite part of the event “was running into people I knew here. The sense of community that was going on here, making connections with people, and you could never go wrong with the food.”
Dr. Preston said, “I just think it was an amazing turnout, our faculty and staff and students showed up and made the college look good. People seemed happy that they’re here, so I think it’s a success.”
