Students from around the Oswego campus joined the Association of Black Psychologists in their Halloween Skate event on Saturday in the Swetman Gym.
For a $3 admission fee, students could either roller skate or just hang out with their peers. Each admitted student was also entered into a raffle for a T-shirt and a costume contest, where the winner would receive a cash prize. The club received decorations from Scales Hall after their Scalesbury haunted house event.
One skater, Patricia Troncoso, was excited for the event and was happy to attend.
“I’m having a good time,” Troncoso said. “It’s creative. It’s a smart idea.”
Club president Emmanuel Agyapong held the event as a safer alternative to drinking on Halloween weekend and to promote a message of positivity.
“Especially on Halloween, where it’s really dangerous outside, [students] could stay on campus, be safe, skate, and they can hear the music,” Agyapong said.
Agyapong is the president of both the Association of Black Psychologists and the African-American Male Empowering Network. The two organizations co-hosted the event to promote mental well-being and empowerment in the African-American and greater campus community.
“It’s bringing everybody from all ethnicities and races together to enjoy Halloween,” said Pearlene Agustin, public relations director for the Association of Black Psychologists. “I believe that this event is bringing everyone together and bringing our name out, too.”
The Oswego chapter of the Association of Black Psychologists, according to Agyapong, started six years ago. The organization’s purpose is to “address themselves to significant social problems affecting the black community and other segments of the population whose needs in society have not been fulfilled,” and to “organize their skills and abilities to influence necessary change,” according to their national website.
Agyapong said the Oswego chapter is open to anyone who wants to empower themselves and learn about psychology through the African-American perspective.
“We focus on the mind, how we come together to think about things, and how we better our community,” Agustin said.
Empowerment is a shared value between both the Association of Black Psychologists and AAMEN. Agyapong said in an interview on Laker Life that AAMEN’s goal is to bring more male leadership to campus. Agyapong co-founded AAMEN this past March.
“I brought it to the campus because a lot of males, especially African-American and minority males, weren’t really involved,” Agyapong said. “I felt that an organization strictly to empower males would be very useful.”
Agyapong expressed how important empowerment is to the community and not just to men.
“A lot of people are lost, a lot of people need some hope,” Agyapong said.
Agyapong said that empowerment means a lot to him, and he wants to provide empowerment to those who may not have been empowered at a young age.
“I want to tell them that you could do or you could be whatever you want,” Agyapong said. “That’s why I started this club.”
Halloween Skate was one of many events that Agyapong hopes to hold to empower students on campus.
“This event is bettering the community, bettering each other, and lifting each other up,” Augustin said. “We’re all coming together and bring each other up to make this event powerful.”
