FAMU’s legendary day party, Carpe Diem, celebrated its 10th anniversary Friday and brought out one of the hottest current artists, Offset, from the rap group Migos.
Carpe Diem is a 21-and-older homecoming event that takes place on campus at the Pete Griffin track. It is a great time for alumni and students to mingle in an adult setting. This day party was constructed by the FAMU Student Government Association, with some help from j-school alumni Ameer Brown and Anthony Brown.
The party took place right after Set Friday and lasted from 4 to 11 p.m., keeping the excitement alive for all seven hours.
While the party started at 4, groups of students claimed that at this point the party was “dead,” and with the no-reentry policy that was put in place, they decided to go venture outwards to the food vendors until it got “lit.”
Apparently, the wait did not disappoint. Students and alumni have all shared claims to have enjoyed themselves and appreciated the chance to have safe fun.
Victoria Montanez a fourth-year broadcast journalism major at FAMU, and Joshua Morain, also a journalism student, were all-in.
“We’re having fun tonight. I’m so excited to be outside.” Montanez said.
Alumni Shannon Skip and Andre Washington from the class of 2009 also were in attendance, and they were not surprised by the lively crowd. They mainly wanted to come out to mix and mingle.
Skip and Washington weren’t the only ones who had plans on mixing and mingling, Camille Steve came back to the FAMU Homecoming for her third year in a row, all the way from New York City. Steve laughed and said, “FAMU’s homecoming is a must every year and I don’t even go here.”
The setup for the event was quite captivating, from the string of lights set up all across the track, to the rows of white tents that held a colorful assortment of Rattlers and friends, all joining together. The party also included photo booths, vendor tables and a large bar at one end of the party where RedBull catered to the crowd by providing multiple choices of alcoholic beverages. There was a large screen at one end of the party that displayed the crowd in a live video as everyone connected in close proximity. Yet the true show-stopper had to be the stage placed smack dab in the middle of the party, awaiting Offset’s arrival.
Offset hosted the event but didn’t make his first appearance until roughly 9:30. However, when he did make his arrival everyone reacted to the way he was able to liven the crowd up and fill the area with energy. Once Offset got to performing the crowd was ignited and the scene was quite amazing. Rattlers and friends had all journeyed to the Pete Griffin track to find themselves immersed in an aura of good vibes only.