Oakland University’s Student Program Board (SPB) held a screening of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” on Friday, Jan. 13 from 8-10:30 p.m. in the Oakland Center’s Habitat space.

Over 100 students greeted SPB members as they entered the Habitat and encountered a table stocked with free-to-take keychains, bracelets, stress toys and fliers for future SPB events. The SPB provided free food for all attending the event, presenting a breakfast-themed spread including pancakes, muffins, potatoes, french toast and hot chocolate.

“We wanted to offer food to students because we know college can be expensive, so being able to offer dinner is nice,” SPB Operations Staff Member Brinkley Drews said. “Most of our events we do are free, and that’s just to get students involved.”

Before the movie began, Drews thanked everyone for coming, encouraged students to attend future SPB events and told everyone to enjoy the show.

“It was nice being in this environment with Oakland students, because it’s more of an open space where we can react the way we want to compared to being in a movie theater,” student LaTaijah Ford said.

Students could come and go as they pleased, and SPB members stayed at the Habitat’s entrance to greet any students who arrived while the movie was playing. Attendees quietly commented on the film’s key moments with their friends and laughed at the jokes told throughout the movie.

“You also get different perspectives — [for example], the girl that was sitting next to me was so funny,” Ford said. “I just really like SPB events. You really get to know people, and it’s just a good time.”

The movie — starring Letitia Wright and Dominique Thorne — was well-received among students such asArianna Thompson, who used the night as a chance to watch the movie with her friends after seeing it previously. She described “Black Panther” as “the best Marvel movie of all time,” adding that the night was a lot of fun. 

Alaya Freeman, another student who accompanied Thompson and Ford, agreed with Thompson that “it’s just nice to be around friends watching [the movie.]”

Freeman, Thompson and Ford all said they plan on attending future SPB events.

More events SPB plans to host this semester include a Mental Health Fair and Speaker on Jan. 19, a dodge-ball tournament on Feb. 3 and Casino Night on Feb. 4. The organization also presents  “Hump Day” programming each Wednesday, where students can receive freebies each week at a different time and location.

Students can text @SPBOU to 81010 for more information on Hump Days, and visit GrizzOrgs for more information on future events sponsored by SPB and other OU organizations.