The Oakland Center Habitat transformed into Barbieland on the evening of Jan. 11 when more than 200 Oakland University students attended the Student Program Board’s (SPB) showing of “Barbie.”

The event was held as part of Winter Welcome Week, which ran from Jan. 4 through 13.

“We host movie nights kind of frequently. We always try to do it once a semester as a way for students to have something fun to do that’s kind of low commitment and to be able to enjoy a night out, because a lot of people don’t really have the time to get out and go watch a movie,” SPB Marketing Director Kelly Cassette said. “It’s just a way for them to relax.”

“Barbie” was chosen due to its overwhelming and ongoing popularity, Cassette added — the movie was the most nominated project at the Golden Globes and walked away from the award show with two.

“Barbie has just been all the rage since last summer. It’s been nominated for so many awards and won so many awards,” she said. “We’ve seen trend upon trend through the university — OU Housing has made a whole big thing about it. So it’s definitely popular, and we wanted to jump on that bandwagon, and we love to do a theme,” she said.

Attendees enjoyed popcorn and a variety of pink-colored desserts, including brownies, rice krispie treats and cookies. Additionally, attendees who stayed until the end of the movie were entered in a drawing for a pair of pink Beats headphones.

Students were encouraged to wear pink attire to the event as was customary when seeing the movie in theatres in the summer of 2023. As part of SPB’s Hump Day celebrations the Wednesday before, students were able to pick up pink cowboy hats, sunglasses and bandanas.

Students were excited to see the movie — the room erupted in cheers during the opening credits. Students sang along to Lizzo’s Pink (Bad Day) and sang and clapped to the rhythm of Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” while waving their flashlights in the air.

For many of the attendees, this was not their first time seeing the film. Freshman Bri Moline watched it three times before SPB’s showing.

“It’s my favorite movie in the whole wide world. My whole dorm room is decorated with Barbie,” she said. “I had to come see it again… I could watch it a million times.”

Junior Veronica Miller echoed a similar sentiment.

“I actually saw it three times in the theatre. It was that good,” Miller said. “It’s a great movie because it really empowers women… We’re just here for the vibes. We have the pink sunglasses, we got the bandana going on and we’re just having a good time.”

Other attendees cited the opportunity to celebrate with other women and the OU community.

“It’s Barbie. Everyone loves Barbie. I love Barbie. I wanted to see how many people love Barbie,” senior Christian Huff said. “I wanted to see all the other ‘Barbies’ and enjoy the togetherness that Oakland brings.”

For more information about SPB and its upcoming events, visit SPB’s Instagram or GrizzOrgs page.