Electronic edition, Vol. 1 No. 5, Feb. 6, 2008

Students flock to tastes, sounds of Mardi Gras

Miya Bassarath, Kristin Jones, Ayana Blue, Jasmine Hicks, Naica Labbe and Michaelle Larracuente

More than 1,000 students joined the "Fat Tuesday" revelry in Stetson East during the president's annual Mardi Gras breakfast.

The party, in its sixth year, featured music, games, piles of beads and student competitions for cash prizes.

President Joseph Aoun and other officials greeted students at the door with beads and leis; dining caterer Chartwells estimated an average six strings of beads landed on every student who showed up.

The Hot Tamale Band, a Fenway Park favorite, provided the evening's score, as students vied for top honors in a Froot Loop stacking contest, a cereal-eating contest and a race to find M&Ms buried inside whipped-cream pies. Aoun arrived to present the sometimes-messy winners with their winnings.

More than 70 volunteers from Northeastern and dining caterer Chartwells staffed the party.

(Photo: Celebrating Mardi Gras, from left, are sophomores Miya Bassarath, Kristin Jones, Ayana Blue, Jasmine Hicks, Naica Labbe and Michaelle Larracuente. / Craig Bailey)