Bob Jones University celebrated its annual University Day, one of the biggest community events of the year, on Oct. 8 with thousands of community members attending and hundreds of faculty, staff and students volunteering. U.Day is an event celebrated on the BJU campus where families are invited to come with children and enjoy the educational experiences prepared by various university organizations.

Pam Cushman, the coordinator of the event, described the activity as a means of building relationships between the University and the guests. “This event is designed for us to have one-on-one interactions with people,” Cushman said. “It’s not about just promoting your department or your division. It’s about building relationships.”

U.Day engages alumni and their families as well as audiences who do not usually come to campus and shows them the love of Christ and the friendliness that characterizes the environment, Cushman said.

The event included dozens of booths spread throughout the campus so family members could choose which ones to explore at their own pace. Each booth was organized by societies and school organizations led by students or faculty members to provide a variety of learning experiences. From an archaeology booth to a spaceship booth, kids discovered their interests while engaging in educational activities.

The BJU community came together to organize U.Day and make hundreds of logistical needs happen seamlessly in a matter of hours. Cushman said the cooperation of faculty, staff and students is crucial for the event to happen and for it to run smoothly.  “[The booths] come down in half an hour because everybody helps everybody else take [them] down, and by two o’clock you won’t even know anything was out in the field,” Cushman said.

Students pitched in to help with U.Day and the opportunity to get involved and support the University. “I’m very excited about U.Day because I know this is a great opportunity for us as a student body just to collaborate more with the Greenville community, and not maybe explicitly, but just share with them the testimony of God and the love of God,” said Ruth Urraca, a junior educational studies major.

Lois Bido, a freshman kinesiology major, said she was looking forward to experiencing this event for the first time. “It’s really cool to see all these people come in and see all the activities the majors are going to do and all the food there is going to be.”

Several food trucks were on campus for families to eat a variety of dishes while visiting the booths. Guests could then stay for a “Patch the Pirate” concert that all members of the family, from kids to parents, enjoyed.

In the afternoon, guests watched the BJU women’s soccer team take an 11-1 victory over the Regent University Royals for the homecoming game beginning at 4 p.m. The men’s soccer team then played at 7 p.m., winning 6-0 against the Royals men’s team.

After the soccer games, the night ended with BJU’s first-ever Homecoming fireworks show.