Ebony Affair as a Pre-Frosh by Richard O. '28
A Recap of my Experience from the 49th year of the Program
As a pre-frosh, one thing I really appreciated before coming to MIT was how many programs there were to help students become accustomed to the opportunities, resources, and culture on campus. In particular, programs like CPW and Ebony Affair helped me find friends and communities that I continue to interact with and get support from on a daily basis. Looking back though, I remember being hesitant when deciding on whether or not to attend the Ebony Affair program mostly because I wasn’t sure what it would be like. So with that, I wanted to put together a little recap from my experience last year for any current and future pre-frosh undecided on whether they’ll attend to highlight what the weekend encompasses!
(Check out some photos and videos from Ebony Affair here on the Class of 2028 Instagram and similar content for Sin Limite here!)
Friday:
So for a little more context, apart from Campus Preview Weekend (CPW) which is the main get-together for all admitted students, the admissions office hosts several other preview weekends for admits to engage with different communities here on campus like Sin Limite for the Latinx community and Ebony Affair for the Black community. So I ended up attending both CPW and Ebony Affair which happened over back-to-back weekends and got to interact with so many people during both programs!
So after getting off my plane I was immediately texted by an admissions officer who was waiting by the pick-up zone with another student attending that weekend and we both headed back to campus in an Uber while discussing different food places in Boston.
From there, we set up base camp in the admissions office where we were met with free food in their conference room while we got to know each other.
Once most of the group arrived, we took a walk towards the main building, where we met some staff at the Edgerton Center and built little acrylic lights that we got to keep!
Next up was Black Graduation which was a celebratory event held in the Stata Center for seniors in the Black Community to get recognized for their hard work and contributions on campus and receive their kente stole for commencement.
During the event we got to hear several inspirational messages and performances from varying groups on campus that left half the lecture hall standing up, clapping along, and just vibing to the live music.
From there we returned to the admissions office for dinner and met our hosts for the rest of the weekend.
And it was through my host that I was first really introduced to the Chocolate City community that I’m a part of now.
Saturday:
The next morning, the admissions office took us to eat breakfast at a local restaurant called Shy Bird near Kendall Square where we got to meet some professors and talk about our plans heading into MIT.
After breakfast we went to the BSU lounge to meet more students in the black community and ask them questions about their experience at MIT.
Hearing from a panel of students in the BSU lounge
From there we pretty much had free reign in what we got to do before the main event for the weekend which was the Ebony Affair Gala held in Walker Memorial for the entire MIT community. So after joining in on a group photo in front of the dome, I ended up joining three other people on a tour of the Jet Propulsion Lab with a grad student and then watched an amazing jump rope performance in the Media Lab.
Group photo!
View of the Charles while walking back to New to get ready for the Gala
During the Gala, we got to meet a majority of the Black Community on Campus while hearing from speakers and watching performers accompanied by an awards ceremony and free food!
Afterward, we pretty much had the last night to ourselves so some of us who were hosted in New House joined in on a movie night held in the New House lobby before getting packed for home.
Sunday:
So in pretty much no time at all, the weekend had come to an end so we all made our way back to the admissions office that Sunday morning where we received a free breakfast before heading our separate ways on our flights.
And that was a wrap for Ebony Affair! In the span of 3 days, I got to meet people from all over campus while getting a more in-depth sense of what life at MIT would be like as an undergrad. The program also contributed to my decision to choose Chocolate City as my living community for my first year and exposed me to the fun and supportive culture that existed in the house (which I may write more in detail about in the future). So for any pre-frosh considering Ebony Affair this year or in the future, I would highly recommend attending to help familiarize yourself with all the amazing culture, people, communities, and support groups here on campus!