Animal Kingdom Comes to VCU

A variety of animals were on show in the Student Commons Plaza on Sept. 12 as the Activities Planning Board held ”Animal Kingdom,” their annual animal exhibit.

Despite fears rain would relocate the event to the Commonwealth Ballroom, the weather cooperated and the event was held outside.

Exotic animals could be viewed at the exhibit, including a monkey, lemur and a bearded dragon.

The animals on display were brought to VCU by Animals Unlimited LLC, a petting zoo company from Montpelier, Virginia. The company has partnered with VCU student organizations in the past, notably with the Student Government Association for VCU’s annual Qatar Day, for which the company brought a camel for students to observe.

The company’s owner, Jana Strickland, was in attendance as students marveled at the sight of the distinct animals.

”It gets the students to have something fun to do after a long day of school,” Strickland said.                                                                                        
APB’s Special Events Chair, Latesha Watkins, coordinated the event. The APB is a student-run organization that plans various activities that provide entertainment, promote cultural awareness and display VCU’s school spirit.

“We want to do different types of events throughout the year. There’s a lot for students to see at an event like this,” Watkins said.

Sophomore Hanan Kourtu said she regularly attends events hosted by the APB and Animal Kingdom was no different.                                               
“I love attending APB events, especially the bingo they have once a month,” Kourtu said. ”Today I got to see a bearded dragon, snake, monkey, lemur and I got to hold a porcupine.”

Fadel Allassan, Staff Writer

Fadel is a sophomore print journalism major. He is fluent in English and French and enjoys writing about politics. // Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

allassanfg@commonwealthtimes.org