To address Black men’s mental health, the Morehouse College Freshman Class Council hosted the “Play and Laugh” event in Archer Hall focused on relaxation, socialization and gaming education for both AUC students. The event occurred on Nov. 8 and was orchestrated by the Maroon Tiger’s own, Marcus Craig, a freshman journalism major.
Gameplay as a remedy
“My group and I wanted to host this tournament to focus on the idea of Black males having social support networks to fall back on when life gets hard,” Craig said. “We wanted to put people in a place where they could build and develop new friendships and relationships. The easiest, lowest stress environment where we thought that could happen was through playing video games.”
The event took place in the Morehouse College gaming lab, a location that is undervalued in the eyes of Morehouse junior and computer science major, Javion Postell. He is the vice president of Maroon Tiger Gaming and was the student who served as the tournament organizer for the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament at the “Play and Laugh” event.
“One of the things that Morehouse is missing is a safe third space to relax and recuperate in a social setting,” Postell said. “That’s what we hope this gaming lab can continue to provide.”
Developing a competitive edge
The event itself consisted of games like Mario Kart and Roblox played casually, as well as the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament, a competition with prizes at stake to determine the best Super Smash Bros. player at Morehouse College.
There were five brackets with ten players total. Nine of these players are a part of the newly formed Morehouse Smash Brothers Ultimate team.
The team was created with the goal of developing a community of highly skilled Smash Bros. players on Morehouse’s campus. The three captains, Jalen Murray, Sekayi Fraser and Elijah Qualls, have the goal of equipping players with experience playing at the highest level in the state and eventually the nation.
Sophomore political science major Sekayi Fraser operates as an intermediary coach for both the varsity and junior varsity teams. Prior to the team being created, he competed in Birmingham, AL with Murray and Qualls in Sept. 2025. The three won a total of about $1,425, which helped them realize Morehouse could go far with the proper training.
“Hopefully a lot of these players are able to make something of a career in esports, or even just have great experiences in the esports field,” Fraser said. “It [Smash Bros.] is a game that has gotten me through a lot of rough times, and I just want to make sure that everybody has the experience that I had with it.”
Learning from the best
Morehouse Freshman, Garvey Anderson, was the only one of the 10 who was not a member of this team. After being quickly eliminated in the first round, Anderson reflected on the skill gap between himself and the members of the Smash Bros. team.
“I realized there are levels to this,” Anderson said. “I know the controls and everything, but the timing, angles and anticipation is something I can tell these guys have worked hard at.”
This is reflected in the success of the tournament champion, sophomore Lance Johnson Jr., who had years of competitive experience.
This event served to further highlight the significance of the esports community within Morehouse circles. The event helps spread the word to students across the AUC that the gaming lounge is always open for anyone in need of a reset through casual or competitive gaming.
