The Leopard’s Lair was transformed into a stand-up comedy and concert venue last Friday at the first-ever Leopards at Nite performance event.
Conceptualized by Brandon Harding ’26 and David Antwi ‘26 and created with the help of Leonardo Ontiveros ‘26 and Sidharth Mahadeo ‘26, Leopards at Nite provides students with an inclusive alternative to party life on campus.
“It started with conversations that me and Brandon would have freshman year, just outside of our room and thinking back on those conversations because it’d just be boring nights,” Antwi said.
Last semester, the group began brainstorming alternatives and were excited about the possibilities of hosting events in the new Leopard’s Lair space.
“We wanted it as an alternative to people who just don’t really like parties, who don’t like going to parties,” Harding said. “We just want to add on to the culture. That’s why we brought on [Mahadeo] because he could help add to the culture. We just want to add a different dimension to this campus.”
“I think that for me, it was a really interesting change to nightlife on this campus because there are so many students on this campus that because they don’t drink or smoke, they just don’t go out and a lot of the time that tends to hinder their social ability,” Mahadeo said. “I think making it, it was cool to see the space, and I think we had it in mind that it would just be a space for just chillin’.”
Leopards at Nite included performances from student bands Quartet and Pizza Delivery, Bobby McClosky ’26, Larry Pear ’24 and Mahadeo. The night was hosted by Andrew Madera Pineda ’27, known as DJ Amp, and MC Chiboy.
MC Chiboy is the stage name of Chisom Njoku ’23, whom the team decided to invite as the emcee of the event.
“Chisom, when he was here, he was the campus culture itself,” Harding said. “When you think of an emcee, you think of Chisom because he brought high energy, he captivated the audience, he always entertains … so for our first performance, we wanted somebody the crowd would recognize as like, ‘oh if Chisom’s here, it’s credible or doing something to believe in.”
“I see myself in them when I was on campus too, and trying to bring culture or bringing groups of students together, whether that be on campus or even through other Lehigh Valley schools’ curated events,” Njoku said. “I was very proud of them, and I was like, ‘Why not?’ I was so honored for them to ask me to be there and emcee for their first event.”
With an estimated 100 to 150 people in attendance, the team is proud of Leopards at Nite’s success.
“We think it was amazing,” Antwi said. “We got more people than we thought we would — way more people than we thought we would. All the acts went well. The only thing is that there was a sound issue a tiny bit with one performance.”
The night was empowering as much as it was exciting for Mahadeo and the rest of the team.
“We’re all people of color here, so being established on this campus is something we all strive to get to, and all the support that we received, it was just amazing,” Mahadeo said. “The fact that we can see ourselves doing something successful and something that can actually be established and supported by groups on this campus, like student involvement or the office of intercultural development, it was really empowering for us.”
