Starting a year off with a new executive board, new faces and new ideas, the Black Student Union has made it the mission to show EIU’s campus that BSU is back.
Over the last few school years, the BSU has been highly active on campus hosting more and more events and offering a place for conversation and discourse during their weekly meetings.
To ensure that they drive home the point that BSU is the place to be, they host an event at the start of every school year to bring people together and allow them to meet friends both new and old.
To kick off this school year in a fresh and new way, the BSU opted for a new event called the Find your Friend Color Picnic instead of their regular BSU bash to start the semester.
BSU president junior pre-nursing major Aaniyah Hampton was very excited about the event. Going from the academic cabinet director the previous year to this year’s president, she wanted to highlight what the new executive board had to offer.
“When you’re on a board the previous year before it’s like you can see what things gave you a good outcome or where you can improve in or what y’all study repeating, bring something new,” said Hampton. “So, it was time for something new, it’s a new executive board, new people, new events.”
Administrative assistant sophomore human services major Jahria King believes BSU is an effective and important part of the campus because of the role it plays for Black students.
Last semester as cultural committee chair, King orchestrated a Black Lives Matter flag-raising ceremony to show students on campus that they are not only seen and heard but that someone has their best interest at heart.
“I feel like it touched a lot of African American students who came because they probably felt like maybe we don’t have that on our campus or maybe they feel like we’re not fighting hard for us, so I feel like Black Student Union helps African American kids realize that they are for us like we are the people,” King said.
Although the organization is the Black Student Union, it isn’t specifically for Black students. It’s meant to foster a sense of community for all students looking for a place to call home on campus and to give freshmen a place to meet people and feel comfortable and safe.
Knowing how hard it can be to go out meet new people or express ourselves as a new or returning student, BSU vice president junior criminal justice major Kyla Broadway aims to use this picnic as a way to grow connections among students on campus because she knew how hard it was to step out of her comfort zone when she came in as a freshman
“When I was a freshman, I wasn’t comfortable popping out to the party because I didn’t know anybody, so we thought to switch the theme of it to find your friends so, you know, it’s just, like to get them comfortable. Maybe they could meet a friend out here,” she said. “We did the rainbow thing so that everybody could be free to express themselves so it’s like an all-inclusive thing. It’s not just for certain students for sure.”
The purpose of the Find Your Friend Color Picnic was to allow students to dress in a color of their choice between blue, red, yellow, green, pink, purple and brown to match one of the BSU members. The main focus behind that was to allow students to express themselves through color, get to know the members of BSU who happened to be wearing the same color or find a friend in the crowd who may or may not have the same color as them.
Walking up to the Library Quad, students were met with the sound of music, loud crashing noises coming from the snow cone machine and the laughs and cheers of students playing field games.
The overall vibe of the event was just as the executive board hoped: chill, fun and rewarding. Many students were seen interacting, cracking jokes, playing games and indulging in sweet treats while dancing to the music.
Towards the end of the event, everyone in attendance met at the Mellin steps, sitting in groups by color, to pose for a picture commemorating who all came out and which BSU member got the most support.
An intense kickball game ensued, turning the Library Quad from a friendly picnic environment to an extremely competitive kickball tournament. There were laughs, foul balls, knocked-over chairs and most of all there was community amongst all who played the game.
BSU secretary junior hospitality and tourism major Terrell Steele was very pleased with the turnout and overall success of the event because students were able to come together and have a great time.
“The reason why I think it succeeds is because we get to see new fresh faces coming to EIU for the first year,” he said. “They get to get a feel of the Black culture experience we have here at EIU to know we’re here. We’re here to have a good time and bring good vibes.”
Alexis Moore-Jones can be reached at 581-2812 or at admoorejones@eiu.edu.
