Listen Here
By: Emma Smith
Email: smithe11@findlay.edu
Twitter: @Emma2000Smith
The Black Student Union is celebrating its 50th year at UF. Like many other Black groups across the nation, UF’s Black Student Union formed due to racial tension and the lack of Black awareness. The group was formed at UF to give Black students a sense of security in numbers. 50 years later, the Black Student Union remains a valuable group on campus. The club now aims to expose students to different races and cultures. The students who are a part of the group have been busy preparing for the 50th anniversary event, by collecting archives from BSU’s rich history, so that it can be displayed through-out the weekend.
Josh Okyere, President of Black Student Union, hopes that the students and community realize, even during the trials and tribulations they have went through, that they remained a strong and consistent voice at the University of Findlay.
“It [The anniversary] shows that, through all the adversity the club went through in the early stages, we were still able to prevail and still have an influence on campus with our representation and the events we host,” says Okyere.
The Black Student Union is celebrating their 50th anniversary with a bang. They are celebrating with a three-day event during Homecoming and Family Weekend. They are kicking off their slate of events on Friday evening, with an open house at the Buford Center for Diversity and Service, from 7:30-9 p.m. The open house will be an opportunity for everyone to learn about the diverse history of Black Student Union and also be a place where students can collaborate and come up with new ideas to help advance campus culture.
Saturday, Sept. 28, the Black Student Union will be hosting a Black-Tie Affair Dance from 7-9 p.m. at the Alumni Memorial Union’s Multipurpose Room. All alumni, community, and current students are invited to attend the special night. Registration is required to attend, which can be found at www.findlay.edu/homecoming. If you are interested in attending the event, it is $40 per person, with the exception of current university students. There will be speeches throughout the dinner, as well as a live band. The Black Student Union have been preparing for this event for over a year
The Black Student Union is rounding out their busy weekend by sponsoring a Sunday morning worship service at Winebrenner Theological Seminary at 10 a.m.
Okyere also wants to encourage everyone to not only join them for the activities of the weekend but to also become involved year-round.
“BSU is open to everyone so we encourage everyone to come out and join us in both the dinner and our general meetings. Our topics are interactive. Contact me at okyerej@findlay.edu if you wish to join or have any questions in regard to this weekend or the club in general,” said Okyere.
