By Faith Jarrell
Student Life Editor
In honor of Black History Month, the Black Student Union has compiled a series of events to celebrate Black community members throughout February.
The BHM events kicked off on Thursday, Feb. 8 with an opening dinner. From 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., “soul food,” the Dining Hall offered a selection of soul food. The menu included southern macaroni and cheese, candied yams, corn bread muffins, shrimp and grits, green beans, smoked turkey, collard greens, barbeque baked beans, barbeque brisket, seafood gumbo, and more.
The second BSU event happened on Wednesday, Feb. 14 in the Johnson Fitness Center at 7 p.m. To celebrate Valentine’s Day as well as BHM, BSU collaborated with on-campus fitness organization ShoreFIT for a “self-love” themed yoga lesson.
After this, a Jeopardy game will be held in the Egg in Hodson Hall at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15. The Jeopardy will consist of facts about famous Black figures and tidbits about Black culture. Whoever wins the most points by the end of the game has the chance to share their knowledge of Black history and win a prize. BSU social media coordinator junior Asia Elliott is especially looking forward to this event.
“It’s a Black History Month Jeopardy, and you win a prize if you… get the most points, and all the questions are related to Black history, Black artists, Black culture, everything like that,” Elliott said. “I love Jeopardy. I’m very competitive and I just love testing people’s knowledge on Black history.”
Following this, BSU planned another collaboration with Film Club for Saturday, Feb. 17 in the Goose Nest at 6 p.m. Together, the groups plan on highlighting and celebrating Black filmmakers.
The BSU collaborations do not stop with on-campus organizations, as they are teaming up with a local Girl Scout troop to table on the bottom floor of Hodson Hall from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 19. In partnership with the troop, they will be selling Girl Scout cookies to anyone interested.
Much like the years before, BSU is hosting another BHM showcase in Decker Theatre on Friday, Feb. 23 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Current students, as well as alumni of the college, can showcase their talents. BSU treasurer senior Ketia Kamali called this the “most anticipated event.”
“The event will celebrate black excellence and the diversity within our community. We will have performances including spoken word, dance by the Shorestep team, and others highlighting the talents of Black students on campus,” Kamali said. “We will also be having an award ceremony for students and other individuals who have shown zeal and have contributed towards BSU and the Black community in general.”
The final event will be yet another BHM dinner in Hodson Hall from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the last day of the month, Thursday, Feb. 29. While the menu for the closing dinner has not yet been posted, those who attend can expect another celebration of Black food and culture.
There are fewer events hosted by BSU than there were in the past, however, BSU president senior Hailey Sutton acknowledged this.
“We have less events than usually in the past, but we wanted to be more thoughtful with them [this year],” Sutton said. “We wanted to make sure it was what we were able to do and what the campus wanted. So some of the events we did last year, we didn’t really do this year. We just wanted to have fun with Black History Month but also still make it a learning experience for everybody on campus.”