Black Student Orientation kicks off semester

Black Student Orientation week kicked off Tuesday night with a reception in the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center.\nSachiko Higgins-Kante, an administrative assistant at the Neal-Marshall Center said she hopes to “help African-American students realize we’re here and they can utilize the resources to help them maneuver around IU and beyond.”\nTuesday evening was the kick-off to the orientation week. Ten local business and organizations were present to help students understand the amount of diverse resources available to them. \nAngela’s Ebony Hair Designs was one of the booths there to hand out pamphlets and a list of services they provide. They hope to expand the business of their salon to black IU students. Sophomore Ashley Alexander said she is glad she chose to come out to see the orientation because now she knows multicultural centers in the community, as well as a place to get her hair done that is close by. \nThe Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Islamic Center of Bloomington and Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department were also among the organizations at the orientation to hand out information. \nJessica Cockrell, a graduate student, is the coordinator behind this week of events.\n“I was thinking about the difficulty when I first got to Bloomington, not knowing things like hair salons, where to find soul food or a church to join, so the week of organizations will hopefully help a lot of students that are feeling the way I did,” she said. \nPatrick Smith, director of the Office of Mentoring Services and Leadership Development, said he came to give his support and learn about the different organizations they were representing. \n“I’m new to the area and wanted to see what types of things were available in the Bloomington community,” said doctoral student Jylana Sheats. “I am shocked to find the variety of events in \nthe city.” \nWhether attracting sophomore students, wanting to discover new resources or graduate students new to Bloomington, this event proved to be full of diversity inside and out. \nEvents will run through Friday, Sept. 7.