Black student orientation to celebrate Bloomington

At a University that enrolled less than 1,700 black students last fall, officials worry that those students feel uncomfortable and underrepresented.

To reach out, the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center will host its second annual Black Student Orientation at 6 p.m. Friday in the center’s Grand Hall. The event will introduce black students to resources that will help them adjust more easily to life in Bloomington.

Audrey McCluskey, interim director of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, said many black students have a hard time acclimating to IU, and the orientation will aid in this process.

“We’ve often learned that students don’t feel very comfortable here, particularly if they come from areas where they are not the minority,” McCluskey said. “We want to make them more acquainted with the broader Bloomington community.”

The orientation will give students a chance to meet representatives from student organizations such as the Black Student Union as well as black fraternities and sororities. Students will have the opportunity to meet black faculty and staff, ask questions and contact sources they might use for support throughout their careers at IU.

“We’ll have tables represented by different units within the University where they will pass out brochures about programs and internships they offer that students may not automatically know about,” McCluskey said.

This year’s orientation is especially focused on the history of Bloomington’s black community. Elizabeth Mitchell, the first black female to serve the U.S. Postal Service in Bloomington, will speak about early black settlers of Bloomington and the struggles they faced.

“People may want to know why blacks moved here and what problems they faced,” Mitchell said. “I will highlight the people who helped make Monroe County a better place for all of us to live.”

The orientation will also feature presentations from some of Bloomington’s faith-based organizations, McCluskey said, as well as black-owned businesses like State Farm Insurance and Hoosier Barbershop.

“We think it’s important that they know there are black businesses here so that they can realize their life can extend beyond IU’s campus into the Bloomington community,” said Evelyn Hamilton, who is involved in planning the event.

Like McCluskey, Hamilton said she believes black students have a hard time acclimating to campus life in Bloomington.

The orientation will also present musical and praise-dance performances and will conclude with a free fish fry for all attendees.

“We hope they feel more comfortable here,” Hamilton said. “And we hope they have the information they need to succeed.”