Black Student Union member Robert Sherrell spoke with confidence as he described what the organization he represents stands for.
“We’re here on campus to improve the quality of life for students of the black community at IU and around Bloomington,” he said. “We represent students and organizations that fall under the black umbrella. We want our voices to be heard.”
According to Sherrell, black students around campus have frequent concerns they want addressed, yet have no outlet to find the answers.
That is, until tonight’s event.
“We’re here tonight to make it possible for those students to get the answers they’ve been waiting for,” he said. “The questions we’re here to answer are a combination of questions the panel has thought of, along with concerns of people in the audience. Some general issues we frequently discuss usually regard funding for black students, whether that be for programs, trips or scholarships. We will also talk about different admission processes for black students as well.”
Mary Tourner, director of the IU Groups Scholars Program, spoke of the current goals IU administration has toward giving more financial opportunities for black students.
“We’re coming up with a four-year plan to increase retention for black students on campus,” she said. “We have reallocated the current resources we’ve had in order to give more scholarships for black students, and even if it’s nothing but a few dollars, we’ve definitely tried to do that.”
Other black organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and diversity organizations like the Office of Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs (DEMA) sat in attendance. According to Sherrell, tonight’s program was intended to communicate to all of these groups.
“We’ve invited a number of student organizations to come tonight that have fought within the realm of the black community at IU,” he said. “They represent the same presence we do. Tonight isn’t just about our organization. It’s about the questions we have as a unit for the black people here ?at IU.”
Many of the conversations throughout the event were centered around the idea that black students have been neglected and their accomplishments have been underappreciated.
“The big thing we need to talk about is the way black students are looked at (in) a predominately white institution,” IU Black Student Union member Jenna Thomas said. “A lot of people aren’t always aware of the positive impact we bring to campus and the things we do to continuously raise the 4 percent of black students on campus. We want our presence known.”
Thomas said the recent march for the shooting of Michael Brown is an example of showcasing what the black student population at IU is capable of.
“We do a lot of great things,” she said. “We want people to start taking ?notice.”
One of the panel leaders was IU Dean of Students Pete Goldsmith, who, when asked about the lack of black student leadership positions on campus, said the difference is made by just getting involved.
“There are a lot of ways to increase the amount of leadership in programs for black students on campus,” he said. “Union Board is ran and organized by students. If you get involved there, you can help shape the program. Just by being involved, students can make a huge difference.”
Vice President of DEMA James Wimbush ended the event by stating the students have the power to answer most of their own questions.
“If you see holes that need to be filled, you can most likely do a better job of filling them than we can,” he said. “You have the ?control.”
