Black Student Union Heritage Ball | Photo by Daniel Delgado | The Wright State Guardian
On Feb. 20, the Black Student Union (BSU) hosted its annual Heritage Ball, an event dedicated to celebrating black excellence. Over 100 people were in attendance, including students from other colleges.
Awards
Throughout the ball, awards were given to different organizations and students on campus and included Heritage Ball royalty.
The awards presented were:
- President’s award
- Most impactful freshmen
- Impactful faculty
- Best fraternity/sorority of National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC)
- The Do What You Say You’re Going to Do award
- Successful alumni and black entrepreneur of the year
The president’s award went to Aleigha Mayle, best sorority went to Epsilon Chi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., best fraternity went to Pi Phi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., most impactful freshmen went to Lauren Harris and Dyamontre Harris, impactful faculty went to Dr. Nicole Carter, black entrepreneur award went to Evan Sumlin, successful alumni award went to Brittney Neal and Do What You Say You’re Going to Do Award went to Kevin Jones.
“My favorite part of [the night] was acknowledging students and organizations for their hard work. It’s an amazing thing when people do good work and it gets recognition,” said organizational leadership major Malcolm Wilford (DJ Sneaks.)
Performances
The night included special performances from the Kappa league, His Presence Ministries, DJ Sneaks and a keynote from WSU alumni Brittney Neal, who now works in Atlanta with the Trap Music Museum.
“[I enjoyed the moment] when people start arriving in their outfit and socialize with friends and mingling,” said Dorian Buford, BSU event coordinator.
Takeaways
“I hope people [were inspired] to keep going and not think wherever they are now [in life] is stagnant,” said Precious Claytor, president of BSU.
Buford stresses the importance of coming together and standing united, in strength.
“What I took away from the event was acknowledging black excellence and the keynote speech. [Neal] talked about not giving up and always expanding your opportunities to get more out of life and, most importantly, enjoying your time at WSU and [making] connections,” said Wilford.
Events and collaborations
BSU collaborated with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to host Pick Up the Mic and Kill It, an open mic night for students, on Feb. 24.
BSU is also collaborating with Student Government Association (SGA) and Black Men on the Move (BMOTM) on Feb. 26 for a Black History Month event where awards will be given away.
Unity
“This event and organization is open to everyone. Even though it’s called the Black Student Union, anyone is welcome,” said Buford.
Community and solidarity plays an important role in this organization.
“Our motto is Recruit, Retain, Unify for the black community, but that doesn’t mean you can’t join us and do the same,” said Claytor.
BSU will be accepting cabinet applications in March.
Students can keep up with BSU through their Instagram, @theblackstudentunion, Twitter, @thewsubsu and their Engage page.
