Full Staff Opinion
This whole month, as you probably know, was Black History Month. But what you might not have known was that this past week was Civil Rights Week. F&M’s Black Student Union (BSU) put on a number of amazing events like Apollo Night, the Black is Beautiful Fashion Show, and Soul Food Night.
All of that said, we could not help but notice, in our characteristically critical way, something that was a bit of a downer: attendance at the fashion show and Apollo Night could have been a lot better. It wasn’t bad, but it could have been better. On its own, poor attendance is a shame. But when you hold that poor attendance up against all of the ongoing discussions and advocacy for diversity here on campus, it gets even worse. In order to truly move towards these common goals and become a more culturally and ethnically diverse campus, people need to attend these events and, most importantly, be active participants.
We as a campus community need to be more supportive of the valiant efforts by the BSU in order to further immerse the student body in African-American culture and be more open and understanding of these critical issues.
While it is easy to say that, as a college student, you were too busy to attend or had other commitments, the vast amount of events put on by our BSU gave everyone ample opportunity to take part in at least one. While a good majority did attend, the campus would be a much better, more diverse place had everyone gone just to get a taste of differing cultures and what they had to offer. We commend those who did go, as it is people like you who are helping the world move to a better place. To those who didn’t, we implore you to find a way next time or get involved.