by Alicia Dye | staff writer
Feb. 10, 2022
Laughter filled the room as students sang a variety of songs from Beyoncé’s “Sweet Dreams” to “Something to Dance For / TTYLXOX Mash Up” by Zendaya and Bella Thorne during Black Student Union’s Karaoke night on Monday Feb. 7
Karaoke night marked the second event of many this month, with the first event being Meet the Divine 9, which was sponsored by Black Greek Council. Karaoke night was sponsored by Black Student Union.
Many lighthearted jokes were shared amongst the students, including some students joking about having a “Rap Battle Freestyle”.
Taylor Hopkins, president of Black Student Union, said that while most people look to the past for Black History Month, she and other officers of BSU, along with leaders of other clubs on campus, such as Ebony Women, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People and others wanted to focus on happiness and joy for Black students.
“We wanted to capitalize on Black joy and having a good time,” Hopkins said.
There are plenty of events going on throughout the Month that students can attend, all hosted by The Center for Excellence in Diversity and Student Inclusion and sponsored by various clubs on campus, including BSU, Ebony Women, Black Law Students Association and more.
One student organization starting back up is Collegiate 100, better known as C100. C100 is an organization that does programming to provide emotional and educational support to youth of the area. The current acting president, Christian Bernard, hopes to bring the organization back to its full force.
“Covid really shut us down. The last time we were active was Spring 2020,” Bernard said.
Bernard fell in love with C100 when he was a freshmen and wants other students to experience what it is like helping those within a community.
C100 has their first meeting of the semester Thursday Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. in Student Union 119.
Although C100 isn’t sponsoring events this month, Bernard really encourages any student who can attend the events to go.
“Learn as much as you can about being an ally. It’s so important to know where people come from and their cultures,” Bernard said.
Planning these events takes time, and can be hard, according to Hopkins.
“Everything starts out as just an idea, and then we try to bring it to life. We ask ourselves ‘How are we going to make this happen?’” Hopkins said.
Planning all these events aren’t just done by the leadership of the clubs, as Anthony Kane, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, helps the clubs with planning and organization.
“Tone is instrumental to our planning. He helps us immensely,” Hopkins said.
There are many other events happening this month. Some events include a Valentine’s Day Flower Giveaway on Feb. 14, sponsored by Omicron Psi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity in the Student Union at 12 p.m.; Black Hair Day on Feb. 15, which will be presented by Alydia Thomas, sponsored by Ebony Women at 6 p.m. in the Towers Multipurpose Room.
There is also a Black Mental Health Matters event on Feb. 17 in Union 302, presented by Quincy Stephenson and Sara Kyles-Royster. Later that same night is a Game Night event in the Union Nitespot from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.
“I really want people to go to these events and have fun, meet new people and most importantly, to participate,” Bernard said.
Toward the end of the month, there is a Black Love Day Formal Feb. 22 in the Power Center Ballroom from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.. There will also be a Black History Month dinner hosted at Hogan Dining Hall Feb. 24, starting at 4 p.m.
Hopkins recommends that if students can only go to one event, come to the Black Love Day formal, a first time event for Duquesne University.
“It’s the one I’m most excited for. The main point is to showcase Black excellence and to honor those in our community,” Hopkins said.
Rounding out the Black History Month events is a Black Cultures Impact on Science panel discussion led by Dr. Andre Samuel starting at 2 p.m. Feb. 28 on Zoom. The final event is a Black Culture movie night, also on Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. in Bayer Pappert Lecture Hall.
“We want Black students to embrace themselves and for nonblack people to be open minded as they attend these events,” Hopkins said.
Students can find the full list of events on campus link and at http://duq.edu/bhm. Students can also follow the Center for Excellence in Diversity and Student Inclusion’s instagram, thecenterduq, for updates on these events.
