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Lucas Corbin reporter
As students hurried to class in chilly weather, the Black Student Association (BSA) hosted a hot chocolate bar, which took place in the Oval on Jan. 19 between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Students walking to class were offered the wintery drink with whipped cream, peppermint sticks, and various other toppings.
This was the first year that BSA put on an event like this. Coleen Ndedi Ntepe, a sophomore majoring in French and Spanish, wanted to create a memorable welcome for university students back on campus.
“We have a lot of students rushing to class. We thought it would be a good way to advertise our upcoming events and advertise about who we are,” said Ntepe.
Hot chocolate sold for a dollar and fifty cents, with extra toppings available at an additional cost. Funds raised because of the event will support BSA’s various projects throughout Black History Month, including the group’s trip to the Big XII Conference in February. Pittsburg State University will send eight students to the conference, which will be at Kansas State University in Manhattan.
Khadija Ceesay, senior in English Literature, has attended the conference in previous years and has plans to attend it again next month. 2023 will be the first year since the coronavirus pandemic that the conference will be held in-person; it will take place over three days and feature students from various schools in the Midwest, including the Universities of Colorado, Missouri, Iowa, and Oklahoma.
“Black Student Associations across the nation gather in one place… we meet some famous black people and talk about issues pertaining to black students across the country,” said Ceesay.
This year’s conference will feature the theme ‘Health, Wealth, & Knowledge of Self.’ Since the national association’s first conference in 1978 at the University of Missouri, themes have included: ‘Remembering Our Roots, Cultivating Out Growth, Harvesting Our Goals’ ‘I Am the Black Experience’ and ‘The Talented Tenth: Redefining Black Student Leadership.’
As an organization, the Black Student Association strives to “promote a communal bond among students” at the university by hosting on-campus events and addressing concerns within the community. They also offer resources to better Black students at the university, such as connecting students with Black owned or operated businesses for internships and jobs, taking students on culture trips, and promoting local barbers and beauticians.
The BSA is continually recruiting new members, and some hope the hot chocolate bar will help bring in new people.
“This is not a Black student exclusive group… Anyone is free to join,” said Ntepe.
Other upcoming events include a jazz poetry night at the U-Club on Jan. 27, which will have both music and spoken word poetry and will feature both students and community members, and the seventh annual Martin Luther King Jr. Ball in the Overman Student Center ballrooms on Feb. 11, which will be a formal event that has catered food, performances from various members of the club, and a live DJ. Both events will be free to attend.
