MARIBEL LOPEZ STAFF WRITER
Wartburg’s Black Student Union celebrated ten years as an on-campus organization this weekend.
The Black Student Union, commonly referred to as BSU, is a political, social and educational organization whose main purpose is to express and support Wartburg’s black perspective in campus life.
Celebratory events began Friday evening with an alumni and student meet-and-greet at the Mannie Holmes House.
“It’s a good way for current students to meet and interact with others who were a part of BSU and learn what was happening when they were here,” said BSU adviser, Krystal Madlock.
Celebrations continued on Saturday evening with a formal dinner in the Chapel Commons, where current and former BSU members spoke and shared their BSU experiences while at Wartburg.
One speaker, Kenneth Phelps, class of ’85 and father of Morgan Phelps shared his experiences of his time at the college, providing some personal advice for life after graduation.
“In order to be successful, you have to have a plan B and a plan C that are just as strong as your plan A,” said Phelps.
Madlock said that even though BSU is celebrating ten years, similar groups date back even further.
“When I first started in ’98, there were cultural awareness groups on campus and we’ve discovered that these groups existed for quite some time before, like in the 70s and 80s,” said Madlock. “We are trying to find the true history of these groups and document it.”
One group mentioned by alumni was the CAO, or Cultural Awareness Organization, which was for students of all backgrounds. The idea of creating a group that catered to black students occurred in the mid-90s but the idea was not immediately approved. It wasn’t until the time of former Wartburg President Jack Ohle that the organization’s approval was officially granted.
The events that took place emphasized the historical aspect of the organization along with celebrating the anniversary of BSU as an official organization.
“Our goal was to try to complete the history with this event and invite alumni back to help us know the history,” said BSU executive Darius Cox. “We want to show them we appreciate what they did to get us where we are today and that we plan to continue that way.”