Twenty students attended the Black Student Association ice cream social on Wednesday, August 29 in the Niobrara Room at the Kanter Student Center. The meeting brought newly-committed members and already-established officers together to discuss this year’s agenda.

Jeremiah Woods, this year’s chief financial officer for BSA, believed the meeting was just more than eating ice cream and socializing.

“We met for the ice cream social to get an unofficial count of new members because anyone can sign a piece of paper and put an email on it, but it is the people that actually show up for the meeting that make the group,” Woods said.

Woods felt BSA benefited him personally. “Being a part of the Black Student Association has given me a purpose here on campus because there wasn’t anything specifically keeping me here at Wayne State College,” Woods said.

The BSA is starting something new this year to be more involved with other organizations on campus, including sports.

“The Black Student Association reached out to the WSC football team to help support them for their mandatory homework sessions,” Woods said.

“We were the first club to ever reach out to them for something like that and I found that surprising. We can be their support system on and off the field.”

Woods’ best experience in BSA is how the club has flourished in its new revival. “Seeing the change in hands from Cha’Rae Brown, the 2017-2018 president of the club, to Tshiyamba Ngeleka, the current president, makes me feel like the work has paid off and as a club we are making major moves” Woods said.

“The Black Student Association gives a voice to a minority group and we are always thinking of improvement and we are keeping our focus on the future of the organization and making the WSC experience better for students,” said Woods.

Brown couldn’t agree more and is very passionate about promoting unity among Wayne State College students of all different backgrounds.

“Our motto is ‘Accepting, Affirming, Inspiring. I stand by that to act on issues of importance to the community,” Brown said.

Brown remembered her favorite part of being involved in the organization last year.

“I was talking one on one with another member of the group and this other member said that she wished she would have discovered BSA sooner because she had trouble fitting in anywhere else,” Brown said. “That’s the moment I knew I was doing something right.”

The Black Student Association promotes black cultural awareness through various events throughout the year.

“We do different activities during black history month like hip-hop night, special guest speakers, and the festival of arts,” Brown said.

The Black Student Association has an important purpose on campus.

“We serve as a support and discussion forum for organizations, clubs, students and voicing concerns of the black community to the college,” Brown said.