Wright State’s Black Student Union to host Jamboree Week

The Miss Black Wright State pageant is always a popular event during Jamboree Week.

Over the coming week, Wright State University’s Black Student Union will host its annual Jamboree Week, which is jam-packed with events to get students active and involved on campus.

“We’re bringing students out of their comfort zone and to try something new,” said Dana Graham, vice president of the Black Student Union. “Once students attend one of these events, they’re so likely to meet someone with similar interests or even a different perspective. These events bring different people together so they’re great opportunities to network or get involved more often.”

Starting on Monday, Nov. 3, BSU will host the Miss Black Wright State pageant. Starting at 7 p.m. in the Student Union Apollo Room, a handful of women will gather to compete to take the honorary title of Miss Black Wright State.

“They will compete in different categories such as talent and career,” said Graham. “Once the winner is crowned, she is then put in charge of planning and coordinating a community service event for Greene County.”

Graham said Miss Black Wright State should have a sense of professionalism, should embody leadership qualities and work to empower women of all colors.

On Tuesday, Nov. 4, BSU will host “Bridging the Gap,” a new event that will take place in the Student Union Rathskeller at 7 p.m..

“It’s going to be a constructive group discussion between young and old African-Americans that are apart of the Wright State community,” said Graham. “We wanted to do this event because too often there seems to be a divide between old and new generations. The discussion will create a safe zone where people of all ages can come together to really get to understand the differences and similarities between age groups.”

Then, on Wednesday, Nov. 5, BSU invites students to get up and get healthy at the “Get Fit. Stay Active. Be Healthy. Health Fair and Blood Drive”. The event will take place in the Student Union Atrium at 6 p.m.

BSU will bring a team of nutritionists to talk about healthy eating and lifestyles. Additionally, Zumba classes and ballroom dancing will take place.

On Thursday, Nov. 6, BSU will host the Non-Greek Stroll Off, a collaborative event with the National Pan-Hellenic Council. The event will take place in the Student Union Atrium at 7 p.m.

“This event gives students who do not belong to a fraternity or a sorority an opportunity to get together with their friends, come up with a dance or step routine and perform it for a panel of judges,” said Graham. “The Stroll Off is always a happenin’ event—so many people turn up.”

On Friday, Nov. 7, BSU will host the crowd favorite: the BSU Talent Show. The event will take place in the Student Union Atrium at 7 p.m.

From musicians, beatboxers, poets, dancers and performance artists, the talent show has drawn participants from a wide creative background in years past.

On Saturday, Nov. 8, Jamboree Week comes to a crescendo with Feed the Streetz, a humanitarian event where participants will prepare over 100 sandwiches to be passed out to the homeless in Dayton.

Participants will meet in the BSU Office at 029E Student Union at 8 a.m. to begin preparing the food. Then at noon, students will depart for Dayton.

“One of BSU’s goals is getting out and directly helping the community,” said Graham. “This event does that by getting participants to reach out to the less fortunate and show that Wright State cares. Community outreach is so important to us.”

Graham said Jamboree Week paints Wright State in a positive light.

“We’re all about making sure students of color stay in school,” she said. “This week revolves around social programming—to show students that Wright State and BSU can offer students the support and resources necessary to have a successful academic career.”

The BSU serves as the umbrella organization for all of the African-American based groups, organizations and clubs at Wright State and is devoted to promoting unity, academic success, cultural and political awareness in order to strengthen and uplift the African-American community.

For more information on Jamboree Week or the Black Student Union, call (937) 775-5506 or reach BSU members at wrightstate_bsu@yahoo.com.