The executive board panel of Black Student Alliance led a discussion Monday night covering topics ranging from the recent die-in outside of Old Cabell Hall to how students handle bias at the University.
The die-in was held in commemoration of National Blackout Day on Sept. 23, and involved students dressed in black clothing lying on the ground outside of Old Cabell for a half hour in protest of racial injustice.
Attendees at the BSA meeting shared their thoughts about the die-in, police brutality, helpful coping methods and ideas for how to better advertise for similar events that may be held in the future. They also talked about the existence of bias and students shared that they wanted to feel safe.
BSA Vice President Cameron Stokes, a second-year Curry student, shared a personal story about when two people went out of their way to avoid walking past him because of his race and stature.
“It’s crazy to me, and it’s sad to me,” Stokes said. “I’m here. I’m at the University of Virginia, one of the top schools in the country, and [people] still think bad of me, still think less of me. I’m a black male, six-foot-two and 200-plus pounds. That’s all they see.”
Stokes said he was grateful for the opportunity the panel provided to tell his story to others.
“I think it was really important for me to share that [with members] because of situations where they might go through it, they see something like that happen, they know they’re not alone — they know they have someone to talk to,” Stokes said.
Chandra Asare, a third-year College student and BSA membership director, ran the meeting and agreed having a space for people to share their feelings was helpful.
“With the turn of events and the things that have been happening lately — with the police brutality incidents — we thought it would be important to have a forum so people would be able to share their thoughts,” Asare said. “I know a lot of people probably feel like they don't have anyone to talk to, or don’t feel as comfortable sharing their thoughts with people, so this gave them the environment to do that.”
Asare said she was glad to see a large and diverse group of people in attendance at the meeting.
“We had people from all organizations, people of all colors here,” Asare said. “It’s just really great to hear different perspectives and different points of views and have people be very candid and honest. Hopefully we can put on more events like this in the future.”
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