At the Black Alumni Alliance Saturday, hosted by the Black Student Alliance, the main focus of the day was a discussion with alumni about possibly forming a black alumni advisory board for the BSA.
"The weekend was a way to get the black alumni involved in the black experience here at U.Va.," BSA Alumni Affairs Co-Chair Aaron Blake said.
More than 40 black alumni attended, Blake said, as well as student members from the University's various black organizations who were invited to participate in the event.
"We believe that there is no one who can support the black student experience better than alums because they know exactly what we go through and they can help us achieve a lot," BSA President Myra Franklin said.
At the event, alumni and students conversed about the BSA's past and present place in the University and what it was like when the alumni were students at the University.
During the discussion of the BSA's proposal for the creation of the advisory board, BSA members received feedback from the alumni.
"Overwhelmingly, alumni expressed their support," Franklin said. "We got a lot of promises from alumni for help."
Robert Jackson was an unofficial alumni advisor throughout the planning process. Blake said she was told by Jackson that he was helping because he had missed his opportunity to form such a board years ago as a student.
The BSA experienced difficulty contacting alumni members to invite to the event when they were denied access to contact information for black alumni, Franklin said. Alumni Hall denied them the information, and the Office of African American Affairs discouraged the use of the contact information and could only supply an outdated list of alumni contacts, Blake said.
"Most of the people who showed up came through word of mouth," she said. "There was no question about it: The alumni that showed up wished we had gotten their information."
The alumni who attended recommended the BSA start small, in the form of a newsletter informing black alumni of what is going on in the black community at the University.
"We're very open to the idea that the black alumni board may be too much for right now," Blake said. "They want to start small and get bigger."
The BSA tried to make it clear they were looking for resources other than money.
"I got a sense of frustration from alumni that the University only contacts them for money or donations, so it feels good to contact them with other ways they can reach out to U.Va.," Franklin said.
The weekend alone has garnered strong support from previous BSA presidents and other alumni, in attendance at Saturday's event and through supportive e-mails.
"What we're hearing is, 'Thank God someone's doing this,'" Blake said. "I want people to look at the BSA as not just another student organization. We're serious. Just having this weekend shows how serious we are"
Read More
In a changed Honor system, the Honor Committee struggles to generate engagement
By Bertie Azqueta | 4 hours agoThe Honor Committee’s public meetings have been substantially shorter this semester. This semester the Committee’s meetings have had an average length of 34 minutes compared to 50 minutes in the 2024-25 term and 47 minutes in the 2023-24 term.
Student hot-spots on the Corner raise prices in response to increased operating costs
By Lily Kostro | 5 hours agoAndy McClure, owner of The Virginian and a class of 2001 alumnus, said that the last five years have placed a strain on the restaurant business due to significant expense increases.
How does U.Va.’s agreement with the Justice Department compare to the Compact?
By Nicolas Biernacki | YesterdayWhile both the rejected Compact and the Justice Department agreement faced resistance from the University community and have several similarities, the agreement provides firmer protection for academic freedom.
