By Caleb Wheeler | Staff Writer
The Black Student Union will be hosting its 37th annual Black Heritage Banquet at 6 p.m. on Feb. 22 in the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation. Baton Rouge, La., junior and Black Student Union president Brooklyn Joseph said the banquet is a chance for members to get together and celebrate Black History Month in a formal setting while presenting their culture to those who are interested in learning about it.
Tickets are available through the Baylor ticket office, costing $10 for students and $20 for others. However, spots are limited.
“We’re going to try to take on as many people as we can before we sell out,” Joseph said. “And the [Black Student Union] will be sending out personal invites to different organizations for their attendance where they can buy tables for their members.”
The banquet will host a guest speaker who has yet to be announced. Houston junior and Black Student Union secretary Meagan Hayes described the guest speaker as the backbone of the event and said she values the insight they provide and the enjoyment that comes from working with experienced people who have similar backgrounds.
“We could get more awareness, not only Black students’ passions and our values, through our speaker,” Hayes said. “They can share [their] testimony and great advice about what it means to be human and what it means to have challenges and to grow through those challenges.”
Houston senior and Black Student Union vice president Aaliyah Hasker said the banquet is “a monumental event” for the Black Student Union, and the whole year leads up to February in terms of planning. She said the goal is to get people more engaged, not only with Black History Month but also with the Black Student Union.
Hasker said her experience with the organization has had a profound impact on her life. In particular, she said her experience with the Freshman Action Team — a part of the Black Student Union that gives freshmen a place to connect — helped her form relationships with people of similar backgrounds.
“[The Black Student Union] connected me with really close friends,” Hasker said. “Like my best friends now, I met them on the Freshman Action Team, so I really cherish the way that we have become friends and how we stuck together.”
Joseph, Hayes and Hasker all said the Black Heritage Banquet is an opportunity to connect with people across campus.
“We really want to express that it’s open to anybody to come,” Joseph said. “We don’t have any limits on those who can attend, and we expect to have a lot of fun and learn a lot of things and eat some good food.”
