Read-In ushers in Black History Month
Students, faculty and community members attended BSU's Read-In
Olga Mosiychuk
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: News
Students flooded into the Commons Terrace Room on Monday evening to kick off Black History Month with the 21st National African American Read-In, sponsored by Black Student Union.
"The purpose of this event is to bring African American voices to life, to inspire hearts and minds," said Bethany Sills, UP's multi-cultural coordinator.
The reading consisted of a slew of diverse individuals, ranging from faculty members to high school students from the community.
Senior ASUP vice-president and BSU co-president Alyssa Schmidt-Carr was pleased with the event.
"I was really excited to have people from the community at the read-in," she said.
"It was such a diverse group. There were students, and Father Donato even came in and it was just awesome to have everybody there," Schmidt-Carr said.
Participants read everything from Maya Angelou's poetry to excerpts from the works of Booker T. Washington, while onlookers enjoyed their food and the readings.
Sophomore BSU co-president Marshawna Williams was involved with the planning and coordination of the event.
She reflected on the importance of introducing people to African American writing.
"The read-in is a cool way of presenting the words that were used to describe what African Americans thought and what they wanted throughout the years," she said.
This was just the kick-off to the event-filled month that Black Student Union has planned for the University of Portland.
The event organizers are thrilled for students to become involved.
"The black student population at UP is so small that it's good that we are doing something to recognize black culture," said freshman Kaileah Baldwin, a student involved with BSU.
Members of BSU have planned three more events this month.
The next one is on Feb. 11, featuring Caleb Rosado, an Urban Studies professor from Warner Pacific. Williams commented on the importance of such events and Black History Month as a whole.
"The purpose of this event is to bring African American voices to life, to inspire hearts and minds," said Bethany Sills, UP's multi-cultural coordinator.
The reading consisted of a slew of diverse individuals, ranging from faculty members to high school students from the community.
Senior ASUP vice-president and BSU co-president Alyssa Schmidt-Carr was pleased with the event.
"I was really excited to have people from the community at the read-in," she said.
"It was such a diverse group. There were students, and Father Donato even came in and it was just awesome to have everybody there," Schmidt-Carr said.
Participants read everything from Maya Angelou's poetry to excerpts from the works of Booker T. Washington, while onlookers enjoyed their food and the readings.
Sophomore BSU co-president Marshawna Williams was involved with the planning and coordination of the event.
She reflected on the importance of introducing people to African American writing.
"The read-in is a cool way of presenting the words that were used to describe what African Americans thought and what they wanted throughout the years," she said.
This was just the kick-off to the event-filled month that Black Student Union has planned for the University of Portland.
The event organizers are thrilled for students to become involved.
"The black student population at UP is so small that it's good that we are doing something to recognize black culture," said freshman Kaileah Baldwin, a student involved with BSU.
Members of BSU have planned three more events this month.
The next one is on Feb. 11, featuring Caleb Rosado, an Urban Studies professor from Warner Pacific. Williams commented on the importance of such events and Black History Month as a whole.
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