The following is a Daily Reveille article about myself, Roben West, and De'Andre Beadle's work with the Student Government Black Caucus. The title refers to my community service project, the "Get Jazzed About Reading" Literacy Rally, although it is not mentioned in the article at all. The writer and I spoke at length about it, but I'm fine as long as the SGBC gets some positive press.
By Kate Mabry
The Student Government Black Caucus continues to work on initiatives after a recent change in leadership and hopes to boost membership in semesters to come. The resolution to create the caucus, which was passed in an SG Senate meeting March 2, received a 32-11-2 roll call vote after a heated debate, which lasted more than two hours.This semester, Roben West, SG senator for the College of Humanitites and Social Sciences and caucus chair, said the SGBC is continuing to focus on the issue of the Greek stole for commencement exercises.
"From my understanding, Greek stoles may no longer be worn at commencement exercises, and we feel that the issue can and will directly affect black Greeks at LSU," she said.
West said another initiative of the caucus is improving their relationship with other black organizations on campus. As far as accomplishments, West credits the honoring of A. P. Tureaud's efforts in African American attendance at the University as the caucus's most notable achievement. On April 12, the official SGBC Facebook page stated before the event, "The LSU Student Government Black Caucus will be there to commend A.P. Tureaud Jr. for his journey of justice as living history of the integration and black experience of LSU."
While the SGBC continues to focus on issues at the University, the caucus also aims to provide a sense of support for the African-American community. Ashley Hebert, SG senator for the Graduate School and SGBC member, said soon after she received her undergraduate degree she began noticing African American students were not as prepared to receive a college education as she believes they should be, and she hoped to help students focus more on career initiatives. "The networking just isn't there," she said. Hebert said the caucus's purpose is to gather a group of African American students together to illustrate that there is a place for them at the University outside of Greek Life and tailgating.
"The black experience is not the same as the white experience at LSU. What LSU is to you may not be what it is to me," Hebert said. "So many administrators, faculty and students are missing the point. We need to find a common ground." West said the caucus also exists to ensure that the needs of the University's African American population are met. "We felt the creation of the black caucus was important because we felt that the black student population at LSU was not getting adequate representation," West said.
Hebert said the creation of the caucus was something she was passionate about, and she wants to ensure the caucus continues to grow after she graduates in December. At the start of the semester, Hebert, the caucus chair during the spring semester, wanted to be sure the transition into new leadership goes smoothly after she leaves the University. "This way the new leaders, being De'Andre [Beadle, SG senator for the University Center for Freshman Year] and myself, could get comfortable with the positions while she was still here so that we may still look to her for guidance and assistance," West said.
At this time, the University's SGBC is the first black caucus of any SEC school.
According to Hebert, anyone can attend caucus meetings and share input with the group.
This semester, Hebert said there are eight to ten SG members involved in the caucus as well as an additional 10 to 12 students from outside SG.
