The Welcome B(l)ack Cookout is the Black Student Union’s first event of fall semester. This year, the event took place Aug. 30, filling Phi Beta Kappa Commons with laughter and music.
Senior Maleah Proctor has been attending the Welcome B(l)ack Cookout events since her freshman year. Now, Proctor is serving as BSU president.
“It’s really near and dear to my heart,” Proctor said. “That’s one of the reasons it was so important for me to continue with BSU. It created such a safe space and was such an important part of me starting my journey here at Elon that I wanted to continue that for other people.”
Senior Tkai Wade was one of more than 50 attendees and said the event helps set the tone for the year. Wade said it gives new students a place to feel safe and welcome. As younger students were meeting new people, the commons was also filled with hugs as many returning students saw each other for the first time this semester.
Wade said seeing everyone be together, getting to share space and build camaraderie, was his favorite part of the event.
Wade was one of several Alpha Phi Alpha members at the event. Alpha Phi Alpha is one of six fraternities and sororities at Elon in the National Pan-Hellinic Council, also known as the Divine Nine. Many fraternity and sorority members were at the commons, proudly wearing organization merchandise and moving along to the music.
Wade said he is living off-campus this year, so coming to events like the BSU cookout help him stay connected with his friends. He said these events help build and maintain Elon’s welcoming and inclusive campus culture.
“The ability to have different parties — whether it be different races or ethnicities — to be able to come out and then show support for one another, it shows inclusivity” Wade said.
Junior Brianna Crawford, BSU vice president, said one of her goals for the year is for people across campus — and across cultures — to come together.
“Black Student Union is an organization that serves the Black community but is open and inclusive to everyone, no matter the event,” Crawford said. “That’s a big stigma that we’re dealing with and want to address this year.”
As the event got more crowded, many students began comparing the event to previous years. Attendees mentioned to one another how last year the event had a DJ and even an inflatable obstacle course. Crawford said BSU received less funding than it has in the past after the Student Government Association changed how budget requests were evaluated.
Last year, SGA changed its funding request model to a quarterly system with an $80,000 cap on how much money student organizations could collectively receive, according to SGA Vice President of Finance Ian Brecker in a previous interview with Elon News Network.
Crawford said BSU leadership started planning the cookout in April and needed to work together to navigate SGA’s new finance policies.
“We’re definitely seeing a significant impact in the way that we’re going to be able to reach our community, create events and do the things that we intend to,” Crawford said.
Even as funding changes, Crawford said BSU’s goals, priorities and opportunities for students haven’t changed.
“We all just want to see the event thrive, the organization thrive and — most importantly — our community thrive within this space,” Crawford said.
Proctor said it was rewarding to see how many new students showed up. Elon’s status as a predominantly white institution means many students aren’t familiar with the Black community on campus, Proctor said.
“It can be kind of intimidating trying to find your people, but coming to this event I see so many new connections being made,” Proctor said. “It’s a really beautiful thing to experience.”
