Isha Kamara, Class of 2023

One day, I walked into a predominantly white party off-campus, and a white student yelled “why are all the minorities here?!” Not to only highlight racist incidents, I’ll also add that the BSU had a Friendsgiving and a large group of black students across the years came together to cook and eat together (the food was so good)! Hopefully, this year was the first of many! The school is more cliquey across sports teams than by race. It’s majority white, so it’s not weird to see large white friend groups and the occasionally Black, Latinx, Asian friend groups. There is the Davis center. I’m in a leadership position at my school’s black student union, so my interactions are very different than that of other black students. But we have a black director who works there who keeps clutch. When the rest of the Davis center doesn’t do enough to make our events happen (parties for example), this director always holds it down. The Davis center has spaces on campus meant for black students, Rice House. And Hardy for LGBTQ+ members and Latinx students and the third house for all groups to use as needed. Williams is supportive of students of color with other marginalized identities. Generally, I feel represented. If I don’t feel represented, I try to become that representative. Don’t be afraid to say hi to random other black students on campus! I think it’s the duty of Black upperclassmen to make new students feel welcome to the community and I actively say hello to frosh, but it helps if they are also open to making friends. I would also recommend joining clubs! I’ve met so many wonderful people outside of the classroom, but admittedly I am a very social person.