The Association for the Advancment of African American Women hosts multicultural general body meeting

The Association for the Advancement of African American Women hosted a general body meeting Jan. 12 for all multicultural organizations at the University of Toledo.

The event began at 7:30 p.m. and lasted till about 9 p.m. in the Student Union. Many multicultural organizations — including Spectrum, the LGBT group at UT, the Black Student Union and the National Association for Black Journalists — were present at the meeting and spoke about their groups.

Tatyana Buchanan, a fourth-year majoring in interdisciplinary studies and the special event coordinator for 4AW, helped organize the event along with the 4AW programming committee.

“The goal was to just bring more attention to all the different organizations on campus so then everyone is not just limited to their organizations but so they can start thinking about other organizations maybe they are interested in but they never knew existed,” Buchanan said.

There were about 60 students in attendance, according to Buchanan, and a myriad of multicultural organizations were there as well.

“They [4AW] wanted leaders to come out and just talk a little bit about their organization and do a small little ice breaker to set the mood. I think it’s a great event. I think it’s a great idea to do that,” said Cameron Mckelvin, a fourth-year accounting and entrepreneurship major who is also the president of the student African American Brotherhood.

Mckelvin thought the event was a great way for multicultural organizations to network and it gave them the opportunity to join together as a group.

“I feel like the goal … would be social consciousness so that everyone knows what’s going on, because I know a lot of people might read the news but they might not be able to get the chance to speak on it,” Mckelvin said. “I feel like multicultural organizations give students here the opportunity to speak on these topics and actually have a voice as a collective rather than as an individual.”

Alexandria Hetzler, a second-year actuarial science major and the treasurer of Spectrum, said the goal of her organization attending the event was to get the word out to others on campus.

“I would like to do more networking within the university because there are queer and trans students within all other aspects of the university so sometimes just knowing the Spectrum group exists can be a comfort to students,” Hetzler said.

Hetzler was pleasantly surprised to find out that there were so many student groups on campus for African American students and their advancement, and thought the event was a great way to showcase this.

Leasha Moore, a third-year communication major, attended the event as a representative for the National Association for Black Journalists and African Peoples Association. Moore’s goal was to showcase NABJ because they just officially became a group on campus in December of 2015.

“The goal is to be advocates for black students across college campus’ especially at the University of Toledo because that’s the chapter we represent,” Moore said. “The goal is to mainly help minority students … be a part of works and develop themselves better as professionals for their career they are aspiring to be in.”

She found the event to be especially helpful to multicultural students who were looking to branch out and join different organizations and meet their peers.

“I am a transfer student, so I feel like I gravitate more to multicultural organizations because that’s what represents me the best but I feel like it works for people because it’s like a safe space for people, it helps people to be comfortable …” Moore said.

Ashley Robinson, a member of 4AW, was most excited to hear more about women’s empowerment and to learn about the different groups on campus she did not know existed.

“We are powerful,” Robinson said. “Everyone is equal basically and don’t just keep your head down … with all the racism going on, just stay strong and everyone just stay connected.”